As the evening started to set in on the mountainous landscape, the cold night time chill was starting to take hold over the warmer daytime air an odd pair traveled down one of the many worn down roads that lead to central hold city of Falkreath. On the back of a Khajiit, a blond Nord woman held on with her head buried into the nook of cat's neck as if she was trying to hide from the world around them. Both of the two were dirty, covered in different spots with dried caked blood, burns, soot, dirty, and whatever else they had picked up along the road giving the two of them a rugged and wary look about them. A dark, solemn aura hung about the air that nothing dared to interrupt, not even the common forest animals came out of hiding giving the world a more muted volume.

Magna looked about the road with dull eyes, for once in the past few hours awake enough to take in her surroundings, rather than most of the trip of being to zoned out and withdrawn even to notice that she was pressing into Baldar hard but warm furry back. Magna dragged her eyes to look at the woods around them seeing the time of day before watching the sky warily, noting the dark looking clouds in the heavens that would soon bring more snow in the coming days. However even with this Magna kept silent to Baldar, half wondering why he didn't just abandon her back in Helgen and get rid of her for good. "After all, it would have been easier for you Baldar, your 'life' whatever you called it, it's fulfilled. Anyone else would have left already."

But yet here he was, still taking care of her like she was a child and not capable of doing anything on her own. Typically Magna would have protested to such treatment from a stranger, especially one as arrogant and annoying as Baldar but for some reason that she could not place her finger on she was almost... Glad for his stalker nature for once, even if she hated to admit it, but it still did not mean she trusted him yet, no it was much more of a thankful feeling rather than trusting. "But so help me gods the first time he steps out of line I will set him on fire again….and I'm not giving him a potion either this time…. stupid cat used my last potion."

Pulling herself out of her foggy train of thought Magna shifted a little bit to adjusted herself to keep her arms from falling asleep from their place wrapped around the cat's neck, trying to keep as still as much as humanly possible, but asking for the impossible. Every muscle felt like someone took a red hot coal and held it in place, making it uncomfortable to move around without being reminded of the deep dull pain of just how tired her body was. At least the dull ebbing pain in the rest of her body distracted her momentarily from a pounding headache in the back of her skull from the man back in Helgen.

Magna stiffened feeling some bile work its way back up from her breakfast, the cold sweat that swept down the back of her neck made her shiver with disgust at the foul, bitter taste. What happened was still just a blurry mess, probably from the head trauma but over the day memories had slowly seeped back into her head at what happened. "There were other people, but now there are not, something had happened to the group but what was it? I think I remember something about them talking about a half-breed of some kind, then they were screaming, or was it from me?"

"Falkreath is just up the road from here. We can get you a bed at the inn and figure out what we will do afterward." Baldar broke voice broke through her thoughts, and the jarring pain as he hiked her up a bit so that she wasn't slipping down his back. Magna didn't reply like all the other times he had tried to start a conversation since Helgen, still too out of it to find a reason to idle chit chat as she sought to process what had happened the last few days. However, when he moved her up along his back, it made her whimper weakly from the motion making her muscles cry out in pain.

"Don't worry, just stay silent, and I'll carry you there. Just relax." He said though she could tell from the way he would shake at times that Baldar's strength was finally waning after all these miles that they had crossed. Magna looked down at Baldar finally noticing the state of his dress blinking for a moment before tapping his bare chest slowly, trying to get his attention silently to point this out. There was no way that any normal city watch would allow him just to waltz into the city looking like that, or with her looking like the way she was. The way they were going was one sure-fire ticket to a jail cell, maybe not for her but Baldar for sure. "Why do I even care if he gets thrown in jail again? I mean it would mean I would not have to be around him anymore but… it feels wrong."

Baldar noticed her taps and looked over his shoulder at her with concern. "What's wrong, Magna?" Magna pointed down to the scraps of fabric that were of his pants and the noticeable absent shirt that had been burned away in her attempt to escape from his vice grip that morning.

"...they… will throw you… in jail looking like this." Magna tried to explain her voice was cracking a little bit at the end when cramp started up in her lower back forcing her to stop for a moment to take a deep breath to steady her voice.

"Good point, mind if I set you down?" He asked, looking back at her to make sure she was good enough to stand on her own now. Magna quickly averted her eyes away from his before nodded slowly bracing herself to support herself for now on. "After all, I need to get used to it from now.." Biting her lip to keep from making any noise when he did set her back down onto the ground. Swaying for a moment Magna held out her arms to keep her balance, and once that was back, the girl turned her back to Baldar giving him some privacy to change. Her body screamed protested all the moving around, Magna tried to take her mind off of the pain by looking at the forest around her. Looking for anything useful, she could prepare pickup to sell in town to make a few coins to get some new clothes or maybe even a bath or anything to keep her mind thinking about anything else then Baldar, Helgen, or anything else for that matter to keep her sane long enough to get some sleep.

Magna stumbled over to the edge of the road taking a closer look at a fallen log that was within her reach, brighten up a little bit seeing some of the fungi growing on the dead bark. Trying to kneel gracefully onto the ground Manga failed even at that simple task as she hit the ground with a hard thump sucking in a sharp breath to keep from yelping. Pushing forward with small jerky movements Magna tried her best to ignore the pain while she gathered the Mora Tapinella and Scaly Pholiota that were ready to be harvested.

"This won't get me much but, anything will help. Best to have something to sell for money for a quick getaway if I need it, just in case..." Magna silently mused as she shoved the small pile of fungi into her bag and looked around again. Spotting some lavender, red and blue mountain flowers Magna shuffled over to the plants and started to rip them up from the ground careful to make sure not to damage the flowers too much. "Papa always loved the red flowers…" Freezing Magna bit her lip; the little brighter mood she had quickly evaporated into nothing as she felt her lip quiver.

"Maybe… that was not Papa; maybe that was just someone else trying to hide from the dragon. I… I won't know until I get to Falkreath. Papa always said if something were to happen to the town and we got separated to meet there and if we had to move on to leave a letter. I'm sure he is already there and waiting for me...he has to…" Magna bit down a little bit harder on her lip enough to make it bleed a little bit to stop her current train of thoughts. Grabbing an extra handful of lavender for good measure Magna focused on putting her energy to getting back up off the ground. Her body protested once again, this time only a little bit as Magna got better at blocking her body protest while she wavered making her waver and shake from the effort, but her stubborn Nord pride would not allow herself to give up just yet. Not when Baldar had just let her go to stand on her own, finding the last bit of resolve to keep going until she could reach a bed Magna stood up all the way trying not to look back at Baldar in case he was still changing.

"Alright, I'm done." Baldar state from behind her to the sound of patting cloth. When she turned around, she saw that he now wore a roughspun tunic with foot and hand wraps now. He looked like a slave, though. Magna frowned a little bit out his clothing but kept her thoughts to herself for the moment, after all, she did burn off his other set of clothing, she didn't get much of a say in his choice of clothing.

"Okay." Magna stumbled her way next to Baldar getting close enough to brush against his fur but quickly corrected this by leaning away. "Now, we go?"

Baldar kneeled down and leaned forward for Magna to let her crawl on his back. "Yeah, I'll keep carrying you until we reach the gates."

"I can walk by myself." Magna firmly stated looking down at Baldar before crossing her arms.

"You're sure?" The Khajiit asked, giving her a look of concern and a grip on her shoulder.

"..." Magna gave Baldar her best dead tried glance knowing her pride, even if she to prove that she could walk would be her downfall if Magna did not go along with his wishes, so she let out a small defeated sigh. Magna slowly wrapped her arms around the cat's neck to hold on waiting for him to stand up and braced for the pain to come.

Once she secured her arms around his neck, Baldar rose and started down the path with her. The Khajiit managed to keep himself strong and continue with the added weight. Though, all the pain he went through today must have made him utterly exhausted. Still, he pressed on through the lack of energy and kept going, and it impressed Magna how he would press on, but they were both tired physically and mentally and a good night rest would do the both of them some good.

Magna turned her head so that her face was resting away from his face on his furry shoulder, the long whiskers poking into her check enough to tickle her skin. Now it was the rough fabric that scratched into her cheek uncomfortably, but she never voiced her displeasure at least for the moment to the cat. Soon enough the two came over the last hill leading down into the hold city, the front gates laying out before them at the bottom of the sloping hill. Two guards stood out front of the gates, not noticing the pair just yet, and while it was open, it didn't drop Magna from stiffening a little bit, the first movement she had made since they started out again. She felt the frightened and worried tug painfully at her chest, what if her father never made it to Falkreath? What if she was all alone now in the world, or even worse what if that… dragon or any other dragon would show up here too? A lump painfully formed in her throat as another train of throat tickle into the back of her mind whispering in her ear. What about Baldar?

While yes her being a Nord she would have no problems just waltzing up to the gates and entering the holds city as she pleased, but for Baldar it was a different matter. Even if she thought the Khajiit was annoying, stalkerish, and at moments downright threatening and fighting in his sudden mood swings and the way he trusted her so quickly without question; getting him into the city without making a fuss was going to be an issue. "I'm still shocked he didn't just rob me and run off into the night with my stuff yet or that he does not speak for the rest of his kind. I still don't trust him, but I at least owe it to him to help him get into the city to at least rest for the night… after that, I don't care what happens to him."

Once they arrived at the gates, Baldar let her drop back and onto the ground so that she could walk inside. "Alright, as far as we are concerned from now on. I'm going to be your slave. Go ahead and tell me to do whatever you want. However, let's go right into the inn and tell them that you and your slave will be staying then for the night. Then, tell me to pay them."

Magna looked up at Baldar while she steadied herself on her own two feet for the moment thinking over his plan. She opened up her mouth, raising a finger in the air before crossing her arms and closing her mouth. Looking away from the taller Khajiit Magna ran over her choices quickly as her mind could in her current state, she realized that his solution to their unspoken problem was the best option at this point. It was not uncommon to have Khajiit as indentured servants to families as help or bodyguards. Letting out a sigh Magna silently agreed and started to walk towards the gates trying to hold her head up high and act normal, even if her sore legs and body protested very loudly in the process.

Slowly they made their way to the gate of the city, as Magna tried to step through the gates looking as least suspicious as she could one the guards stepped out and stopped her.

"Oi, whatcha doing there girl!" The guard said, walking over with his hand on his sword hilt. "Do you have papers for that slave?"

"Shit! I needed papers!? Oh, why didn't I think this plan out before agreeing…"

Magna stumbled almost running into the guard as she tried to stop without falling onto her face. Ever so slowly Magna looked up at the Nordic guard, swallowing hard as her mind stalled for answers to things she did not have answers for.

"U-uhh… yes? Oh Yes yes, of course, I have papers, who would not have papers on their slaves." Magna bluffed pursing her lips a little bit turning her head back to Baldar giving him a pleading look hidden away from the guards. "Slave show them your papers, hurry up I want to get a hot bath some time tonight now." Magna felt her voice go up an octave with her horrible bluffing and over the top performance, even going as so far as to clap a few times at Baldar to try to sell it.

Magna spotted Baldar's eyes closing for a moment before he smiled for a second before looking back at her before raising his hand up and showing them his palm with a weird symbol on it. "Master, a Nord noble like yourself does not need to carry papers on you since to carry papers would mean having sensitive documents on you at all times. Also, this guard is treating you like a fool. He knows all he has to see is my tattoo."

Magna narrowed her eyes at Baldar fuming with embarrassment that apparently shouted: "Why do you do this Baldar?!" Turning back to the guard she put on her sweetest smile she could muster. "Why thank you, slave, am I not just blessed by the Divine by this sweet, intelligent slave? I'm so happy my father bought him for me~" Magna nervously chuckled back at the guard edging around him. "Now please I must get some sleep the trip has simply left me drained of energy to entertain um... menfolk with talk." Magna now around the guard edged away into the town keeping the sweet smile as long as she could hoping they would not question them anymore.

"Very well, move along." The guard said, walking over to his friend with a chuckle. Magna quickly left looking for the inn, glancing behind just to make sure no one was watching before she reached up mustering up the strength to grab hold of one of Baldar ears to pull him down to eye level.

"What in Oblivion was that all about?! Why didn't you tell me about papers and whatever is on your hand?!" She hissed angrily still flustered with the exchange.

"I literally drew it on as a backup plan." He held up his hand and showed that he drew a dragon in chains on his hand. "I just came up with this. I don't even know if slaves have tattoos in Skyrim. No memory, remember?" Magna felt her face flushed, letting go of his ear using the hand to rub an arm.

"Right that… Sorry… I forgot about that. Look I don't know the first thing about slaves alright? Never actually picked up a book on them other than what my… never mind let's just go get a room." Magna brushed past Baldar walking down the road making a note of where the general store was for later so she could get a new pair of clothes before turning in for the night. Spotting the worn wooden sign of two mugs tapped together mid-toast and the bold writing of "Dead Man's Drink" signaling the old wooden building to be the Tavern. Walking up the steps slowly, Magna pushed open the door, relaxing a little bit as the warm smell of bread and meat washed over her even from the door the fire in the middle of the building warmed her to her bones. Glancing around the small Inn, Manga spotted an alchemy station in one of the corners next to an old Nord, drinking his mead in peace. Across the way idly playing a few bars of a song was a Breton bard who next to him was a Nordic woman sweeping the place looking extremely bored with life.

"I would like… um one room please for me and my slave." Magna glanced back at Baldar for some sign that she was doing this act right before turning back to the woman Imperial running the Inn.

The innkeeper looked at Magna before bringing up a cup and wiping it with one of the cloths she had nearby. "I don't see a problem with that. Though looks like you're treating your skooma addict a little too good if you ask me. He looks like he's in perfect health."

"Oh, why… thank you? Father makes sure they don't get into any of that kind of stuff. Makes them lazy you know?" Magna glanced around chuckling nervously again before glancing back at her 'slave'. "Pay her whatever she asks for, slave."

Baldar reached into his pouch and pulled out a sack of gold before walking over to the counter and putting several gold coins upon it. He then turned back around and put it back without saying anything, the innkeeper looking over the currency and making sure that it was the right amount. "Alright, looks like you got enough. But mind you, be careful with his kind. You don't got him in chains, and he has your gold. If he runs away, you are going to be sorely out of luck."

"O-Oh, um thank you I will keep that in mind… Would you by chance have a letter or word for someone named Magna?" Magna hopefully asked, feeling the fluttering hope rising in her chest.

"Nope." The in keeping said, continuing to wipe down her glass. No… Magna deflated looking down at the ground and took a step away from the counter with an understanding nod of her head; a deep pain started to twist in her chest like someone was starting to take a hot knife and stab her with it. Standing there for a moment she struggled to find her voice again, but somehow managed to squeeze some reply past her tightening throat. "O.. oh.. Okay thank you anyway. Can you show me to the room now?" Magna requested, her voice falling flat, almost dead as all hope was left over died as quickly as the answer left the woman's lips.

"It's the first one on the left there. No need to show you there." The innkeeper said, continuing her work without looking up from it. It was evident that she didn't care about them beyond getting her money. Magna didn't bother speaking again as she slowly trudged her way into the room, closing the door behind them once Baldar walked the slid down the back of the wooden door until she felt the cold stone floor on her backside. Curling up Magna hugged her knees and rocked back and forth slowly, a thing she often did when she was upset over something as it helped sooth her, but now, now it didn't help.

The overwhelming crushing guilt slammed into her like a bag of stones, sending her over an edge that Magna had never thought she would reach, one of utter despair. The crushing hard swollen red she was homeless, alone, never would be able to apologize to her father for their fight but the last words she spoke to him was I hate you.

"I… want to take it back Papa; I want to take it back! Please no no no, please don't let this be true! It can't be true; the world is not that cruel this just has to be a dream a really long and ugly dream." Magna mind raced, pulling at any corner of thought that could offer her even the tiniest bit of hope or confirmation that this was just a dream or all a lie. But there was none. There would never be one that she could believe in, without lying to herself. This was her reality, something she could touch and feel, smell, remember. There was no denying reality, as this was not a plane of Oblivion where the rules could be twisted and bent, no this was the waking world.

"I… can't take it back… why, why WHY!? Papa… I left you; I ran away… I should have been there with you… It should have been me…" Magna voice wailed in her mind, morning the facts of her life as regret started to take over her soul. The chance to make things right has passed by her, and there was nothing she could do about it. No amount of knowledge about the universe, magic, or skill could change what happened, and it left Magna feeling helpless and alone for the first time in her life. The despair grabbed at her soul with its shadowy fingers, dragging her down further into the black abyss, smothering out the daylight with nothing but a whimper. An icy hand of fear wormed its way around Magna's heart slowly tightening its cold fingers around it, freezing her breath in her throat. She was too weak by herself to fight off the fear, despair and claw her way out of the abyss by her own means.

"I can't do this…"

Struggling feasibly Magna felt the small embers of frustration start to burn away the fingers around her heart and soul, the mournful thoughts replaced by one by one with disappointed and anger not only at fate but mostly herself. It angered Magna to think that the only reason she was even able to make it this far over the last few days was because of Baldar. The embers grew into flames that burned at her belly at having to rely on a stranger for help, to be saved once already and helped so much more times than she could help, the gratefulness she had felt before melted into loathing for herself for every moment of it. "I'm a Nord; I should not be so weak like this! What is wrong with me… why do I feel… why do I feel deep down that this is okay to be like this… why?" The frustration boiled around in her mind taking all her attention away from everything else that was happening around her.

A stinging wetness at the corner of her eyes and her arms becoming most hardly registered amongst the emotional turmoil as the deep boiling frustration and grief manifesting itself into tears that burned down her dirty cheeks leaving two clear trails behind. Magna was simply, just there, crying on the floor of the cold stone with nothing else going through her mind. Magna continued to rock back and forth, shaking a little bit every now and again from the slight chill that was starting to set in due to the cold floor unsure of how long she was like that before she eventually calmed down from crying. She was mostly silent but for the small sniffles and hiccups every now and again as she tried to wipe her face clean of tears, but only made the red ugly puffiness worse by doing so. Magna was left feeling a little bit calmer, but still felt the painful aching in her heart that slowly ebbed away into a dull ache, her thoughts logic slowly returning as the strong emotions remained spent.

Baldar sat down next to her with some food in hand and most of his slave garb off. "Hey, it's okay to cry. Just let it out."

"S….shut up…please…" Magna grumbled weakly not trying to be rude but rather to tried to deal with others input of others, while running another hand across her cheeks to clean up the last few remaining tears. Sniffling Magna glanced down at the food and felt her stomach twist before growling with hunger reminding her that she haven't had anything to eat but for the few bites of jerky this morning that seemed so long ago.

Baldar reached up on the table and sat a plate in front of her with a similar meal to his own. It was a slice of bread with cabbage and tomatoes in it with some meat inside. From the smell, she assumed it was venison in the center making it all the stranger to mixing all of this together. "Here, eat and cry. It's good for mourning."

Glancing down at the plate Magna looked the food over for a few seconds pondering the strange creation that was placed before her; a stray thought crossed her mind to ask and if he poisoned it somehow with something from his bag of never-ending conveniences. Picking up the creation Magna picked at the cabbage silently, then went and pulled the tomatoes out of the stack, sitting them down to the plate with a small look of disgust. Taking a tentative small bite, chewing slowly to relish the taste at first, surprised at how it was not unpleasant as she first thought it would be. After the first bite, Magna quickly devoured the food, resting her head on her knees while her stomach was adjusting to having food inside of it again. Her mind started to pick back up now that she had cried and let out the emotions she had built up for the last few days, while it left her shaky it also cleared her mind, returning her logic. Staring up at the ceiling Manga started to formulate a plan for what she needed to do next, and the more time she spent sitting on the floor crying was wasted time she could be doing something, anything really.

"... I.. I need new clothes… I'm going out to look around and see what they have in the general store." Manga pointed suddenly, her voice cracking a little bit while she picked at her burned clothes watching as another flake fell off the tattered end of her pants. Using the back of the door to help herself up despite her body cries of protest Manga pushed it aside, after all, what would her father say if he saw her now sitting around crying? She was a strong Nord woman dammit, and by the gods, she was going to prove it by stowing away her feelings and moving forward.

"You going to walk around too?"

"No, I'll have to stay here. I'm still your slave after all." Baldar pointed out, bringing out the journal and opening it up to read.

"But why should that matter? I mean it was just an act, we got into the town now you don't have to pretend anymore…" Magna paused confused as to why he didn't want to walk around. "And even if it did can't you say you are just… I don't know running errands or something? I really don't know how all this is supposed to work, the slave thing alright?"

"Because, a Khajiit walking around a Nord town is subject to getting beat to death or refuse to barter with them unless they have a reputation to protect them." Baldar pointed out, eating his food and continuing to read his book. He showed no signs of agitation about not being able to leave just a kind of quiet acceptance. Magna shifted uncomfortably on her feet while she watched Baldar just accept what was going on and a part of her felt guilty about how he had to act like this just to be safe in the city. It also made her feel something else she could place her finger on at the moment, but Magna quickly pushed it to the side. "I guess he is just used to this kind of stuff, sad actually but it's not as I treated him any better… but again he IS a Khajiit still… but why does thinking that make me feel so… disappointed in myself?" "Uh… is there anything you need then?"

"No, my bag seems to have my necessary contents for survival. Though…" He reached into his bag and pulled out a large bag of gold. After holding it for a bit, he tossed it to her. "You will need some money to buy clothes. Take this."

Magna looked at the bag, her brows turning down in a frown, having the half the mind to ask where he got the money from but she was sure he would either lie or just not know.

"I will be fine, keep your money You may need it one day." Magna pushed the bag away and deeper into his paws before turning away. "I will be back later." Magna opened up the door to the room glancing back at the cat sitting in their room quickly leaving before he could protest her refusal by shutting the door in his face. Magna flinched a little bit at the loud noise, closing the door the door a bit harder than she originally intended to in his face.

Magna took a deep breath in and out, breathing in the burning wood smell once more to relax her mind a little bit with something familiar to ground her mind a little bit more for a little while so that she could do what she must have to do. Shifting the bag on her shoulder, a little bit Magna straightened her protesting back once more and shifted her way out of the tavern. Looking up at the now darkened sky dotted with the many stars and the soft glow of the torch lights being lit by the guard folk as they patrolled through the town. Without the moons rising in the sky yet Magna had some time before the shops would close up for the night, even if it were just for an hour or two by the looks of it as it gave her time to look around the tiny town before selling any of her findings along the road to just one person. After all, she might be able to find someone who would buy her items at a higher price than the other shop.

Noting the general store across from the tavern Magna carefully walked down the main street glancing about at the cozy cottages that rested snugly into the thick evergreen trees, a feeling so much different than how Helgen felt with its stone walls. Even with the torch light, it seemed like the whole town had been covered in a depressing gloom to many but if one looked at it in another way it felt more homely, welcoming in the darkness then freighting with its shroud of death. Even the paths Manga noted where hugged with the fauna of the forest that seemed to choke the very air with their fragrance of mountain flowers, dragon tongues, bellflowers and the sticky sweet smell of snowberries that cropped up between the large fern trees. The idle chit chat of the townspeople as they settled down for the evening, the light pounding of metal on metal muddled in the air as Manga walked past the Smither still slaving away at his forge. The clangs of the hammer were only stopping for a bit while the long sighing hiss of the bellows blowing new life into the coals overtook the air when he stuck his current order back into the flames to heat up.

Maybe I should ask tomorrow if I can borrow his forge for a little while. I don't have any weapons, and well I rather not keep that going for long.

Standing at the fork in the road Magna glanced off to her left noting the few chickens running around what looked to be a farmhouse, along with with a small bit of farmland then a bigger house just behind it must have begun to someone wealthier in the town. To her right was the Jarl's longhouse, the banner of Falkreath fluttering in the chilly breeze that passed through the village. The breeze brought a shiver down Magna's spine bringing her out of her musings and her attention back on the task at hand. Taking the road going to the right she glanced at the store whose sign was a motor and pedestal with the faint engraving of its name written above the sign spelling out Grave Concoctions. Magna smiled up at the shop and quickly made her way to the door, slowly pushing it open while she let her eyes adjusted to the brighter candle light inside.

Through the smoky haze of whoever the store owners dinner was cooking on the nearby fire, the sweet and bitter aroma of alchemy ingredients and potions filled the air. The smell relaxed Magna even more then the Tavern smell, the familiarity of each sent pulled at her memories one way or another. A small cough came from the Redguard woman clad in dull brown clothes standing behind the counter drew Magna attention over to her.

"Is there anything I can help you with?" The woman offered forcing Magna to nod slowly as she trotted over to the counter, taking off her bag and opening it up. Dumping out all the mushrooms and flowers that she had picked from earlier that evening Magna quickly sorted them out in front of the Redguard shopkeeper into small neat piles so it would be easier for her to pick through the plants.

"I… would like to sell these please." Magna hesitantly started off glancing over her goods once more, giving herself a small nod before looking up at the taller woman in the eye with a steely gaze. While she might have been physically weak now was no time to be mentally weak if she was going to come anywhere close to the amount she needed to get new clothes. The shopkeep picked up one of the Mora Tapinella holding it between her fingers, giving it a once over with an overly critical eye, looking for every blush and blemish.

"Hmm, these are excellent, the cap is not even damaged from the cutting nor is the base of the stalk. It's hard to find people who know how to cut foliage the proper way nowadays it seems." The woman mused with a slight chuckle as she placed the mushroom down and started to look over the others more quickly this time. After the last of the mushrooms were looked over the woman moved onto the lavender and red and blue mountain flowers treating them with more care as to not bruise the petals of the selected plants.

"Not bad, the blue flowers are a little bit on the older side, but they will see be useable in some weaker potions. The red ones and lavender are still fresh enough that they will do just nicely for my next batch of potions." The woman explains while Magna nodded her head quickly in agreement shifting a little bit uneasily on her feet as she waited for the final offer. "I will give you forty gold for everything how does that sound for you?"

Magna mulled the price over in her head for a few moments, tapping her chin in thought as she went through what she would try to buy the ingredients off someone else if they brought them to her, just like she used to do back at home. "Alright, I will take it." Magna finally agreed after a minute of silence with another nod of her head watching the woman take out her strongbox and count out the coins in stacks of ten. Magna went through each pile herself and tested each of the gold coins making sure that they were for real and she did have the right amount in the end. Once everything was settled Manga quickly placed the money into her bag and replaced it onto her shoulder making sure that it would not fall off if she had to let go of the strap.

"Thank you for your business young lady, be careful out there you hear?" The woman called out as Magna went to walk out of the shop pausing for a moment before turning her head giving the woman a smile. "Thank you, you too." And with that Magna quickly made her way out back into the town heading to the general store to see what kind of clothes the owner had to offer and if she could buy whatever made, she could buy as well.

In under an hour Magna walked back into the Tavern wearing a fresh set of clothes, and still dripping wet hair from a quick bath, she took in one of the smaller pools on the cliff side further upstream from the log mill on the other end of town. Magna had used the last bit of lavender along the road to help remove all the bloody and ash smell from her skin. Free for the first time in days from the dirt, soot, blood, and whatever she had picked up along the road Magna sat down by the fire to warm up from the cold mountain water, looking down at her new clothes, quite proud of her haul.

Along knee length light green shirt covered her upper body, its collar sticking up a little bit with a bit of string in the front to tighten or loosen the chest portion to the wearers need. The sleeves were long enough to reach the start of her hands, with the arm parts of the sleeve having enough fabric to bag slightly, giving her room to move around as need be. The longer shirt was gathered up under a darker green shirt that had a leather belt and armor sewn into it's stitched, its length reaching down to her hips. The leather covered her shoulders in small light pads along with the top part of her upper arms, leading down to two leather gloves that covered the rest of her hands and arms.

The darker green fabric covered her bosom before giving way to more leather underneath her chest that gave it some support. The belt held the darker shirt close and together above her tiny waist while a strap of leather kept it shoulder pads went just under her collar bone, allowing this piece of fabric to hug her body more tightly than the lighter green shirt. Baggy gray pants covered her legs and tall leather boots that reached just below her knees now covered her feet. To top it all off a lone silver necklace no bigger than the palm of her small hand, the center was an opal of dark purple color with mixes of deep green, lighter blue, and a touch of red running through the stone like veins. Around the stone five leaves branched out around the stone curling it in a gentle embrace while one reached up towards her neck that attached to a thin silver chain.

Looking into the fire for some time, once she was warmed up Magna pushed herself up off the bench and back into her room closing the door behind her. In the dark Magna looked for Baldar, finding a Baldar shape thing laying on the floor covered in a blanket. Probably from his endless bag of wonders I guess. Magna mused to herself silently as she slowly sat down on the bed trying not to wake him up. As quietly as she could, Magna took off her new boots and unbuckled her belt before taking off her leather and dark green shirt leaving her just in her lighter shirt and pants. With a soft sigh, Magna curled up on the bed facing the wall staring at it in the dark.

Magna was unsure when she finally fell asleep or if she ever did at all, but after a few hours, she found herself tossing and turning. Her mind flashing back to show her vivid images of the dragon attack on her home, to the burned body inside of her house to Baldar draining the life from one of the men who attacked her. Thoughts, questions, and raw emotions kept her from truly falling asleep as she tossed and turned, sometimes noticing the tears that would actually leak out from behind her closed eyes and other times she didn't see anything at all. Restless Magna sat up in bed rubbing her eyes trying to keep her sniffling silent, not wanting another lecture from her stalker this late at night. She needed something to help dull and numb her mind long enough so that she could get some sleep; maybe there was something out in the central hall area that would be able to help her.

With careful footsteps, Magna walked across the cold wooden floor and opened up the door just enough for her to slip through before closing it again wincing at the slight creaking noise the door made when she did so. Looking about the darkened room again as the roaring fires from earlier that night had started to die down in a smoldering fire Magna spotted an Alchemy station off to one corner of the room. Trotting over to it Magna let her fingers run over the wood and stone with a small smile gracing her lips. Taking a deep breath and letting herself zone out for a while Magna took a few of the free items around the room and started to play around with the station, seeing what she could come up or what she could improve with one of the potions she knew how to make.

Magna zoned out into her work for a while not noticing the old Nord drinking some of the ale taking a curiosity to her and moving closer to where she was working.

"Now humor this old man will ya girl? Why is someone like you doing up this late at night, it can't be the dying need to make dem potions can it?" The older man cackled with laughter when Magna jumped with a squeak her heart almost jumping out of her throat from the fright. "Sorry lass didn't mean to frighten you, but again why is someone such as yourself doing up this late into the night?" The old man pressed again watching Magna shift on her feet comfortable while she toyed with the hem of her shirt.

"I could not sleep…" Magna finally mumbled out glancing down at the floor feeling the heat flush up to her cheeks in her own embarrassment.

"Ah I see, I have had many a night like that where the past keeps even this old man awake." He chuckled with another swing of his drink. "Why don't you tell this old warrior about it? After all, I can see it in your eyes you seen something not right to keep you up like this, the look of someone who has looked at death in the face and spat at it."

"I… would not call it spitting in the face of death…. More like running away." Magna didn't know she was even talking to the senile old man; maybe it was the lack of proper sleep or maybe she finally went mad from all she had been, through, who could tell at this point was anyone guess. Sitting down on the bench next to the older Nord Magna looked down at the wooden table for a long time before speaking again.

"...I… saw a dragon… It was black as night, and it called down fire from the sky. I Don't know why it attacked Helgen… I… I was so scared… I ran away without even seeing if my father was okay… I just, all I could think about was running away from it." Magna started putting her face in her hands to hide her shame, letting her elbows rest on top of the table. "If I were not crazy, I would say it was… Aldwin, from the old stories but that can't be true, it just can't be him. A dragon maybe just a slight maybe that can be back, but it? I don't know if what I saw was just. Built up from my fear or… or if it was right sir... " Magna took a deep shuddering breath feeling the tears prick at the edges of her eyes again, forcing her to bite down on her lip to keep the building sob from reaching an audible level again. The words tumbled out of her mouth quicker than she could stop the flow of words as she kept on babbling to the old man about her experience.

Okay so now that I sound like a mad woman might as well ride this out…

"I was… just so scared so I ran, I ran away like a coward. How can I even call myself a Nord… I ran away and didn't even stay to fight or help my father, and now…. And now…" Magna throat closed up as a sob choked its way out from behind her teeth forcing her to stop talking for now. There was a gentle pat on her shoulder, and a soft hum from beside her as the old man pondered over her words. "And now… I can never say sorry for yelling at him after we fought about… me wanting to go to the Mage collage."

"If what ya say is true lass then you're not coward, you faced the world eater and can live to tell the tale of it to your grandchildren one day! Sometimes even us Nords need to run away from a fight we can not win; it just means that the gods have a different plan for us and need us elsewhere. Now we can't do that if we all go rushing into a battle we can't even win like that now can we wee one? No, you are proving you have the Nord's will to live to fight another day, and when you have your next fight I can bet your blond hair that you will fight tooth and nail like a proper Nord woman should and make your papa proud of you." Magna was floored by the old man's words as she sat there trying to calm herself down the tears kept flowing again like before, but this time it was almost an actual grieving cry, as somewhere down in her heart she knew what he said was true even if she still wanted to deny it for now. It would take her a while to actually accept what happened but for now, even the smallest part of her heart that could be enough to give her some tiny spark to keep moving like her father would want her to.

The man looked at her for a few moments before his face took on a weird look like he was being told something and trying to hear it. He nodded and then looked up at her with a new question. "Now lass, you say you can't help your father, but your mother is surely not among the dead in the village?"

Magna sniffled reaching up to rub under her red swollen eyes shaking her head from side to side after a moment while she tried to compose herself enough to answer. "N-no… she is not but; she died when I was only two winters old. I-I don't even remember what she looks like… All I have is her necklace that my father gave me when I turned sixteen."

The old man's face took on a solemn grimace when he heard her words, but it was as if something spoke to him again. "Well, there must be someone in your life that cares for you. Anyone? Family or friends?"

Magna sniffed again, but this time it was a bit more confused than before. "N-no? I… anyone I knew is dead and, we didn't have any other family…" Magna glanced up at the older man noticing the odd look that he held and shifted a little bit away.

The old man looked down at his glass and took a long drink of his drink before setting it back down. "You know, Magna. You've been afflicted with pain in life. But for every downturn, there is something good coming for you. You'll have your happy ending. I swear it."

"Er… um… thanks?" Magna looked down at her lap uncomfortable before snapping her head up at the old man narrowing her eyes. "Wait, how do you know my name?" Magna stood up slowly standing away from the older man feeling every nerve ending in her being ready to fire off and react if this was a threat or not.

The old man looked at her with wide eyes before there was the sound of a spell breaking. Baldar snapped into view, looking like a child caught with their hand in the cookie jar. He couldn't move like an elk in the firelight and was only able to utter one sentence. "I can explain…"

Magna stared down at Baldar, the orangey brown eyes narrowing with an icy cold look that contrasted the bright shade of red quickly covering her cheeks. She felt every single fiber of her being roaring with hot anger, singing for Baldar's blood in need for revenge. Standing up slowly, Magna stalked closer to her insufferable, and not to mentioned forced traveling partner. Whatever little trust Baldar had somehow managed to scrape today over the last two days were torn to shreds and burned to ash in Magna mind. Now standing in front of him Magna stared right into his cat-like eyes in silence while her lips puckered up as if to say something.

Slap

Flesh meeting flesh rang out in the Tavern, Magna's hand stung as well from the aftermath the slap that she just delivered to Baldar face. However there was a little bit of burning fur smell to the air, and much to the blonde horror in her anger manage to set her hand a blaze and in turn Baldar hair again. Glancing around Magna grabbed at the tanker that the old man was drinking out of and quickly tossed it into Baldar face putting the smoldering fur out. Glaring at Baldar as hard as she could Magna quickly turned around on her heels and stalked back to her room, tossing his bag out onto the floor in front of the door before slamming it shut.

Growling under her breath Magna paced about the room, her nerves fried and shot from the stunt that he pulled. "The nerve of that cat! How dare he do something like this, wait. What am I talking about he is one of them, after all, I should have seen it coming he would pull something like this sooner or later." While Magna stewed she flopped down onto the bed but not before pushing the heavy chest meant to hold their stuff in front of the door to help slow Baldar down if he decided to come back in. Putting her face into the pillow, Magna felt her whole body become overwhelmed with exhaustion; that soon pulled her unwillingly down into the black dreamless sleep she desperately, while she rather not at the moment, needed.

S7: Hey guys! Thanks to the reviews from last time, Raven put in a little more time on this than originally intended to give you the best possible outcome. Thanks to the reviews we were able to discern what y'all are looking for out of this chapter and steer our future writing in that direction! So thanks for that and don't forget to let us know what you think of this chapter too. Happy New Year and may it start off grand!