Anise stood just inside the towering front doors of Dragonsreach, trying to remember why she'd thought coming here was a good idea. Dragonsreach was home to the Jarl of Whiterun and his family, and it was a large and wealthy looking place, at least to Anise's eyes. It also housed Farengar Secret-Fire, the court wizard and the only person Anise could think of that might have the spells she needed. Anise had decided that traveling all the way to Solitude was too long of a journey to undertake with only the spells she had now and Barbas at her side, no matter how invulnerable the hound night be. Barbas stood beside her now, looking fairly unimpressed with the grandeur of the wide hall they stood in. Anise took a deep breath and walked forward, trying to ignore the looks the staff were giving her, which clearly said they didn't think she had any reason the be there. Farengar was known for being fairly welcoming to young mages looking to learn, so Anise hoped he'd allow her to study a spell tome or two. Anise walked up the hall's wide steps, which led to the largest dining table Anise had ever seen, laden with food and drink for the Jarl and his colleagues to enjoy. Just beyond that was a raised dias, upon which sat a comfortable and sturdy looking throne, which held Balgruf, Jarl of Whiterun. He lounged comfortably on his throne, exchanging banter with the Dunmer woman at his side. To the right, tucked away in the side of the room, Anise saw an open doorway through which Farengar could be seen standing over a large book on his desk. The Jarl and his housecarl both looked up as Anise approached, but they took in her mage robes and her anxious glances towards Farengar's study and seemed to deduce her reasons for being there. They ignored her as she shuffled awkwardly to the side and made her way to the open door. Farengar looked up as she entered, took one look at her and said,

"Let me guess, you wish to learn something from me?"

...

Farengar was indeed an enthusiastic teacher, and far more welcoming than Anise had anticipated. He kept her there for hours, going over spells and enchantments, discussing magical theories. He taught her to conjure a sword into her hand for protection, summon a flame atronach to fight by her side, and even showed her how to spot spikes of ice from her hands instead of simply creating freezing cold. All in all, Anise felt it was time well spent, no matter how Barbas huffed at the delay.

...

Rorikstead was a sleepy place, with it's large fields looking peaceful and plentiful, and it's small houses serving as a reminder that Rorikstead's flourishing fields were a relatively new addition to the once poor town. Two young girls ran past Anise, one yelling sisterly insults at the other as they ran down the road. Cows grazed quietly in the fields, and a few guards walked the streets with an unhurried pace. The few people that were out seemed to take note of Anise, likely hoping she wasn't some bandit or rouge come to take advantage of such a small town. There didn't seem to be any kind of shop in town, and the only building that wasn't a home seemed to be the inn. Frostfruit Inn looked just the same as any other inn, both on the inside and outside. It had a warm and cozy feel to it, and was quieter than most due to a lack of patrons. Anise purchased a room for ten septims, and while the inn keeper looked askance at Barbas, he said nothing about her bringing the dog inside. Anise day at one of the long talked to the side of the inn, pulling out some of the food she had rought with her, giving Barbas his fair share when he begged. As Anise ate farmers began to shuffle into the inn, looking tired but satisfied at the end of a long work day. They all gathered in seats by the cook fire and sipped on mead brought to them by the inn keeper, chatting happily amongst themselves. Anise found their peaceful mood to be contagious, and soon she was absentmindedly stroking Barbas's furry head and scratching him behind the ears, much to the hounds delight. Anise retired to bed early that night, washing her face with cool water and curling up onto the furs on the bed. Barbas climbed up beside her, curling into her side to sleep, and Anise remembered what it felt like to sleep with someone by your side.

It's been a long time since I had anyone to share a home with. Anise thought. This reminds me of climbing into my parent's bed as child. It was always so warm and safe.

Though bittersweet, the memories lulled her to sleep as she cuddled with Barbas, the Daedric wolfhound snoring softly as he slept.

...

The area surrounding Rorikstead was quite barren and Anise found, to her dismay, that collecting ingredients here was more of a waste of time than anything else.

"I told you." Barbas chided "We should just keeping moving in a forward direction, and save all this collecting for a later date. Perhaps when I am not around."

Anise rolled her eyes, "You're the one that asked me for help. You can't complain just because-"

"Wait a moment," Barbas interrupted. "Do you smell that?"

Before Anise could ask what it was he was smelling, she noticed movement out of the corner of her eye. There, by the bank of the shallow river they were following, was a Sabre Cat, crouching low and waiting to pounce. The moment Anise saw it was the same moment that Barbas sprang forward, barking angrily; the Sabre rose to it's full height and stretched out a paw, batting at Barbas with it's wicked looking claws. Anise knew without a doubt that she had no hope against a Sabre. She summond a flame atronach to distract the large cat and then ran into the shallow river. Sabre cats were known to dislike deep water, so all Anise needed was to continue to run through the water until it deepened. Then she could swim on down the river until the cat gave up.

"Barbas!" She called back as she splashed through the shallow waters. "Leave it and let's go! We can lose it when the water deepens!"

But Barbas either didn't hear her or didn't want to leave the battle. Though Anise felt it was likely the latter, she felt guilty as she left him behind, looking over her shoulder at the violent scene. Barbas lunged again at the Sabre cats throat, getting a firm grip on the skin there, but taking more hits from the sharp claws. Anise's flame atronach danced and twirled in the air, throwing balls of flame at the Sabre in between twirls. Just as Anise decided that she had to at least stop running so as not to leave Barbas behind, she felt her foot slip on a wet rock beneath her, and instead of landing on more stone, Anise fell into a sudden drop off. The river had found its depth, and Anise plunged beneath it's waters.

"Barbas!" She yelled as she found the surface again. The current was suddenly strong here, and she was being pulled away quickly as Barbas continued to take hits from the giant cat, his angry snarling able to be heard even over the rushing waters.

"Barbas leave it!" She called again, but was again ignored and soon became preoccupied with keeping her head above water as the current grew stronger.

Anise turned to look behind her and felt her stomach drop. The current, now too strong to fight against, was pulling her towards a water fall. As the edge came near Anise grabbed frantically at some of the larger boulders on the side of the riverbed, breaking her nails against the rock as she gripped for dear life. The rocks were slick with water though, and worn smooth by the river's flow. Anise lost her grip, and suddenly there was nothing more to grab. Time slowed for a brief moment as she fell backward, carried by the river over the edge. As gravity took her, time sped up again, and just before the waterfall engulfed her she saw Barbas's bloodied face look over the edge. Then suddenly the water was pulling her down again and she couldn't breath, free falling into the depths below.

...

There was a moment of blackness, or perhaps a lifetime of it, and then suddenly Anise's lungs were burning for air. Her eyes opened beneath the water, and for a terrifying moment darkness was all she could see above her. Then she looked below her and saw light shining through the surface, and she realized suddenly that she was upside down in the water. She broke the surface quickly, taking a deep breath and swallowing equal amounts of air and water in the attempt. As she crawled weakly into shallow water, a pair of feet came running into view.

"By the gods, are you alright?" A strong but feminine voice asked. Anise didn't have the energy to answer, or even look up, so she simply coughed up more water onto the shore. A pair of hands found her shoulders, and then she was being hoisted awkwardly into a woman's arms.

...

When her eyes opened again, Anise was looking at the roof of what was likely a simple wooden shack. Sunlight fell onto where she lay through cracks in the wood, and she could hear the quiet rushing of the river nearby. Her clothes had been removed, and she was warm and dry beneath the furs that had been lain over her.

"You're up."

Anise was startled to find that an older Redguard woman had been seated on a chair beside the bed the entire time. The woman had been so quiet and still that Anise hadn't even noticed her.

"Before you start to worry, you're perfectly fine. A few cuts and scrapes, but nothing broken. Other than the bread, everything in your pack survived the fall and the water, and I took the liberty of giving you one of your healing potions, just in case. Your clothes, map and satchel are all drying outside."

Anise's brain was still catching up, and she could only nod as the Redguard woman stood and stretched.

"There's crab stew to eat, once you're ready. Just let me know."

With that she headed to the front of the cabin, which had a large open doorway that led out onto a porch that stretched over the water. Anise found that she wasn't as sore as she had thought she'd be, likely due to the healing potion, and she managed to stand and wrap the large fur blanket around her shoulders with minimal difficulty. As she stepped onto the open deck she noted that the sun was still high in the sky, so she hadn't slept much longer than a couple of hours. Her clothes and satchel were hanging on a line in the sun, as was her map. The Redguard woman was sitting on the deck, her feet hanging over the side as she untangled some netting.

Anise sat down beside her, careful to keep the edges of the blanket out of the water, and the Redguard woman set aside the netting and grabbed two bowls of stew that had been sitting at her side. She handed one to Anise and started in on the other, slurping it quietly as they both stared at the river in front of them. When the two women were halfway through with their bowls they began to introduce themselves, the Redguard woman explaining that the shack was hers, and that Ajar could simply call her Crabber, as that's what she did for a living. She'd seen Anise fall over the edge of the waterfall and into the river below, and had carried Anise into bed and stripped her of her clothes and belongings, given her a health potion and let sleep. Anise explained that was traveling to Solitude, and that she'd been running from a Sabre cat when she got caught up in the current. She left out the part about being on a quest for a Daedric Prince.

"You haven't seen a dog by any chance, have you?" Anise asked.

Crabber shook her head, and though she didn't say anything Anise could tell by the look on her face that she thought Anise's hound had become Sabre dinner. Anise couldn't help but worry about Barbas, though she doubted he could succumb to any kind of fatality.

Should I wait here for him to find me? Or should I follow the path back to Rorikstead and see if I find him?

Anise pondered what to do next in silence, finishing off the last of her stew, while Crabber stood and did things about the shack. Another hour passed, and Anise's clothes, though still damp, had dried enough in the high sun to be put back on without causing too much chill. Anise used a flame spell Farengar had taught her to quicken the process a bit and warm the robes before she put them on, then dressed and sorted through her satchel. Crabber hadn't been mistaken when she'd said nothing was damaged, and Anise was grateful for that at least as she put it back on. Then she spread her dried map out on the porch and looked it over. While not exactly ideal, her trip down the falls seemed to have been a shortcut. She was only a few hours from Solitude, where she would stop for the night. Then tomorrow morning she'd head out, grab that axe and start back towards Falkreath.

"Woof."

Startled, Anise jumped, spinning around. Sitting beside her on the porch, casual as can be, was Barbas.

Even Crabber was surprised, and she didn't seem like the sort of person you could easily sneak up on.

"Did that dog just say woof?" Crabber asked, sounding just a bit suspicious.

"Ah, no, he just...barks funny." Anise replied.

There was an always moment of pause before Anise remembered that a normal dog wouldn't have survived a Sabre on it's own, let alone be able to find her so quickly when her scent would have been lost in the river.

"Oh Scruff!" Anise exclaimed, falling to her knees and wrapping her arms around Barbas's damp body. "I was so worried about you! I can't believe you found me!"

Barbas barked properly as Anise stood again. She gave Barbas a few more concerned scratches behind his ears, packed up her map and expressed how grateful she was to Crabber for her aid. Then she fled, hoping to remove Barbas from the scene before he gave them away. Crabber didn't seem like someone who would care much either way, but the Daedric Princes were widely regarded as evil, and there were plenty of people who would murder those that served them. Whether the person was serving them willingly or not.

As they distanced themselves from Crabber's shanty and headed towards Solitude, Anise shook her head and smiled down at Barbas.

"I really am glad you're okay, I figured you would be, but did you have to sneak up on me like that?"

"Did you have to go careening down a waterfall in the middle of a battle with a Sabre cat? I mean really. You are supposed to be helping me, remember?"

"Well did you have to say 'woof'? You could have just barked like a normal dog."

"What's she gonna do, kill me?" Barbas barked, running ahead a bit to half-heartedly chase a fleeing rabbit.

"No but she could kill me!" Anise yelled as Barbas drew further ahead.

Anise ran forward to catch up with him, and the two made their way to Solitude together.