Chapter XCV – Moving Forward

The stay in the wilderness was very cathartic in a way.

And surprisingly peaceful too. They were still careful – they never camped anywhere for more than one night and they always trapped their camp securely even if it was located so out of the way that only a crazy person would look for them there. Well… crazy people may have been looking for them there, so it was reasonable enough.

But there was no incident, no Brotherhood and no dragons. And surprisingly enough, those were the only things they still had to be worried about. There was no shadow on every corner in every city – no scores of 'allies' who might think the price on Aeyrin's head just might be worth the risk. There was no price now – there was nobody left who would pay it.

And even though there were dangers still constantly present in their lives, it did feel freeing. It took time to come to terms with what happened with Karliah and it would always be a bitter reminder in one way or another, but it did get easier to start enjoying the victories that came from this mess.

It was easier to move forward.

Bishop, Aeyrin and Karnwyr had spent two weeks in the Rift, recuperating, relaxing and adventuring. It was a much needed respite and the Rift was the perfect and the most beautiful place for it. And it wasn't as cold as most of Skyrim even during the winter months.

They explored animal caves, bandit camps and even one surprise hagraven nest – that was a nasty battle. And on top of that, they discovered an old abandoned and very rich mine, hidden somewhere east of Riften. They did prepare a letter for Brynjolf, notifying him of the place. He would surely put it to good use and he would definitely send them some finder's fee back.

But eventually, other Holds beckoned them. They never did like to stay in one place for too long.

Without Karliah's missions, with the Blades settled in the Reach and with their next step regarding the Dwemer contraption being very open, they did not have a clear destination for a change. They both agreed that they should go somewhere they hadn't explored too much yet and, after long deliberation, several places appeared to fit that criterion. They have seen their fair share of the Rift, Hjaalmarch, Eastmarch and even Whiterun, mostly before Bishop's bounty. Haafingar was always a bit neglected in their adventures – whenever they went there, they went to Solitude and then they rushed as far away as possible. The Reach was a nice place, but the current situation with the Forsworn didn't make it ideal for casual adventures. Then there was Falkreath. They did want to return there one day, now that it was relatively safe, but… they just got out of the whole Mercer mess and Falkreath was unpleasantly tied to all of that. Neither of them wanted to go there just then.

The last two options were Winterhold and the Pale. They had always avoided adventuring in Winterhold too much and for a good reason – they knew that the College mages studied the nearby places and most of those would be looted to the bone. And Pale? Well there was only one thing ever keeping them away from the Pale.

But why? Just some annoying nightmares that they forgot by the morning anyway. And surely they could make do with staying in the city itself only sparsely. They wouldn't be affected in the wilderness.

It was decided.

They stopped by Riften once more, only briefly, to resupply and sell their loot and then they continued north towards Dawnstar.

They passed through the small mining village of Shor's Stone, only to see it still prosperous, though now under new leadership – Brynjolf's. They didn't stop at the village though and they continued onwards, crossing the Eastmarch tundra, past Raldbthar and towards the Nightgate Inn. They planned to stop there for the night, although they were a little apprehensive – they hadn't been there together ever since they caused a scene there with their fight back when they were still apart.

Oh well, what was some embarrassment in the face of a good night's sleep? They could surely handle a few snide remarks and judgmental looks from the innkeeper.

They could almost see the inn in the distance, but they noticed something else first. Two people were standing by the side of the road, idling. It was certainly odd to see someone just standing there, in the middle of nowhere. They could have been waiting for someone, but the inn was so close. Why wait out in the cold?

Nevertheless, Bishop and Aeyrin didn't pay them that much attention. Not until they got nearer and the man and woman instantly perked up and rushed over to them.

"Travelers! Hold on a second!" the woman called out to them as she ran forth, meeting them half-way. She looked kind of haggard and tired. And she did have some fresh red bruises and welts on her, as if she had been in a fight.

"What happened to you?" Aeyrin looked the woman over curiously.

"Glad you ask," the strange man, in a very similar state to that woman's, approached them as well. "Can you help us, please?"

"Our settlement was attacked by a dragon," the woman gave them a desperate look. "We had to run. We have nothing left."

Those two really did look like they had been running or something and they did only have small packs on their backs. What was much more attention-grabbing was what they had just said though.

A dragon attacked a settlement somewhere around? It could still be nearby, maybe near enough to attack the inn. And maybe some people in that settlement needed help. Aeyrin almost started to blow a barrage of questions at them already, but the man managed to speak first.

"If you could spare some gold. We need to start our whole life over," he looked at her pleadingly.

"'Gold'?" Bishop scowled a bit. Yeah, it made sense – they had to leave their homes and had nowhere to go. Still… he couldn't help it, there was something fishy about this. The inn was right there! Why were they asking travelers on the road and not patrons inside or the innkeeper for shelter? And those bruises… how did they get bruises from a dragon? You either get one big bruise that's practically covering your entire body, or you get burned to a crisp. That guy even had a black eye. From what? Did the dragon punch him with the tip of its wing or something?

"We can," Aeyrin nodded quickly, but her brows were still creased in worry. "But… maybe your settlement can still be saved. Or some other people need help. Where was this? We need to stop that dragon if we can." She was always eager to avoid dragon encounters, but this place must have been close and it was possible that people were still being attacked. It didn't happen often that dragons descended on settlements after all – she had no idea how long it would take one to destroy a village. Helgen was a… special case. And she didn't really register how long that took back then either.

If she could help prevent another tragedy like that, she had to try.

Besides, it was better than having the inn attacked by this surprisingly bold dragon in the middle of the night.

"Uuuh… what?" the woman tilted her head at Aeyrin. "You wanna 'stop' it?"

"Well… sure. Maybe your house is even still standing," Aeyrin gave her an encouraging smile.

"We're sure it's all gone by now. We just need money to start over," the man gave her a strangely frustrated look.

"What?" Aeyrin looked at him in surprise. Why would they just give up like this on their whole life if there was a chance? "Look, I promise, we can take care of it. Just tell us where the settlement is."

"Not a lot of those around," Bishop murmured to himself. The closest one was probably the mill by Windhelm and the Stormcloaks would surely take care of any dragons there.

"Don't bother with the dragon, it's too far," the woman shook her head vehemently. "It was in Karthwasten."

Bishop and Aeyrin shared a brief look. If that had been the case, it would have been worrying, but now it was all the more suspicious. They shouldn't jump to conclusions. Who knew whether anything these two were saying could be taken at face value?

"Karthwasten?" Bishop scoffed. "You came here across the entire province? Here in the middle of nowhere without a septim on you? Why? Why not take shelter in Markarth?"

"We… ah…" the man began to ponder on the answer. He was clearly not very good at scheming people out of their money. "We have friends in Windhelm."

"What are you standing around here for instead of going to Windhelm and asking your friends for money then?" Bishop shook his head at them. This was really pathetic.

"And how come you're all bruised like that?" Aeyrin looked at them curiously. She was still a bit concerned about Karthwasten, though now she was more and more convinced that it was all just a bunch of lies.

"Shit. Told you it wouldn't work," the woman grumbled at the man. She caved quickly.

"What are you doing? We had them!" the man turned towards her instantly with an indignant look on his face.

"No, you didn't," Bishop snorted at him.

"What's going on? Was there really an attack?" Aeyrin sighed in exasperation. These were probably the most inept robbers ever. Although they weren't really robbing them, to be fair, just cajoling money.

"Alright, alright," the woman sighed. "We just… we just needed some money. We got an unpaid tab at Nightgate and we got in a fight with some crazy Orc there and now Hadring won't let us stay unless we pay the tab and apologize to that stupid green asshole."

"I bet you started it," Bishop smirked at her. These two looked like trouble-makers. And why would the innkeeper want them to apologize otherwise?

"Fuck off," the woman growled at him in response.

"So why not just apologize? Are you just going to stay out here and freeze through the night? And I'm sure the innkeeper will let you work off the debt, wouldn't he?" Aeyrin looked at them with concern. It sounded so simple.

"I'm not working for that shithead and I'm not apologizing to that pig-face!" the man bellowed.

"That," the woman nodded in accord.

Well… that really eliminated any lingering thoughts about giving them money that Aeyrin might have had.

"So… there's no dragons," she sighed. It was quite a relief though. And at least they weren't insisting on trying to rob them or something. Just a harmless delay.

"Oh there was a dragon," the woman scoffed. "We saw some folks a few days back try this fucking story on some travelers and they got a heavy pouch out of it."

"They did look more burned though," the man sighed.

"So where was this dragon?" Aeyrin gave them a curious look. Though it had been several days. There was no use in concerning themselves with this.

"We already said, Karthwasten. We saw the folks on the road to Dragon Bridge. Guess they were headed there to hide," the woman explained.

So there was an attack at Karthwasten?! That really was concerning.

"Karthwasten was attacked? Really? Or was this another scheme?" Bishop narrowed his eyes at them. He could already see that Aeyrin was starting to worry. And kind of rightfully so. It was unpleasantly close to a certain ancient temple out there.

"Not a scheme!" the woman scoffed. "Even folks at Dragon Bridge were talking about it. And not 'attacked'. Decimated. No more Karthwasten."

Bishop and Aeyrin shared a disturbed look. It was odd to hear about a dragon bold enough to attack a settlement, though that did happen sometimes, even if most of them picked off travelers and caravans. But even cities were attacked by dragons before – like Morthal. But the fact that it was Karthwasten of all places felt more… clandestine than a random rampage of one of those beasts.

What if the dragons knew about the temple? What if they were looking for it? For the Blades.

"Well, good luck with all that shit," Bishop shrugged at the two haggard people and ushered Aeyrin along, towards the inn. Those two had nothing more of value to say for sure. They did look disgruntled about not getting any money out of their scheme, but they fortunately didn't press the issue any longer.

Aeyrin and Bishop continued towards the inn silently until they were certain that they could no longer be overheard.

"Do you think that…" Aeyrin started with a palpably worried tone in her voice, but Bishop promptly interrupted her.

"Princess, that place is a fucking fortress. No dragon could attack it successfully. And… they're all training to kill them, right?"

He was right. Of course, he was right. But still… it was too concerning. What in the world would they ever do without Esbern and his findings? And all those brave prospective dragon-slayers certainly didn't deserve to die there, defending the temple. And what if the theory was right? What if the dragons did know about the Blades? They would just keep attacking the temple, even if they weren't successful at first, wouldn't they?

"Y-yeah…" Aeyrin shivered involuntarily at all the unpleasant thoughts coursing through her mind. "I just… what if the dragons somehow know who's there? Or what if it caught them unaware in the gardens? Maybe we should…"

"You wanna go check?" Bishop gave her a small understanding smile. She had a point. This struck too close to the temple. It wasn't a bad idea to just make sure.

"It's not like we need to go to Dawnstar," she smiled wryly. Adventuring could certainly wait.

"Yeah. Alright. We can check in. Maybe the old man even has something more for us," Bishop nodded before his eyes fell back at the inn in front of them.

"In the morning though. If they're dead, they'll still be dead then."

…

Bishop and Aeyrin spent an uneventful night at the inn, only surrounded by a couple of patrons and an Orc with a split lip. The innkeeper did throw them a few curious looks and he did ask if they were going to 'behave themselves this time', but fortunately that was the extent of it.

In the morning, after breakfast, they changed their intended destination and headed west instead.

Their new goal was Sky Haven Temple, again, in order to see whether everyone in there was alright and whether the dragons didn't start to target the Blades.

It was probably not a big deal – Bishop was right. The temple was a veritable fortress, the Blades were all promising dragon-slayers and the odds of the dragons learning about the order were meager at best.

But still, the two of them had no pressing business to attend to, so it was a good idea to at least check.

They continued across the snowy regions of southern Pale with the intention of stopping at Morthal on their way for some rest.

But before they could reach the town as the sun was barely beginning to set again, their journey was interrupted once more. This time by someone very familiar.

The dark-haired courier met them half-way, running from the direction of Morthal towards them. He was already waving at them, trying to get their attention.

They promptly approached the man and, as he gave them a kind smile and nod, he pressed a letter into Aeyrin's hand without a needless word.

Or maybe he was too embarrassed to actually talk around them after their last encounter, when he snooped them out in that abandoned barn by Solitude, naked and hiding in hay.

Whatever the case, it was refreshing when he ran off practically immediately towards Morthal again. And without further ado, Aeyrin opened up the letter with curiosity. It didn't look like one of Master Therien's hefty envelopes and she had no idea who else could be writing to her, now that their missions for Karliah were over.

The handwriting was not one she recognized, but the contents drew her curiosity right away.

.

Dear lady Aeyrin,

I hope you are faring well. I wanted to personally thank you for the last message you have shared with our mutual acquaintance. I had been given the information, in the spirit of trust and friendship, and I found it very interesting indeed. So interesting that I have decided to meet with the people you mentioned in your message. They all sounded intriguing to say the least and I would enjoy speaking to them about their experiences and teachings. For this, I thought it would be prudent to meet somewhere where we can remain undisturbed. Such places are hard to come by in Skyrim, however, and for that reason, me and a few of my friends have decided to build a sanctuary of our own. We will be starting with the works soon. We are meeting in Kynesgrove on the 22nd of Evening Star. I would be infinitely grateful if you could join us and help with our endeavors. We can use all the help we can get building our new place of peace and a capable warrior such as yourself would be able to ensure our safety on the dangerous roads. Please, consider this and I hope I will see you at Kynesgrove.

With the Divines' blessings

Lord Brunwulf Free-Winter

.

Aeyrin stared at the letter for quite some time, trying to decipher the hidden meanings and subtle hints. She knew what Free-Winter was referring to, mostly. He had been working with Master Therien and Jora now on their dissident endeavors and the 'message' he was referring to was definitely the list of Talos worshippers that Bishop had stolen from the Thalmor bureau in Solitude.

So… Brunwulf wanted to… speak to these Talos worshippers? He wanted to build a… a sanctuary for them?

He wanted to hide them. From the Thalmor?

That was a good idea. Aeyrin had no clue what the conspiracy was hoping to do with the information about the Thalmor suspects – she hoped that they would warn those poor people about the Dominion's suspicions. But this was even better! A place for them, hidden from the Thalmor where they could seek refuge if they became 'suspect'.

This was exactly the kind of thing she always hoped that their endeavors would achieve – tangibly helping people who had been oppressed in their faith.

She really wanted to help with this. Even if she would just stand guard or try to… build something… even though she had no idea how. She wanted to help with this regardless.

But the twenty-second was already the day after tomorrow. If they had any hope of reaching Kynesgrove, they needed to change directions again after their rest. They couldn't make it to the Reach and back in time.

"What is it?" Bishop interrupted her ruminations. It was only now when she realized that he had no idea what the letter said.

"Oh… uhm… it's Free-Winter," she explained. "He wants to build some sanctuary for those people that were on the list. And maybe others too, I'm not sure. He wants help and he asked me to meet in Kynesgrove on the twenty-second."

"That's soon," Bishop nodded. He didn't even ask whether she wanted to go – he could already see that on her face. And of course she would want to be there for something like this. Though… what exactly would they be doing there? "So… we would be… building shit?"

"He mentioned protection, so I assume he's not bringing many capable fighters along. Maybe he doesn't want to risk random mercenaries knowing about the location?" Aeyrin wondered. It sounded plausible. "There might be some building involved too. I'm not sure. He's very vague… obviously," she sighed. She knew that it was a precaution, but still, she always hated communicating like this. She hated the guessing and the uncertainty.

"Hmm… we can't make it to Sky Haven and back in time," Bishop gave her a meaningful nod. She knew that.

"I know," she groaned. She really hoped to make sure that the Blades were alright, but she really didn't want to miss this. Not only did she want to help, she was also all too curious about all the plans and circumstances and hopefully she would be able to talk to Brunwulf freely for a change.

"Well… we can just send a letter to the Blades," Bishop shrugged. He saw how much she wanted to go to Kynesgrove and honestly, there was no harm in it. The Blades were fine. He was pretty sure that if there was an actual dragon, Erik alone would have already slaughtered it with his fervor and enthusiasm.

"Send a letter to the Sleeping Giant?" Aeyrin sighed. "It will take so long and what if the response only reaches us when we're… there, with Brunwulf? The location will likely need to be secret and the courier will find us even there."

"That's always a risk," Bishop noted, but the thought was more disturbing than anything. When they were in a city, the courier always left their letters at an inn, but out in the wilderness, he would just… go find them anywhere. Well… probably not anywhere. Hopefully he wouldn't be stupid enough to go inside dungeons. He must have had a system for shit like this. But Aeyrin had a point. Why even risk it? "The courier's in Morthal for sure. We might even catch up with him. Why don't we just give him a letter to get to Rorikstead to the inn? Erik said he comes there often. It will be waiting there for him. And we can ask him to address the return to Kynesgrove. In case the response doesn't beat us to Kynesgrove, we can always check there later."

That sounded like a pretty good plan. Aeyrin was more comfortable with sending the letter to Rorikstead. She hadn't used the Sleeping Giant 'contact route' for a while now and she wasn't sure if Delphine still checked there or had someone check there – whichever it was. She would have probably mentioned a change, but this was safer. They knew for certain that Erik was coming back to see his father at the Rorikstead inn. And having the response addressed to Kynesgrove would solve the other issue.

"Alright, that sounds good," she gave Bishop a wry smile. It was kind of sweet how he tried to find a solution for her. He could probably see how much she wanted to go to Kynesgrove.

"Good. Come on then, sweetness. Let's get some rest at least before we go back again." They had been just going back and forth across Skyrim, always pulled in another direction, but hopefully this was the last change of plans.

And at least they would always be sleeping somewhere without nightmares haunting their rest.

…

As they continued their trek towards Kynesgrove, already crossing the Eastmarch tundra, Bishop could not get certain lingering thoughts out of his head.

Maybe it was the whole 'building a sanctuary' thing that spurred on these ideas, but he had been wondering for a while when he would finally get a chance to do something about that damn cottage. He was planning on fixing it up and making it livable for them, but he wanted to do that without Aeyrin around.

That was an impossible goal.

But maybe not so impossible now.

This could be a good opportunity. Aeyrin was only supposed to be helping Free-Winter build and guard and it would probably take a while until they were done with whatever they were planning. She would be safe enough with such a mundane task and he could use the time to work on what he needed to work on by himself.

And it was the perfect time for other reasons. He actually had money for this shit now. He got plenty from Brynjolf, both for the errands and all the assistance to the Guild during the leadership changes, and he got even more for that Nightingale armor that Bishop wanted nothing to do with. They received some gold for the lost mine in the Rift too and also for that strange glowing red gem that they had found ages ago in a barrow – one of those that Vex had always been buying off for impressive sums. He actually had a comfortable amount of money now.

Definitely enough to move this thing along.

He was determined. This would be great. He could finally prepare a place for them to have on their own. Aeyrin was gonna be so surprised when he sprung this on her. He still couldn't stop imagining it.

And it wouldn't be too much work either if he got some help. He had just the people in mind. He was sure that they wouldn't mind another trip to escape the vultures in Whiterun.

There was only one issue with all of this.

How was he going to explain to Aeyrin that he wasn't going with her?

He had been thinking about valid excuses for a while. He had one. It was… not great. But maybe good enough. Hopefully good enough. If there was one person he was not that great at lying to, it was her. It had been a struggle even when it was her life that he was trying to protect with his lies, but something kind of trivial like this, it would be even worse.

But still, it was a surprise. He wanted it to be a surprise.

And he wanted to work on that cottage already. He couldn't wait to see how it would look. To imagine their life there again.

"Hey, sweetness," he started a little nervously and he quickly had to concentrate on the tone of his voice. He didn't want to sound nervous. He could sound worried though. That was valid for his excuse. "I've been… thinking."

"About what?" she looked at him curiously. She had been in a pleasant mood all day, albeit with some trepidation. They were making good time and they would surely make it to the meeting without any issues. She was excited and a little wary. But mostly excited.

"I… uh… you know how we talked about the whole business at that… bureau. And what Therien said in his letter," he sighed. He didn't want to make her paranoid about this shit, but he couldn't think of anything else.

"Uhm… yes," Aeyrin gave him a wary expression. "Why are you bringing it up? It's done."

"I know," he nodded. "But, look, Therien was right that the theft can't be linked to these priests and Free-Winter and everyone involved in this. We should take all precautions to prevent that, right?"

"Of course," Aeyrin nodded, but her brows were constantly creased as she tried to make sense of his vague talk. "So… what are you saying exactly?" she finally asked for clarifications.

"I'm saying…" he took a deep breath. He didn't exactly want to be away from her at all and he would be worried about her there, but he couldn't imagine a better opportunity anytime soon. "I'm saying that it might not be a good idea for me to come along."

"What?" her eyes went wide at him. "You don't want to come with me?"

"Of course I do, love," he gave her a reassuring smile. "But I'm trying to be careful here. It was fine because I'm not exactly linked to all… that, but…"

"But nobody saw you at the bureau," Aeyrin frowned. "Nobody knows you stole something there. Or… copied."

"The tin-head saw me," Bishop scowled in response. "Not inside, but… you know him. He could have told the Thalmor something, given them my description. If they get someone to talk, maybe a worker that will be there with you, they could give me out too and then the Thalmor might put two and two together. I know it's far-fetched but… more fucked up things have happened to us."

"No… you're… you're right," Aeyrin let out a sigh. She didn't want to go without him, but… he had a point. She didn't know who these people she was going to be protecting were and who they might talk to. And she didn't know if Casavir hadn't told anyone about Bishop's vicinity to the bureau that morning, even if nothing went missing. The safer they were about all this, the better. And even far-fetched eventualities could do with some precautions.

"It can't take that long, right?" she gave him a hopeful expression. This was ridiculous, they had spent months apart and survived just fine. Alright, maybe not 'just fine', but they survived. This was going to probably take like a week or two? She had no idea how long, but surely not too long. And she could actually leave and go find him in case she wanted to.

Yeah. This was going to be fine.

"I'm sure it won't, love. We'll be together so much you're gonna be sick of me soon enough again," Bishop chuckled at her.

Aeyrin snickered slightly as she stepped closer to him. She pressed herself against his chest and began idly toying with the seams of his armor. "I don't think that's possible," she murmured, more to herself than anything else.

Bishop gave her an affectionate smile and he leaned down to kiss her promptly. Fuck, that really made it hard to leave her.

"What will you do?" She looked at him curiously after a while. She had a feeling that she knew, but she still felt like asking.

"Nothing. Hunting probably. Like the old days, you know?" Bishop smiled at her wistfully, though he got worried after a spell that it sounded like he was looking forward to being away from her. He was definitely not. He pressed her into his embrace to make it clear and leaned down for another thorough kiss.

"Can I write to you?" she gave him a hopeful look. "I mean… I'm not sure if you'll be able to write back. I will let you know if there's a place nearby you can address it to, but… if not, can I at least write?"

"Sure, love," he smiled at her widely. That was a good idea. He could at least look forward to a letter or two from her in the meantime. And there was no reason to hide the cottage from that courier. Not that he could – it wasn't exactly a secret location.

He looked really content about that prospect before Aeyrin noticed a shift in his expression. He gave her a very familiar smirk and his voice promptly dropped a few tones lower. "I hope you're planning on making the letters… interesting."

She probably started to blush even before he said that, but now she really felt the heat on her cheeks. She didn't even have to think about what he had meant by that.

"Are you kidding?" she chuckled lightly. "I can barely talk to you like that and you want me to write… this stuff?" she bit her lower lip nervously. She couldn't. Especially not if she wouldn't get an answer. That was just a mortifying idea. She would be so embarrassed.

"Oh come on, princess," he chuckled at her. "You're gonna be surrounded by priests again, probably. What better way to remember that those familiar frustrations need an outlet?"

"Stop!" she whined. She really didn't think that she could write anything… dirty. And even if she brought herself to do it, she was sure it wouldn't be any good. It was probably going to just disappoint his expectations.

"Just think about it on your lonely nights there," Bishop grinned. He himself was definitely not looking forward to the lonely nights, but hopefully she would really consider this. Something like that could make those nights more bearable. And if not, well… the anticipation wasn't going to be bad either.

Aeyrin only mumbled something like 'we'll see' under her breath as she pressed her face into his chest shyly. She definitely wasn't excited about nights without him, but… this was probably for the best. He was always so careful, it was kind of reassuring. He was always looking out for any potential trouble. It was why she could feel so safe with him around. And even though that particular safety would be gone for a while now, it was all for the better.

"I'm gonna miss you," she sighed as she buried herself even more into his embrace.

"Me too, sweetness." Bishop rested his chin on top of her head. "Could you take Karnwyr with you? I know you can handle yourself, but… I'd feel better. We don't even know where exactly you're going and with who." Karnwyr could be running around the wilderness anywhere, whether it was near Bishop working on the cottage or near her working on that sanctuary.

"Aren't you gonna miss him on your hunts?" Aeyrin gave him a concerned look. He wasn't actually going to hunt, but she didn't know that.

"Yeah. I'm gonna miss you even more. But… I'd rather feel like you two are watching each other's backs out there." He stroked over her armored back gently. Karnwyr seemed to notice that he had been the focus of their conversation and he quickly started to circle their legs as if to become part of the hug.

He was going to watch out for her.

And they were all going to be together again soon.