"So she's a magical recreation of me formed from Coldharbour's splintering of your soul?" Mirri asked, shoving aside the mug she was drinking. They were at the open bar in Mistral of Khenarthi's Roost, and it was evening.
Nalice shook her head. "I don't have my soul, so that's not quite true." Mirri furrowed her brow, leaning over the table to peer at Nalice. She reached out and took Nalice's hands in her own.
"Feel solid enough to me." She said, squeezing their hands together.
"I guess it has something to do with the magic of Coldharbour, mixed with the aetherial binding of a skyshard.. Though I didn't actually manage to attune to one.."
"I did that for her." Prism chipped in, leaning on a pillar nearby. Mirri scowled at her, still unused to this.. Clone of her. "Felt like.. Filling myself with something. The Prophet said you'd regain your physical form by doin so.. Maybe that's why I survived? I got a physical form out of it?"
"You also haven't changed based on me since we woke up here." Nalice noted, interlocking her fingers with Mirri's. "I think you're your own individual now, though I don't particularly want to test breaking the connection between us."
Mirri cut in. "So you're both just solid remnants of.. What then? What's left after a soul? I buried your body, don't tell me you're that." Her face twisted in pain at the memory.
Nalice grimaced. "I'm sorry.. That you had to do that." She said quietly. "But I think we're the remnants of my consciousness, if anything. Prism is the part of me that couldn't imagine existing without you beside me."
Mirri's face darkened into a blush and she fell silent, looking down at the table. Her fingers squeezed Nalice's firmly. Prism walked over and draped an arm over Nalice's back, leaning into her before speaking.
"Well, now you can't imagine living without either of us, I hope." She said. "I'm the Prism of your heart, remember?" She smirked jealously at Mirri, who looked affronted and disconnected her hands from Nalice, who was doing nothing to move Prism off her, instead looking guilty.
"What's all this then?" She challenged, furiously. Prism leaned down and wrapped her arms around Nalice's neck and shoulders, squeeze-hugging her from behind. Nalice reached up and patted Prism's arms, offering a terse squeeze back.
"Well, er.. She IS the representation of my feelings.. It's only natural that I feel the same way for her that I do for you..?" Nalice suggested awkwardly.
"I did NOT sign up for this." Mirri said adamantly, getting up and walking off in a huff. Nalice sighed and leaned into Prism, resting their cheeks together.
"She's going to take some convincing." Prism said. "But don't worry. You'll always have me."
"Is that a promise?"
"That's a solemn oath, f'lah. I swear by Mara I'll always be by your side." Prism seemed to almost glow, her moon-sugar white skin looking beautiful in the moonlit air. Nalice smiled, and reached for Prism's head, turning it gently so they could kiss.
Prism hummed happily and was eager to push into the kiss, but Nalice broke it after a few moments, self-conscious of such public affection and feeling guilty about her actions in regard to Mirri. It wasn't.. Really betrayal, she felt. It was confirmation. Or was it?
—
As Mirri, Nalice, Prism, Sergeant Firion and Razum'dar leapt from the cliff's edge, the storm atronach that the Sea Vipers had been empowering with their daedric ritual released its energy with a massive explosion of aetherial boom, blasting them far more forward than they had intended and lighting up the sky with electric fireworks.
Five bodies crashed into the seawater and crawled out onto the shore and docks to the cheers and hoots of the celebrating crowd that had gathered. Mistral's finest were there, as were the researchers who'd been studying the Mourning Stone and a small battalion of Dominion marines.
"Razum'dar admits, he does not often get to end a mission so dramatically." The cat said, cleaning himself off as the four women pulled themselves up off the sand.
"It should feel like we won, shouldn't it?" Firion said sadly, looking over the beach full of corpses- Sea Viper and inhabitants of the island alike.
Nalice put a hand on Firion's shoulder. "We did win, and for the people who survived, it does feel like victory." She assured her. The bosmer smiled, patting Nalice's hand.
A white arm slid around Nalice's shoulders and pulled her back into an embrace. She looked back to see Prism beaming at her, about to speak when Mirri made a loud huffing noise and stomped off through the sands. Cringing, both Prism and Nalice watched her go as Firion stared in confusion and Razum'dar wandered off to check in with the Dominion soldiers.
Nalice felt dark inside, as if a light had gone out. Her heart sank, as if her hurt had a gravity. She stammered for a moment, and felt warmth enter her again from Prism's embrace tightening on her. The avatar of her feelings leaned in and whispered quietly,
"Go after her, tiger. Tell her what she means to you. I'll be here." With that, Prism gently pushed Nalice in the direction Mirri had gone. Nalice stumbled after Mirri's footsteps in the sand.
She found the dunmer's footsteps led to a boat laying on its side. In the shadows of the boat's half-turned inners Mirri was leaning against a bench turned pillar, staring at the waves. Mirri's eyes flicked to Nalice as she walked beside her, folding her arms and looking at the sand between them.
"Well?" Mirri asked, a sharp tone to her voice. "I assume you didn't follow me to shuffle your feet, f'lah."
"I don't really know the words.. I want to say." Nalice admitted. "So I'll just say what I feel. I care about you, Mirri. So, so much. Knowing I've hurt you, hurts me. I never meant to upset you."
Mirri sighed, brushing an errant lock of hair out of her own face. "You know what you're asking of me, right? I feel like I have to compete with- with myself. Only it's me with all your favorite bits made better. How do you imagine I feel?"
"Replaced." Nalice said honestly. "I think you feel replaced." Mirri didn't say anything, just bit her lower lip and nodded. "You're not, though. You're really- really not. Prism, she's- she's new. She's different. She doesn't take up- okay, that might be a lie. She overlaps a lot with how I feel for you, for sure. But you hold the spot. I swear by Vivec you're the ser in my heart."
Her dear companion blushed deeply, a red overtaking her dark skin. She unfolded her arms and turned to face Nalice, still biting her lower lip before speaking. "Well… okay, I can't stay mad at you when you're talking like that. I still don't know how I feel about all this, but.. I believe you."
Nalice felt a great weight lift off her shoulders and heart, and smiled genuinely and widely at Mirri. "I am sorry for all this. I promise you we'll find a way forward." She said resolutely.
"We'd better, sera." Mirri warned her without any real force, and stepped forward to slid her arms underneath Nalice's, pulling her into a deep hug with her head resting on Nalice's shoulders.
They stayed that way for a few minutes, until pulling apart and stroking each other's cheeks gently. Then Mirri slipped her hand into Nalice's and pulled her from the boat, leading them both back towards the group assembled on the beach.
Prism waved to the two as they approached.
"Hey, good news! Firion's agreed to join us!" Prism called out.
"Wait, what?" The dunmer said in unison.