Practice

When Aila woke that morning, Kathryn wasn't with her. That was perfectly alright. After all, she couldn't expect her to stay all night with her. There were many times where Kathryn was away when she woke. After dressing and cladding herself in armour, Aila went out to look for her. She found her in the Cistern, secluded in a corner table, scribing furiously over a piece of parchment. Aila saw her slam the quill onto the table then lean back in her chair, her hands reaching up to her face.

Smiling slightly at her frustration, Aila walked up behind her and placed her hands on Kathryn's shoulders, gently massaging them. "You look stressed."

"I suppose that's one way to put it." The agitation was clear in her voice.

"What are you working on?" Aila asked.

"I'm trying to copy this man's handwriting for a Numbers job. I just can't seem to get it right."

"Mind if I try?"

Kathryn stood from the chair and gestured with her hands. "Be my guest."

Aila seated herself and carefully studied the writing she was supposed to copy. She picked up the quill and started scribbling. "There. How's that?"

Aila heard Kathryn scoff. "Of course."

"Of course what?"

"Of course I have to practice for hours and still not get it right, and you get it perfectly on your first attempt."

"What are you getting angry for?"

"I'm not angry!" Kathryn took a deep breath and collected herself. But when she spoke again, her tone was no less condescending. "It's like you don't even have to try. Everything you do, you're already an expert in."

Aila stood from the chair, not quite sure what to say. Kathryn had never acted like this before. "Kat, you know that's not true. I suck at a ton of things."

"Name one."

"Magic! I can't so much as light a candle with magic."

At her words, Kathryn's eyes seemed to soften a bit. "Aila... You're right, I'm sorry. I don't know why I snapped like that."

"Neither do I. I was just trying to help."

"I know you were. I really am sorry."

Aila looked at her, still puzzling over what just happened. One moment, Kathryn was acting as if she resented her and the next she was filled with regret. Aila took a step closer to Kathryn and laid her head on her chest. "Just please don't do it again. I couldn't stand it if you were angry at me."

Kathryn wrapped her arms around Aila protectively. "I'm not angry at you."

The two stayed that way until they realized that they weren't in the most private of places. They uncoupled, looking around awkwardly, but no one seemed to have noticed the slightly intimate action, or if they did, they thought little of it. The entire Guild knew that Aila and Kathryn were good friends. None of them, however, knew just how good.

When Kathryn seated herself again, Aila took her hand. "I'm going to go see if Delvin or Vex have any jobs for me. I'll see you later, okay?"

"Okay."

Aila smiled slightly. "I love you."

For a moment, Aila thought Kathryn wasn't going to respond, but then she looked at her and smiled back. "And I love you."

"That was rash, Karsten. Too rash."

"I did what I had to do."

"Did you? You cannot will her to be stronger. Let her progress at her own pace."

"Her pace is too slow."

"Was it not you who told me to be patient? Was it not you who told me to wait?"

"I know what I said!" He turned to look at her, a featureless mask covering his face. "Every day, Alduin's strength grows. Damon traverses all of Skyrim, growing stronger with each enemy he faces. Meanwhile, Aila remains skulking in the shadow, conspiring with thieves and murderers. I can no longer wait for her."

The Woman sighed and crossed her arms. "'Drem' means patience. But it also means peace. You must calm down, Suleyk. You must..."

Her sentence was cut off when the Man seemingly disappeared for a short moment, reappearing in front of her with his hand to her throat. "Zu'u nid lingrahiik Suleyk! Dreh ni for zey naal tol tet!"

The Woman dropped her arms to her side, but otherwise, made no other movements. "Then why are you wearing that mask?"

The Man was silent. He lowered his hand and inhaled deeply, then exhaled, his mask fading from existence as he did so. "Krosis. I am sorry. But I stand by what I said. I realize speaking with her was reckless, but it had to be done. If she knows of her power, it will grow more quickly. Tiid los ni un grah-zeymahzin."

The Woman looked at him questioningly. "Time has always been on our side."

"No longer," The Man said sullenly.

Aila stomped off to the training room. She was finally about to begin her training with Brynjolf, and she was a little nervous. She went to Kathryn, hoping that seeing her would give her a boost of confidence, but instead, she only served to rile her up. Kathryn had started another argument similar to the one they had that morning. Aila wasn't even sure what they were arguing about. Whatever it was, Aila had left feeling irritated and angry.

Brynjolf was already waiting for her in the training room. When she entered the room, he tossed a sword to her. Aila caught it by the hilt, and it took a few seconds for her to process what happened. "Brynjolf! You can't just throw swords at people, it's dangerous!"

Brynjolf chuckled softly. "You caught it, didn't you? Besides, it wouldn't have hurt you, it's been blunted."

"Even so!"

Brynjolf started to laugh again, but then he seemed to notice the distressed look on Aila's face. "Something wrong, lass?"

"Hmm? Oh, it's nothing," Aila said dismissively.

"I'm not quite sure I believe you."

Aila let out a hesitant sigh. "Kathryn and I just had a little fight. It's fine, really."

"A fight?" Brynjolf said with a bit of incredulity. "I've never seen you two fight before. Is everything alright?"

"I said it's fine. Can we just get on with the training?"

Aila was afraid he was going to press the matter further but, to her relief, he simply said, "As you wish. Now, I've never trained anyone before, so I'm not completely sure what to do. But I suppose the first thing would be to test your strength. Try and attack me."

Aila didn't move, confused. "With just the sword?"

"Aye, what else?"

"No shield?"

"Lass, in our profession, shields tend to be little more than a hindrance."

"But Vilkas told me that it was imperative to never enter battle without a shield."

"And I'm sure this Vilkas is an accomplished warrior. But you have to remember..." Brynjolf raised his sword and brought it back down toward Aila. Aila raised her own blade in response, blocking the attack. "We're not warriors."

The training lasted the rest of the afternoon and well into the evening. Once Brynjolf had gauged Aila's strength, he began to show her different fighting styles. How to attack aggressively, passively, how to disarm others, how to properly parry and counter-attack, and various other moves. All this, however, was more of a presentation of what Brynjolf had to teach, rather than an attempt to drill the entire art of war into her head in one session.

That particular day they only practiced generic swordplay. As evening came to an end and the Sun was nearly set, Aila was sweating from exertion. Her arms and legs were tired, and felt as if she was about to drop, but she had insisted on continuing the training. She new that if she wanted to get stronger, she would have to work hard.

Brynjolf swung low, and Aila spun away, bringing her sword down and hitting him in the shoulder. Brynjolf let out a muffled grunt and back away a few steps. "Good, good," he said. "Again."

He swung from the left this time, and Aila raised her sword to block accordingly, but then he did something unexpected. He twisted his hand, causing Aila to lose her grip on her sword and it clattered to the ground. Then he grabbed Aila's hand and pulled her closer to him... and kissed her.

Aila's immediate reaction was to push him away. "I... wha... you..." she sputtered, in some level of disbelief.

"Sorry, lass. I couldn't help myself," said Brynjolf.

"I... you... What in Oblivion what that?!"

"A kiss. Don't you know what a kiss is?"

"But why?"

"Why not? You're a very beautiful woman. I'd be a fool not to want you."

"Want... me? No, no, Brynjolf, you can't want me, and you can't kiss me!" For a moment, Aila thought she saw a deep sadness in his eyes.

"You don't feel the same," Brynjolf said. It wasn't a question.

"Brynjolf..." She would have to be careful with her words. "I... I'm already in a relationship."

"What? With who?"

"I... can't say."

"Is it Delvin? He's too old for you, Aila."

"No, it's not Delvin, but.."

"Then who? Rune? Cynric?"

"No, Brynjolf, please just..."

"Niruin, then? Of course, an elf."

"No, just listen to me, Bryn..."

"Then who is it, Aila?"

"It's none of your damn business!" screamed Aila. She tromped out of the training room and headed to her room, ignoring the protests of Bryjolf behind her. She slammed the door close and fell onto her bed. Her mind couldn't process it. Brynjolf wanted her. That wasn't supposed to happen. No one was supposed to want her except for Kathryn. And Aila could never be with him. Compared to Kathryn, everyone else was just... cold.

As if on cue, there came a soft knock at her door, and Kathryn walked in. The look on her face was a strange mix of concern and irritation. "Aila?" she said. "I saw you run out of the training room. Did something happen?"

"Just please don't freak out."

"Why would I freak out? What happened?"

"Brynjolf kissed me."

"What?!"

"It was so sudden," Aila said. "One moment we were practicing swordplay, and the next, he was kissing me. I don't know how it happened."

"How do you not know how it happened? Someone doesn't kiss you without you noticing!"

"I wasn't expecting it. I was focusing on fighting him and then he just kissed me!"

Kathryn muttered something under her breath, but Aila heard it nonetheless. "You probably kissed him back."

Aila felt tears begin to well up in her eyes. "How could you say that?"

Kathryn looked at her.

"After all we've been through together, you think I would betray you like that?"

"Aila... No, no, I didn't mean that, I know you wouldn't." She sat down on the bed next to Aila and wrapped her arms around her. "I'm sorry, I don't know why I said that."

"What is with you?" Aila asked. "You've been acting strange all day."

Kathryn shook her head. "I don't know. I can't sit still, and I feel on edge, like something is about to jump out and attack me. I haven't felt like this since the last time..." she stopped suddenly, She let go of Aila and made her way over to the mirror and looked into it. "Aila, what day is it?"

"Middas."

"Date, what's the date?"

"Um... sixteenth of Rain's Hand. Why?"

Kathryn moaned in despair. "How could I have forgotten?"

"Forgotten what? Kat, what's wrong?"

"I need to go."

"Go where? Why?"

"I just need to get..." Kathryn cried out suddenly. She clutched her chest with her hand as if it pained her.

"Kathryn! What's happening?"

She didn't answer her and dashed out the door. Aila chased after her. She made it to the Cistern where she saw her climbing the ladder of the secret entrance. Aila followed her up and into the city. Night had fallen. Aila called out to her, but Kathryn didn't answer. She followed her out the gate where she lost sight of her. "Excuse me," Aila said to the guard by the gate. "Did you see where that woman went?"

"Aye, she ran off into the woods," he said, pointing.

Aila thanked him and continued her pursuit. Why did Kathryn run off like that? It didn't make any sense. Then she looked up. The moons were full. Both of them. "Oh no..."

Aila heard a howl off in the distance.