Broken Boats

Kathryn stopped in her tacks, forcing Aila at to stop as well. Aila looked at her, searching for what made her stop, and finding nothing.

"Kat?"

"Aila…" Kathryn began slowly. "Tell me again why we're doing this? I could've sworn we promised ourselves not to get caught up in any more mishaps."

"Well…" Aila started. They did promise that, didn't they? "It's not entirely unrelated. I mean, those Argonians promised us information on Gulum-Ei, remember?"

Kathryn only stared harder at her. "That still doesn't explain why we're walking into an almost certain trap."

Aila blinked once and turned away, feeling the once-familiar sensation of blood rushing to her cheeks, and muttered something unintelligible under her breath.

"Aila, just because I can hear your mumbling doesn't mean I can understand it," Kathryn told her.

Aila groaned, throwing her hands dramatically up into the air. "Fine! I'm bored, okay? If they betray us I can kick their asses without feeling guilty."

It was true. Ever since she'd finally gotten a good night's sleep the other night, she'd been positively thrumming with energy. She wanted to do something, and it was why she hadn't protested when and Argonian who she'd frankly forgotten the name of (Rajeera, or something like that) propositioned her with what was almost certainly a set up. Oh, it wasn't obvious at first, putting out a lighthouse fire to crash a boat was simple enough, but when he sent the two to go and collect the loot, alarm bells started ringing. Why in Oblivion would he need them two when he himself admitted that he had a veritable army of bandits at his beck and call? They had done their part, all that was left was to be paid (both in gold and information). But Aila swallowed her complaints and set out with Kathryn to the crash site. All because she was bored.

She supposed she should be far more worried than she was, but she just couldn't bring herself to care. She was used to fighting dragons after all, she hardly found a gaggle of some wannabe marauders all that frightening.

Kathryn gave her an exasperated sigh. "Of course that's your reason." She lifted her hand up and palmed her forehead. "I swear, sometimes I miss the times when you could barely speak without stumbling over your words."

Aila snorted. "No, you don't."

Kathryn looked at her, a decidedly fond expression on her face. "No, not really." She shook her head after a moment and started walking again, Aila falling in step with her. "Right, then. So how exactly are we going to do this? I can't imagine we'll just wait for them to surround us before either of us make a move."

"Well," Aila began awkwardly, "I was kinda, sorta, planning on maybe doing exactly that?"

The look Kathryn gave her could be described as, among other things, pained. "Aila, for the love of all that is sacred, please tell me you are joking."

"Oh come on, Kathryn! Imagine the looks on their faces, all cocky and arrogant, then bam! We kick their collective asses and they're left disoriented and confused, wondering what in Oblivion just happened. It'll be hilarious."

"And how exactly do you plan on doing all that without getting us killed?" Kathryn drolled out.

AIla hummed in thought. She had a couple ideas about that, actually, but she wasn't too sure Kathryn would take to them. "Well," she began slowly. "You've been getting better at transforming quickly, right?"

"Yeah, so?" Then her eyes widened. "You're saying I should…" She trailed off, not able to finish.

"It'll certainly damage moral, if nothing else."

Kathryn was quiet for a moment, and Aila glanced at her, worried she had offended her, but she simply seemed to be deep in thought.

"I've never done that before." She said eventually, quietly. "Not on people."

"You don't have to." Aila stated softly. "It was just a suggestion."

Kathryn shook her head. "It's not that, not exactly. Sort of the opposite."

Aila furrowed her brow, puzzled, but remained silent as she waited for her to elaborate.

"The idea sort of excites me, honestly. I've never hunted anything other than, well, traditional prey, deer and elk and the like. Humans are much more… challenging." Her face twisted into a grimace. "But that's exactly the problem. Humans aren't like other animals. I shouldn't think of them like game. It worries me that I do…" she ended softly.

Aila was silent. She had no words for Kathryn, no idea how to comfort her. Because she hadn't even given a second thought to the lives of their would-be betrayers. If anything she thought similarly, that the most they would amount to was a decent challenge for her, the only difference was that such thoughts didn't bother her. She knew that they should, that they had in the past even, but no longer. In fact, now that she thought of it, the only worries came from how Kathryn would react if she brought it up.

"Well," she tried hesitantly. "It's not like these people wouldn't deserve it. They are bandits, after all." She paused. "Though I guess we're not exactly much better."

"Yes, but there's a difference between bullying folks out of their money and slaughtering the masses for fun. There has to be a line, right? How far it too far?"

Aila wasn't quite certain how this impromptu philosophical debate came about, but she wasn't one to dismiss Kathryn's concerns, ever, so she thought for an answer. How far was too far? How far would she be willing to go? For herself? For Kathryn?

The answer came quickly, and without resistance.

"I think, in the end," Aila stated after a short pause. "That it really doesn't matter. Yes, there's no reason to advertise violence, but this world brutal enough as it is, we may as well enjoy it. It's us against them and, Kathryn, I honestly don't care what happens to those bandits, or any other we may fight in the future. Live or die. They aren't you. You're all that matters to me." She looked to Kathryn, stared deeply into her silver eyes. "And there is not a single thing in this world I would not do for you."

Kathryn stared back searchingly for several long moments, though what she was searching for she did not know. "I wonder," she said eventually, "exactly just how true that is."

It wasn't a statement of doubt, rather she said it with a strange sort of conviction that puzzled Aila, but she was forced to let it go as they neared their destination.

The cargo ship had crashed onto the shoreline, along with a few row boats, presumably to move the cargo, but the veritable swarm of bandits crawling around seemed excessive. Sure a few were needed to… 'remove' the occupants, and then a few more to carry the loot, but this many was simply ridiculous. It was almost flattering really, that they thought they would need so many men to take out the two of them. It wouldn't be enough, but still.

"Well," Aila said, watching the scene from a distance, hidden behind the trees. "That looks welcoming."

Kathryn rolled her eyes but otherwise ignored the comment. "Are all those men really just to take out the two of us?"

Aila hummed thoughtfully. "Maybe they heard about how we took down that dragon. Didn't want to take any chances."

Kathryn murmured an agreement before turning to Aila. "So, now that you've seen how many there are, you've decided to go with Plan B, right?"

"Plan A could still work!" Aila squaked indignantly.

Kathryn said nothing, simply raised a brow, turned to the men, then back to her.

Aila sighed in defeat. "Oh, fine. Plan B." A beat of silence passed and she asked. "What is Plan B?" She still thought they could take them, but if it made Kathryn happy…

Kathryn studied the ship for a moment before replying. "I don't see Deeja anywhere. She must be below deck."

"I thought her name was Rajeera."

Kathryn tossed her an exasperated look. "Jaree-ra, Aila. And that was the brother. Honestly, have you been paying any attention at all?"

"Nah, I was too busy watching your cute little tush."

"Oh, for the love of-" Kathryn cut herself off, choosing instead to express her frustration by slamming her forehead into the nearest tree while Aila cackled on in the background.

Eventually though, Aila calmed, her expression turning somewhat serious as she gazed at the bandit-infested crash-site, mulling over the options in her head. The safest one would be to simply turn around and head back to Solitude and attempt to find another lead on Gulum-Ei. But that sounded so dreadfully dull, so she tried to think of something else.

It was painfully obvious that this whole thing was a trap, so they could ambush the ambushers. They were still hidden after all, and Aila could probably pick off a majority of them with her bow before they even reached the two of them, and that was without Kathryn aiming for the rest with her magic. Although it would make good target practice, it wasn't exactly all that exciting, not to mention it wouldn't even get them their info in Gulum-Ei.

Actually, now that she thought about it, Plan A legitimately seemed like the best way to both get the information they needed and get out alive.

"I still say we go with Plan A."

Kathryn turned glare at her and opened her mouth to respond, but Aila beat her to it.

"No wait, hear me out. We still need the info on Gulum-Ei, if we go in there swords aswinging it's just going to make it all the more difficult to get what we need. But they're bandits. Bandits love to gloat, right? I can go in there and meet up with the Deeja girl and while she's all cocky and confident I'll try to extract his location. Then once I got what I need you can wolf out, causing mass chaos and confusion and we can escape. Piece of cake."

Kathryn's glare didn't let up, worrying Aila slightly, but after a moment she let out a long-suffering sigh. "Why is it that all of your best plans are also the ones that are stupidly dangerous?"

Aila just grinned wickedly at her. "It wouldn't be any fun otherwise."

She shook her head. "Right. Well, how will I know when to-" she grimaced briefly. "-wolf out."

"Oh, that's easy," Aila answered happily, eager to get started. "I'll just give you a signal."

"A signal? What sort of- Aila!" Kathryn exclaimed in surprise when Aila suddenly jumped out from behind their cover and began running toward the crash-site. "What signal?!" she whisper-yelled.

"You'll know it when you see it!" Aila called back, ignoring Kathryn's cursing in response. She truthfully didn't have anything in mind, but she was confident she would think of something.

The bandits noticed her rather quickly, hard not to when she was sprinting right toward them. She slowed as she neared and one particularly big fellow with stupid face and a greatsword rested against his shoulder approached her. "Hey there, little missy!" he called out to her. "You lost?"

Aila resisted the urge to roll her eyes and bit back a sarcastic remark. It wouldn't do to offend her hosts. Not just yet, anyways. "No. I'm Kori. Here to see Deeja."

The bandit studied her closely (well, more liked leered) for a moment and nodded his head. "Right, right. Where's yer lady friend, huh? Heard she had some freakish-lookin' eyes. Wanted to see for myself."

Aila froze in place, her gaze becoming razor-sharp. She watched impassively as he paled considerably and swallowed nervously while she struggled not to rip his throat out. It was harder than she thought it would be, to convince herself to let it go, for now, and she had to remind herself several times that she was doing this for a reason. Several long moments passed until Aila thought she could speak without killing him. "Where is Deeja, sahlo?" she spit out.

"I-i-inside the s-ship, in the cargo b-bay. She's w-waitin' for you." came his stuttered reply.

Aila didn't bother to respond and brushed past him, taking extra care not to impale him just yet.

She passed by several marauders on her way down to the cargo bay, each one glaring or leering annoyingly at her. She ignored them, but with each one she passed her ire grew. When she finally reached to door to the cargo bay she paused, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath to try and reign in her temper. She was trying to coax the information out of them, and she couldn't do that if all she could think about was snapping their collective necks. She concentrated on the burning anger within her, smothering it until it was no more than a dull ember. She opened her eyes to see a nearby bandit, presumably guarding the door, looking at her strangely, but she deftly ignored him and pushed the door open.

There wasn't much to see on the other side. Five bandits, including Deeja, and a distinct lack of cargo. "Well?" Aila announced her presence as she stepped into the cargo bay, not that she needed to. She pretended not to notice the door closing behind her, or the click of the lock. "Where's the loot?"

Deeja grinned toothily at her as the four other bandits not-so-subtly attempted to surround her. "Ah, Kori, was it? I'm afraid there's been a change of plans."

Aila stared blankly at the Argonian while taking careful note of everyone in her peripherals. I suppose I should play dumb, shouldn't I? "What do you mean? Payment was supposed to be upon arrival."

"We lied, you stupid girl! I can't believe someone from the Guild was dumb enough to fall for our trap!"

Alia almost raised a brow, but refrained in favour of keeping her face expressionless. How did she know that?

But her next words answered her unspoken question.

"When Jaree-ra told us there were some strangers looking for Gulum-Ei, I knew his work with the Guild had finally come back to bite his tail." Her grin sharpened as she bared her fangs menacingly. Aila didn't react. "But I guess rumours of the Guild's influence weakening are true then, if all they send is a little girl like you. At least your partner had a frightening air about her. Where is she by the way?"

"Nearby," Aila replied.

Deeja's grin faded slightly at her lackluster response, but it soon returned full-force. "No matter. We'll find her soon enough."

"And then what?" Aila couldn't help but ask.

Deeja seemed falter at her question. "What?"

"Let's say you do catch her," Aila elaborated. "Then what will you do? Kill her? Us?" Her rage spike at the mere thought of someone hurting Kathryn and her hand twitched involuntarily toward her dagger, but she forcibly kept her body still.

Meanwhile, Deeja seemed rather (unreasonably, in Aila's opinion) confused. "Of course!" Then she flashed her teeth in what was probably misplaced amusement. "Or were you hoping you could talk your way out of it? Sorry girl, but we're-"

"Fine, then," Aila interjected, angering the Argonian quite a bit, but Aila didn't exactly care. "You kill us. Then, say, a month goes by. The two sent to investigate an associate who's been actively conspiring against the Guild don't return, and management starts to grow worried. So they send a couple more. What will you do then? Kill them as well?" Deeja began to speak but Aila soldiered on. "Let's say you do. Now the Guild knows something's wrong. Sothey'll send even more, stronger members." Aila had no idea if that's actually what would happen, she doubted Mercer would even really care, but Deeja didn't need to know that. "Tell me, what exactly makes you think you can stand up the the entirety of the Thieves' Guild?"

Deeja sputtered for longer than was probably appropriate as some of the surrounding bandits exchanged vaguely uncomfortable looks. Finally, she angrily spat out, "It doesn't matter! We have an army back at the Grotto! Your Guild can't reach us!"

And now we're getting somewhere, Aila thought to herself. "And yet we're thieves. Known for sneaking into places they shouldn't, you know."

"Enough!" Deeja shouted, and for a moment Aila thought she took it too far, but then she commanded the bandits. "Grab her!"

There was a flurry of movement and it took every ounce of willpower Aila had to not retaliate as a bandit on each side of her grabbed a shoulder and forced her to her knees. The only sign of her discomfort was the silent snarl at her lips.

She watched as impassively as she could as Deeja pulled out a dagger and approached her. "You know, I was going to just leave the dirty work to the grunts, but now I'm going to take special pleasure in gutting you myself."

"Why do you care so much, anyway?" Aila asked. The question wasn't part of her little ploy, she was genuinely curious. "Aren't you bandits all about stabbing each other in the back?"

Deeja brandished her dagger in an attempt to appear menacing. "Jaree-Ra and Gulum-Ei are my hatch-siblings. Of course I wouldn't betray them."

Ah. Family. The concept was more or less lost on Aila, she had no family. Only Kathryn. "So what, you'll just stow away in your little hidey-hole until the Guild snuffs you out? Who knows, maybe they won't even bother and just hire the Dark Brotherhood to do it for them."

The Argonian let out a derisive laugh. "They won't find us. The entrance isn't even visible in high tide."

Aila blinked. That actually narrowed the search area considerably. It had to be somewhere along the coast for the tide to be a factor, not to mention the row boats surrounding the ship and they had to come from somewhere… If the entrance was small enough to be enveloped by the tide, it was probably too small to fit a boat through, so they would have to just leave them by the entrance, or hide them nearby at least. In other words, follow the coast until you find some boats and there'll be the hideout.

Aila blinked again. That was really easy.

Deeja seemed to take her incredulous silence as submission and started ranting. "What, nothing to say? No more questions or hypothetical scenarios? I see you've finally realized the position you're in."

"You truly are an idiot," Aila stated.

"You… What?" Deeja seemed flummoxed by her statement.

"Honestly. I'm surprised you even know a big word like 'hypothetical.'"

A violent growl tore through the Argonian. "That's it! You die, now!" The dagger in her hand flashed forward, straight for her throat, but Aila had already taken a breath.

"FEIM!"

Her body faded, and the two bandits holding her stumbled and Deeja's eyes widened as she clumsily aborted her thrust. Aila twisted around them all, unimpeded by such a petty thing as collison, and placed herself behind Deeja. She drew a ghostly dagger, bringing it to the Argonian's neck and spoke.

"This is why you never cross a dragon."

It was the first time she had spoken while like this, it came out strange and warbled (like a ghost, she thought) but she ignored it and willed herself the return to corporeality, immediately slicing open Deeja's neck in one, smooth motion.

The four marauders watched in stunned silence as the Argonian clutched her throat, gurgling helplessly as she fell to the floor, her life quickly fading away. One brave soul dared to speak up.

"Y-you killed the boss…"

His statement of the obvious seemed to spur the others on.

"Kill her!" another shouted.

The point of a sword suddenly thrust toward her, aiming to pierce her stomach and Aila easily side-stepped, only to come face to face with the business end of an axe. She twisted backward on instinct, the axe flying harmlessly over her head. Another sword and a mace were soon introduced as well, but no matter how well they coordinated (which wasn't much), Aila deftly avoided harm. They were all just so slow. And she wasn't even using Su.

I wonder if Kathryn heard my Shout? Aila wondered. She muttered the Word, "Laas," as she used her dagger to parry an incoming sword strike and took a quick glance around. A multitude of flickering blue lights clouded her vision, so much so that nearly missed the mace swinging for her kneecaps (not a bad plan, trying to stop my movements) but the one lovely golden figure just off in the distance sat unmoving. I guess not. Maybe I'll just try it again, louder.

She sucked in as much air as she could and the bandits suddenly halted their attacks and backed off, which, to be fair, was probably the best course of action considering what happened the last time she took a deep breath, but Aila didn't have a Word in mind this time. There wasn't was much thought to how she would do it, somehow she just knew. Raw power flared within her body, burning through her veins, filling every fiber of her being until she felt she would burst, and then she released it all in a single, thunderous roar.

The effect was far more physical than she anticipated. She meant to simply signal Kathryn, but it seemed to effectively put an end to her current battle as well. The force of her shout seemed to rock the ship in its entirety, the ground beneath her jolted enough to cause her to stumble slightly, while her opponents were thrown violently backward to every corner of the room, impacting the walls harshly. Her breath was surprisingly short as she surveyed the damage. She hadn't expected that to take so much out of her.

One's life-light flickered out instantly, Aila guessed he had broken his neck, and two others simply slumped to ground unconscious. The final bandit was slowly staggering to her feet as she looked at Aila with wide eyes. "What in Oblivion are you?" she asked, her voice laced with fear.

Aila finally caught her breath and stood a little straighter, smiling disarmingly at the bandit. "Don't ask stupid questions." Her hand twirled outward and her dagger flashed across the space between them, jutting itself into the bandit's chest, right where her heart was.

Just then the door burst open.

"Boss! Boss! You heard that, right? You felt that, ri-" The bandit guarding the door cut himself off abruptly as he took in what he was seeing. Five bodies, all on the floor and unmoving, including the boss, blood pooling around her head, and one tiny, little woman, barely reaching his chest, standing in the middle of it, a small smile at her lips.

He was probably the smartest one of them all, for the first thing he did was turn tail and run.

Aila chuckled lightly to herself. It was the first time anyone had ever taken her for what she was, and she couldn't help but feel a little proud. She moved to retrieve her dagger, and just as she pulled it free from the bandit's corpse, a second roar pierced the air. It was nowhere near the level of the first, but still indicative of something very large and ferocious. Looks like Kathryn heard that one. Just to be certain, she looked upward toward the deck and, sure enough, her shimmering golden form, much larger than before, was darting back and forth between the numerous blue life-lights. "Better get up there," she muttered to herself.

Of course, the moment she stepped out of the cargo bay, she was assaulted by two separate bandits. "Whoops," she said, almost casually side-stepping the greatsword swinging overhead (which then firmly planted itself into the wooden floor. A poor choice of weapon in this tight space.) and ducking under a sword swing aiming to take her head off. The brute with the greatsword was stupidly trying to unstuck his weapon instead of tackling her or something, so she focused on the smaller one. As she dodged his next swing she thrust her dagger into his wrist, and he cried out in pain, dropping the sword. Aila caught it by the handle mid-air and quickly followed up with a wide swing in front of her, cutting a deep gash diagonally across the bandit's torso. He fell to the ground motionless, and his life-light flickered out a second later.

"Falkir! No! Damn you!"

He really was a dumb one. He was still struggling with his greatsword, leaving himself utterly defenceless. She honestly considered letting him finish, but she doubted he would amount to much, even with his weapon. So she took a quick step forward and plunged her newly acquired sword into his chest. She didn't expect him to grab the blade, of all things. He was strong, the ripping muscles on his arms were proof enough of that, but he was holding a blade, so Aila simply twisted it, tearing up his hand, and pushed. The blade sunk into his chest like knife through butter.

She pulled the sword free, giving it a quick swing to shake off any excess blood. She looked toward the way out, watching for a moment as several of the life-lights ran out toward the deck, likely to find out what second roar was. That, or they were simply trying to get away from the first. Either way, Kathryn would soon be overwhelmed by bandits, and while she trusted her to hold her own, she'd rather not leave it to chance.

"Su."

With a quick Word, Aila took off, bounding across the hallways and corridors, quickly making her way to the deck. It only took a moment before she ran into another pair of bandits, but before they could even turn her way she swung both her dagger and her stolen sword, and with a flash of silver and red they fell to the ground and she continued on her way. The same proved true for every other bandit she came across, and in no time at all, she reached the exit and quickly proceeded to pull open the door and jump out onto the deck, ready to assist Kathryn.

Just as she emerged, something came flying at her, and it took a moment for Aila to realize it was a person. "Whoa!" she exclaimed, throwing herself to the floor as the body sailed overhead. Wondering what in the world had sent someone flying like that, Aila looked up only to see Kathryn, in all her wolven glory. She was standing on her hind legs, towering over the rest of them. Blood matted her fur, noticeably concentrated around her claws, one of which was tightly grasping… another bandit. She held him by his head while he dangled limply, his life-light flickered faintly, dangerously close to being extinguished. Kathryn's teeth were bare in a fierce snarl, though only for a second as she seemed to suddenly recognize Aila and ceased growling, giving her what seemed to be an apologetic look.

Aila blinked. Kathryn threw a bandit at her.

A few of the bandits decided to take advantage of the momentary lapse in action and charged for Kathryn. It proved fruitless, however, for Kathryn saw them coming and let out a ferocious roar and effortlessly tossed the bandit in her grasp at them, colliding with two of them and sending them sprawling across the floor. The third raised a warhammer over his head and prepared to bring it down on Kathryn's skull, but she simply swiped her claws upward with a growl, cutting several large gashes across his torso while simultaneously sending him flying across the deck as blood sprayed into the air.

Aila watched the whole thing with awe. A wide grin began to spread across her face as she jumped up to her feet, and she couldn't help but let loose an exuberant laugh. She faced the nearest bandit, a Redguard aiming a bow at Kathryn, and closed the distance between them in a step before running her through the back with her sword. Several of the surrounding bandits turned to her as she pulled her sword free of the newly-made corpse and charged at her, shouting various vulgarities, but most had their attention locked on Kathryn rampaging across the deck.

She blocked the first bandit's swing with her blade and quickly kicked him away, ducking under a mace that came rushing toward her head. Before the mace-wielder completed his swing, she reached up and grabbed him by the wrist and pulled him around, throwing him into the first bandit. As the two attempted to right themselves, a third Marauder came charging at her with shout, greatsword extended outward, likely trying to impale her. She side-stepped easily, and with a careful shove as he passed her, his momentum carried him into the first two, and the three of them tumbled onto the ground.

She took a short moment to watch in amusement as they stumbled over themselves while attempting to stand before taking a deep breath.

"Yol!"

A torrent of flames erupted from Aila and enveloped the tangled mass of limbs and flesh. A canopy of painful shrieked filled the air a second later. Aila made a face at the noise, but otherwise ignored it and turned the address the next battle. The only bandit paying attention to her was simply staring at her with wide, fearful eyes. When he saw she noticed her he brought his sword to the ready position, but his hands were shaking considerably and he seemed to only barely be able to hang on to his sword.

A predatory grin stretched across Aila's face as she approached him slowly, casually twirling the sword in her hand, making him audibly gulp in fear. She was going to simply end him the moment he made his move, but just then something behind him caught her eye. Another bandit, bow in hand, arrow nocked. Aiming for Kathryn. Aila glanced her way, but she was busy tearing someone's throat out and didn't notice him.

He fired. The arrow pierced the thick hide of Kathryn's back. She didn't even notice.

But if there was one thing you should never, ever do, it was threaten Kathryn in any way shape or form while in Aila's presence. Or even while out of it. With an animalistic growl, her hand blurred and the dagger that was in her grasp only a moment ago was now buried deep the throat of the bowman, passing just by the frightened bandit on it's way. He shakily reached up and touched his ear, and when his hand came back bloody Aila realized she must have accidentally cut open his ear when she threw the dagger. He stared at the blood on his fingers for a moment, then looked back up at Aila. The sword slipped from his grasp as he turned and started running.

Aila snorted disdainfully. "Nikriin." Instead of bothering to chase after him, she turned to face the rest of the bandits. There weren't many left. Two more had their bows out and were taking aim at Kathryn, but Aila took out her own bow and quickly put and end to that. After that, all that was left were the three fighting Kathryn. Aila wanted to put an arrow in each of them and end it, but she decided it would be better if she simply watched, and sat cross-legged a fair distance away to enjoy the show.

She was mildly astounded when one of the big burly ones with a greatsword took a swing at Kathryn, only for her to catch it with one hand (Paw?) and rip it out of his grasp.

Her hide must be thicker than I thought. No wonder she didn't feel the arrow.

She knocked him to the ground and pinned him under her claws, snarling in his face as he uselessly tried to push her off. One bandit tried to help and gripped his axe with both hands and swung mightily at her forearm. Kathryn close her free hand into a fist and backhanded him across the chest with incredible force that sent him flying across the deck where he impacted the railing, likely breaking his spine. Kathryn turned her attention back to the one trapped under her and Aila watched in slight wonder as she opened her jaws, bringing her teeth around his neck and snapping them shut. He jerked violently as his neck snapped then went still, and Kathryn released him, both from her grasp and her jaws, and turned to face the last bandit.

It was hard to tell if he didn't think he could escape, or was just dumb, but either way he decided the best thing do would be to face down the werewolf by himself. He raised his sword high and charged with a battlecry. Kathryn caught him by the head before the sword reached anywhere near her. She picked him up off the ground and Aila heard muffled screams as he pulled vainly at the fur on Kathryn's hand. With a low, menacing growl, the muscles in her hand flexed, and the screaming ceased.

Kathryn dropped the bandit carelessly to the side not looking at the bloody mess she had left. Instead, she was looking rapidly across the deck of the ship for more enemies. There were none, everyone was either dead, unconscious, or running away. Yet Kathryn remained tense.

Ah. Aila thought to herself. That's right. She's never succumbed to a bloodlust this strong before. She stood slowly, so as not to alert Kathryn (not that she thought Kathryn would ever hurt her, but she didn't want to startle her), and approached the wolven beauty with a small smile on her face.

When Kathryn noticed her approaching she gave a small bark, glancing around once more before lowering herself to all fours and padding toward her. Aila's smile grew as she neared and she wasted no time in wrapping her arms around Kathryn's furry neck, not at all bothered by the blood and gore splattered across the both of them. When she pulled back after a short moment, Kathryn let out a whine and began sniffing at Aila.

She couldn't help but giggle as her hot breath tickled her neck. "I'm fine, Kathryn, really. Not a scratch on me." She was a bit exhausted now that the adrenaline had worn off, truth be told, but honestly, she thought that was more because of the odd Shout she did than actually fighting. She had the strangest feeling that it wasn't something she was supposed to do, normally. She halted Kathryn's movements by gently holding her head in her hands and looking her in her golden eyes. "I think it's safe to say we kicked ass."

Kathryn snorted and rolled her eyes (the motion looking remarkably strange on a wolf) but she no longer looked so stiff, so Aila took it as a plus. She closed her eyes and pressed her forehead against Kathryn's and simply stood there for several long moments, scratching Kathryn behind the ears while she hummed softly in contentment.

"Alright," she announced after an indeterminate amount of time, pulling away from Kathryn. "Let's get that arrow out of you so you can change back."

Kathryn blinked blankly at her and Aila nodded over her shoulder, prompting her to twist her head back and let out a yelp of surprise when she saw the arrow sticking out of her hide.

Aila couldn't help the small laugh that escaped her. It obviously didn't hurt much, if at all, but she supposed it would be quite startling to notice an arrow sticking out of you. Kathryn turned back to glare at her (which was actually quite frightening to anyone who wasn't Aila.) and she raised her hands defensively. "Sorry, sorry. Come on, I'll pull it out." As she moved to do just that, she saw that it hadn't penetrated very deep at all, perhaps an inch at most. She was surprised it simply hadn't fallen out. Gripping it by the base, she gave it a quick yank and, just like that, it was free.

"There we go," Aila said. "Now, I didn't exactly get their location, but I do know how to find them. Are you ready to change back?"

Kathryn barked once before searching the area one last time for enemies. When she found none she began trotting her way off the deck back to their earlier hiding position, Aila following just behind her. When they reached the spot, Aila saw her armour and underclothes she had evidently taken off before shifting sitting on the ground. Her blood boiled at the thought of any of those men (or women, frankly) seeing Kathryn like that, but she consoled with the fact that it was highly unlikely and, even if they did, they were likely dead by now.

She eyed Kathryn warily for any sign that she was shifting back. She still remembered the last time she saw it happen, and it wasn't a pleasant experience for either of them. Kathryn stretched out her body as a shudder seemed to ripple through her. Aila heard something break. She grimaced but didn't look away, wishing there was something, anything, she could do to lessen the pain.

The shift was much quicker than last time. The fur covering her body began to recede while her limbs contorted unnaturally and with awful cracking and grinding sounds until they somewhat resemble human. Her ribs rippled and shrunk as they rearranged themselves and her snout seemed to fold in on itself, distorting into a misshapen mess until it cleared to reveal Kathryn's beautiful face.

As soon the the transformation finished, Kathryn fell to her butt, naked as the day she was born and still covered in blood. Aila took a step forward to help, though she wasn't sure how, but Kathryn motioned for her to stop as she scooted herself to rest against a nearby tree trunk.

"I'm fine," she said, her voice raspy and hoarse. "I'm fine. Just… give me a minute."

Aila frowned but acquiesced her request as she took a better look at her. There was blood everywhere, her hands and arms were practically soaked in it, but there was also a fair amount splattered across her legs and torso. There was some matted in her hair also, as well as around (and in, she imagined) her mouth. She watched silently as Kathryn closed her eyes and took deep breaths in an effort to gather herself. It was… odd, seeing her like this. She felt strange looking at her naked, blood-soaked body, but couldn't identify the emotions she was feeling. She only knew it didn't bother her. At all.

Kathryn finally opened her eyes, but she didn't get up. She held out her hand in front of her, staring at the blood drying against her skin, a troubled look coming across her face. Aila didn't like that look. It reminded her far too much of the time in the underforge, of her terrified face when Aela revealed her lycanthropy. She reached out slowly and took hold of Kathryn's bloody hand. Silver eyes locked onto sapphire, and Aila gave her a small, but loving smile.

"You were beautiful," she told her softly.

Kathryn's eyes widened slightly, in surprise, Aila guessed, though she couldn't imagine why. They fluttered close for a moment as she took a steadying breath, a soft smile forming on her face. When she opened them again they were glistening with unshed tears as she looked up at Aila. "Thank you," she said back just as softly.

Aila smiled a little wider and leaned forward to press her lips against Kathryn's in a soft and gentle kiss.

The taste of blood made it all the sweeter.

They seperated after a moment, giving each other one last smile before Aila helped Kathryn up to her feet. Kathryn looked down at her body and frowned lightly.

"I need to wash this off," she said. "I'm not getting all this blood in my armour."

"Well, the water's right there," Aila pointed out.

Her frown deepened and she sniffed audibly several times, looking warily around them.

Aila rolled her eyes. "No one's going to see you Kat. There's no one to see you." The few left alive on the boat were still unconscious, and while there were three survivors out deeper in the woods, they were too far to even know they were there and moving steadily away. Aila watched their retreating aura's for a moment before blinking twice, and the life-lights abruptly faded away. She turned back to Kathryn and couldn't help but taking the chance to admire her figure without the distraction of her golden aura.

"There better not be. My body's for no one's viewing pleasure but your own." Kathryn grumbled, but started toward the water regardless.

Aila's heart stuttered at the admission and she smiled as she followed. "Don't worry, I'll shoot anyone who comes close."

Kathryn snorted. "I don't doubt that."

When they reached the water's edge, Kathryn quickly stepped in and waded in to waist level while Aila elected to simply sit by and watch as she cupped the water in her hands and poured it over her body.

"How did you do that, anyway?" Kathryn asked suddenly, pulling Aila's attention away from the way the water ran down between Kathryn's breasts and down her stomach.

"Huh? Do what?" Aila asked distractedly.

Kathryn smirked, no doubt enjoying the effect she had on Aila far too much. "That roar. I thought a fucking dragon snuck up on us until I realized it came from inside the boat."

"Oh, that." Aila frowned. "I'm not really sure. I didn't even realize I could do it until I did, if that makes sense." She thought for a moment on the intoxication feeling of the way her body thrummed with power those few seconds before she let loose the roar. "It was just Shouting, I think, only without the words."

"It's doesn't, by the way." Kathryn said. "Make sense, that is."

Aila snorted. "When it comes my dragon side, when does it ever?"

Kathryn laughed lightly before pensive look passed over her face.

Aila went back to watching Kathryn's body while she thought. She frowned as she noticed several shallow cuts along her body as the blood washed off, mostly on her back and and arms. They weren't serious by any means, but she still didn't like to see them.

"Is that how it feels?" Kathryn asked eventually, and at Aila's questioning glance, elaborated. "Like there's two sides to you? A dragon side and a human side?"

For some reason, smooth, midnight blue scales and slitted sapphire eyes flashed through her mind, but the image was gone as soon as it came, and Aila dismissed it as she thought on Kathryn's question. She remembered the almost alien rage that took her when she fought the dragon in Whiterun, carrying her through the fight, and again when fighting in the vampire's lair. "Sometimes," Aila admitted quietly, glancing down at the dirt as she thought. though she knew Kathryn could hear her. "Usually when I fight. It almost feels like… like I become a different person. More… angry and... sadistic. But lately it feels like the distinction's become more and more blurred." A thought occurred to her and looked back up at Kathryn "Is that how you feel? As a werewolf?"

"It used to be," Kathryn told her. "Back before I'd really accepted being a werewolf. It felt like I was constantly at war with myself, struggling not to let 'the wolf' take over. Now though, I just feel like, well, me." She turned to look at Aila then with an intense gaze. "Aila… I don't know if it's the same, but if you feel like the line between you and 'the dragon' is fading, I wouldn't try and fight it. I tried and it made me miserable. I doubt it'd be any different for you."

"I know." Aila said. "I haven't been, and I wasn't going to. It's just…" She paused as she tried to find a way to put her thoughts to words. "I feel as if the more dragon souls I devour, the less human I become. I'm already so different now from when I first killed a dragon. I still haven't figured out if that's a good or bad thing."

Kathryn was silent for a while, staring up into the sky as she finished up washing her body, lost in thought. Aila followed her gaze and saw she was staring up at the smaller moon, Secunda, still visible in the morning sky. It was perfectly circular and shining rather brightly for how high the Sun was. But still, Aila couldn't help but think it looked so empty.

"I never thought you were all that human in the first place."

She wasn't expecting Kathryn's words, and her head snapped back to look at her in surprise. "What?"

"I mean, I never really looked at you and thought oh, she's not human," Kathryn continued. "But there was always something different about you, compared to everyone else. Even when we first met, when you were scared of your own shadow, it felt, I don't know, fake."

"Fake? I wasn't faking it!"

"I know you weren't, Aila. I remember you quivering in you sleep when you had nightmares of Helgen, but you never smelled afraid. I didn't understand it."

Aila blinked. "You can smell fear?"

Kathryn rolled her eyes. "Anyone can smell fear, Aila, it's just far more potent for me." She paused for a moment to submerge herself completely under the water to wash the last of the blood off. She shook herself when she reemerged and made her way over to where Aila was sitting. "You're missing the point, though," she continued. "Before, the way you acted, sometimes it seemed like you were doing just that, acting. Like someone had forced you into a roll that just didn't fit, and you never played it quite right."

Aila rose to her feet as Kathryn approached and stood next to her dripping body, looking up into her silvery eyes. "I didn't you know you thought that. You've never mentioned anything like that before."

Kathryn shrugged helplessly. "It's not something all that apparent, I've never been able to put it into words before, and I'm still not sure I explained it quite right. That, and I wasn't all that certain I wasn't just imagining things." She seemed to study Aila's face for a moment, taking in her features. She reached out slowly and thread a lock of her hair between her fingers, twirling it idly. "Now though, even with your short temper and your sarcastic tongue, and even with your emerging violent tendencies and your vaguely threatening nature, it all feels far more genuine than how you were before, and that can only over be a good thing."

It was more a statement of fact than anything, but it somehow felt like a compliment, so Aila couldn't help but smile. After a moment, thought, she raised a brow. "Vaguely threatening?"

Kathryn snorted. "You did see how that guy practically pissed himself after you glared at him just because he mildly insulted my eyes, right? You can be far scarier than someone of your stature has any right to be."

"Hey! I'm not short!"

Kathryn laughed as she let go of Aila's hair and started back toward the woods to get dressed. "Really, Aila? Are we in denial now?"

"I'm not!" Aila insisted, following after her. "I'm normal-sized. Everyone else is just freakishly tall."

She couldn't see from behind, but she was sure Kathryn just rolled her eyes. "Whatever you say, short stuff."

Aila humphed and stuck her tongue out childishly at Kathryn.

Of course, Kathryn chose that exact moment to glance back and promptly laughed aloud. "You know what? I take back everything I just said. You're as threatening as a baby fox, and about as adorable."

Aila's cheeks reddened at being caught and she grumbled to herself, wisely choosing to say nothing more as she waited for Kathryn to get dressed.

"Right, so you said you you know where Gulum-Ei is? Or at least how to find him?" Kathryn asked as she finished buckling up her armour.

Aila nodded. "What's-her-face implied that he'd be hiding out in their base until we left, one way or another. She also let loose that this mysterious base of theirs is just a Grotto somewhere along the coastline. I figured we'd just follow it along 'til we find it."

Kathryn gave her an exasperated look. "That's it? Just follow the coast and hope we find it?"

"Oh, come on, it's not that bad. Even if I knew exactly where it was, it wouldn't change however long it would take to get there."

"Right. Of course." Kathryn sighed in resignation. "How long could it possibly take?"

Several hours, as it turned out. Aila hadn't expected it to be too far away, since she didn't think the bandits would want to lug around the loot from the cargo ship very far, but upon further thought she realized that they couldn't exactly control where the ship crashed. She supposed the rowboats helped as well. Kathryn complained and griped the whole way, but that was mostly her boredom talking. Aila was bored too, but she managed to amuse herself by taking potshots at any slaughterfish and mudcrabs she saw swimming around. At least until she ran out of arrows.

Eventually though, Kathryn mentioned the smell of sweat and mead penetrating the overwash of saltwater, and Aila took it to mean they were close. A few moments of searching the area later, the two found several barely-hidden rowboats piled next to a rocky outcropping with a large opening at the base of it, leading into what looked like a large cavern. There was no guard, which Aila thought was idiotic, but that seemed to something of a pattern with these Blackbloods.

"So," Aila started. "I say we stealth this."

Kathryn looked visibly relieved at her proclamation. "Oh, thank the Gods. I was starting to think you have some sort of fetish for placing yourself in unnecessary mortal peril."

Aila frowned. "I'm not that bad." Was she?

Kathryn stared at her. "I'm still not completely certain you don't just want to sneak into the thick of it so it makes it easier for them to swarm us. I'm desperately hoping otherwise."

Aila snorted. "Like it'd make a difference."

"Proving my point, here."

Realizing she was right, Aila smiled a bit sheepishly. "It's not my fault they're all terrible. No, though, I'm just, well, bored. Fighting wouldn't be any fun at this point, I just want to get this over with.

Kathryn nodded satisfactorily. "Works for me. Besides, I think I finally got that invisibility spell working. This is a perfect chance to test it."

Aila's eyes brightened at the mention of the spell Kathryn was having so much trouble with. "You got it working?" Kathryn didn't get many chances to learn new spells, but when she did, she usually picked them up quickly. She'd been incredibly excited to get her hands on a tome for an Expert-level spell and considered it well-worth the hefty cost (after watching her practically bounce with glee after the purchase, Aila couldn't help but agree.) It proved to be worthy of it's rank, however, and she had a hell of a time trying to figure out how to cast it. Failed attempts included a blurry outline, invisible body parts, and one rather humorous attempt that resulted in her clothing disappearing, and nothing else. Not to mention, the spell itself was rather magicka intensive, and it took Kathryn a while to recover between attempts.

Kathryn grinned excitedly. "Yep! I managed it last night, while you were asleep. Check it out." She raised her hands and moved them together in an unfamiliar pattern, then in a sudden flash of dark purple light, she disappeared from sight.

Aila's jaw dropped. "That's amazing, Kathryn!"

A disembodied laugh reached her ears. "I'm glad you like it!"

It was only for a moment, but Aila noticed the air seemed to shimmer slightly in front of her, and she frowned lightly. "It's supposed to be perfect invisibility, right?"

There was a short pause there was more shifting air where Kathryn's head was, and Aila guessed Kathryn nodded before realizing Alia couldn't see it. "Yeah, when done correctly. Why, did you see something?"

"A little. There seems to be some sort of shimmer when you move."

A thoughtful hum came from Kathryn. "I guess there's still a few kinks to work out. Well, it's good enough for now. I can't keep this up forever, though, let's get going. I'll be right behind you."

"Right. Laas." She smiled when Kathryn's golden life-light flared back into existence, then turned to the entrance to the cave and started forward.

After a short walk, the tunnel abruptly opened up into a massive cavern. The first thing she noticed was the water. The bottom most layer was flooded, but there were several rocky platforms jutting from the sides of the cavern along with what looked like scaffolding connecting them all together. The bandits probably built the scaffolding when they found this place to make it a more viable base. They certainly put a lot of work into this place.

She heard talking ahead of her, and looked to see two life-lights next to each other up past the wooden stairs leading up to the nearest natural platform. She didn't bother listening to their conversation and slowly crept up the stairs, making sure she was in the shadows and out of their line of sight. They were minding their own business, not paying much attention to their surroundings. She could easily sneak past them, but she debated whether to kill them now. She decided not to, in the end, out of both a desire to finish this as quickly as possible, and not to raise alarm and give Gulum-Ei a chance to escape.

So she moved past them, following along the remarkably well put together stairs and bridges deeper into the cavern. Their were guards roaming the place, but they were sparse and inattentive. The two of them slipped past them easily. The only real trouble she had was when she came across what seemed to be the resting area. Bedrolls were rolled out all along the ground with a campfire centered in the middle. There were also several table scattered across the place, and nearly all of them were filled with Blackbloods, as well as some of the bedrolls. They were drinking, playing various card games, along with what looked like a riveting game of Five Finger Fillet, or just talking amongst each other. Aila guessed that they were resting after having to carry all that loot from the cargo ship into the cavern. Unfortunately, the only way to keep going was to get past them, and she couldn't to that without entering the light and placing herself in pain view. She could see Kathryn's aura sitting next to her, waiting patiently while Aila tried to figure out what to do.

If only there was a Shout to make her invisible.

An idea popped into her head, but she needed Kathryn's help. "Finger," she whispered ever-so-quietly, not wanting to risk too much noise. It took her a moment, but she seemed to understand what Aila wanted, for a second later she was weaving her way unnoticed into the crowd over to the table playing the knife game. Soon after, a painful cry filled the air and several heads turned to the sound.

"Fuck! My fucking finger!"

Aila wasted no time in darting across the room, back into the safety of the shadows. She paused for a moment once she reached the other side, both to see if anyone had noticed her, and for Kathryn to reach her side again. When nothing happened, she simply continued on.

From there, the scaffolding seemed to climb the walls, and at the very top there was some sort of makeshift hut. It was fairly pretentious compared to the rest of place, so Aila assumed Gulum-Ei was up there.

She and Kathryn climbed the stairs leading up to the top, ignoring the single bandit who was writing in what looked like a journal in his own little bedroom around the middle. She heard muffled voices, slowly getting louder as she approached.

"... too long!" a raspy voice said.

"Patience, egg-bother. I'm sure she won't be much longer," said another, similar voice.

"But what if something happened? What if-"

"But nothing. We stationed half our men to guard the ship. They won't be leaving alive."

Who, the men or us? Aila couldn't help but think wryly. There was no door or anything, Aila discovered, to the little hut at the top of the scaffolding, so it was easy to peer around the corner and take note of the inside before making their move. There were two Argonians, one was likely Gulum-Ei, the other presumably Jaree-Ra. Aila silently admitted to herself that she couldn't tell the two apart. One them was pacing nervously back and forth on the far side of the room while the other was standing next to the door patiently with his arms crossed. The one pacing stopped abruptly and took a deep breath, sitting himself in a nearby chair.

"I know. It's just… Mercer is relentless. I can't help but worry."

"Don't. In just a little longer Deeja was be back with the last of the loot, and the corpses of those two Guild members, and you'll be free of your troubles."

Now mildly insulted, Aila motioned to Kathryn and waited until she had position herself by the Argonian in the chair.

"What is it?"

"I thought I saw… never mind. Must have been my imagination."

Aila pulled out one of her daggers and made her move. The Argonian was fairly tall, so first she placed a solid kick to the back of his knee and brought him to ground before covering his mouth (snout?) with her hand and placing her dagger by his throat to keep him from struggling.

"Jaree-Ra!" the other Argonian jolted to his feet but barely made it a step before he was pulled into Kathryn's grasp. With a flash she suddenly became visible, her arm wrapped securely around his throat. Her hand ignited and she brought it up to his face. He flinched as the flames licked his scales.

Muffled grunts came from under Aila's hand and she pressed the dagger harder into his neck to silence them.

"I'm sure you know who we are?" Aila asked somewhat rhetorically.

Gulum-Ei answered anyway. "You're with the Guild… But Deeja should have…" his eyes widened dramatically. "You bastards! What did you do with her!"

He was beginning to yell, so Kathryn increased the intensity of her flames and the Argonian whimpered pathetically as the heat reached near unbearable.

"I'd keep quiet if I were you," Kathryn growled, effectively silencing him.

It was too late though, Aila could already hear the single bandit just below them making his way up. She huffed frustratedly as she thought of how best to deal with this new problem, but Kathryn gave her a meaningful look so she figured she had an plan.

An incredibly simple one too, she soon found out, for when the bandit approached, angrily demanding, "What's goin' on up here?" the flames in her hand abruptly died out and a flurry of snow shards replaced them. She then twirled her hand outward and a spear of ice launched from her palm, sailing past Aila and driving itself right into the bandits head. He fell to the ground with a thump.

"Nice aim," Aila couldn't help but remark, and Kathryn gave her a wolfish grin in response, turning the ice back to flames. She turned her attention back to their captives, absently noting that Gulum-Ei was glaring at her. "Now, I'd like to make this as quick as possible, so here's the deal. You answer out questions and maybe we'll let you go. You answer honestly, I might even tell you where your dear sister is."

"You mean she's alive?" Gulum-Ei asked with wide, hopeful eyes.

Aila simply raised a brow at him, staying silent for several seconds before continuing. "First question. Goldenglow Estate. You brokered its sale. Who was the buyer?"

There was a pause where he visibly hesitated in answering, and the fire flared in Kathryn's hand as encouragement.

"I don't know! Some woman just came to me flashing a sack of gold in my face and said all I had to do was pay Aringoth for the estate! The pay was good, so I did it, no questions asked."

Aila narrowed her eyes. He wasn't telling the full truth. If it was just some stranger, he wouldn't be so hesitant in telling. "You're lying."

"I'm not, I swear!"

She growled in frustration and tightened her grip on Jaree-Ra, ignoring how he struggled against her. "Tell me the truth. Now. Or I'll slit your brother's throat."

His panicked eyes darted back and forth between her and his brother, but just as she thought he would spill, they suddenly hardened and he glared at her. "You won't. I know you and your Guild. That's not your way."

Aila closed her eyes and let out a breath. She really hated it when people questioned her. Without hesitation she dug the blade into Jaree-Ra's neck and sliced it open.

"NOO!" Gulum-Ei cried out, but Kathryn kept him still and Aila paid him no mind as she kicked the body away from her, not bothering to watch him die.

She walked calmly up to Gulum-Ei, unaffected by the tears suddenly flowing from his eyes. "Now," she started, using his tunic to wipe the blood off her dagger. "Unless you want to leave your dear sister all alone in the world, I'd suggest you be honest from now on. Who's the buyer?"

She waited a moment as Gulum-Ei stared at his brother's lifeless body before looking down in defeat. "It's… Karliah," he said, his voice dull and lifeless. "Her name is Karliah."

She rolled her eyes and placed the flat end of the blade under his chin and lifted up his head to meet his eyes. "I'm afraid you'll have to go into a little more detail."

Confusion flitted through his eyes. "You mean you don't know? Karliah is the thief responsible for murdering the previous Guild Master. And now she's after Mercer."

Aila hummed thoughtfully. She hadn't known that, but then, she didn't exactly care. "And you're working with her?"

"No!" he exclaimed, panicked. "At least, not intentionally. I didn't even know it was her until after the transaction."

She wasn't sure how that worked, but it didn't really matter at this point. "And where is this Karliah now?"

"I don't know. I asked where she would go next, but she just muttered 'where the end began' and stalked off."

Well, wasn't she the dramatic one? No matter, if he didn't know, he didn't know. She didn't seemed to have any more information to give either, so she was done here. But what to do with him? She looked up to Kathryn with the question in her eyes, and she just shrugged lightly, leaving the decision up to her. She thought for a moment, and came to a decision.

"Alright. I believe you."

Gulum-Ei looked up at her, a glint of hope entering his eye. "You do?"

She smiled disarmingly at him, and he seemed to be dazzled for a brief moment before Aila spoke up again. "Sure," she said sheathed her dagger with a flourish, and Kathryn doused the flames in turn, but she still kept a tight hold on him. Aila walked past him to the window that overlooked the cavern, giving her a view of the entire cavern. "You've told me everything I need to know, I don't see a reason to drag this on." She paused for a moment to survey the dozens of bandits camped out down below. "Go and meet your sister."

There was a loud crack followed by the sound of a body hitting the floor. A moment later Kathryn leaned up against the wall next to the window. Aila glanced at her to see she had small, amused smile on her face. "You know we were supposed to leave him alive, right?"

Aila blinked. "We were?"

Kathryn chuckled. "I knew you forgot."

"Well, you could have told me."

She shrugged. "Maybe."

Aila eyed her questioningly, but she didn't elaborate.

"Mercer's going to be pissed," she said instead.

Aila snorted. "Who cares what Mercer thinks?"

Kathryn laughed "Fair enough."

There was a moment of silence while Aila tried to figure out the best way to get out of the cave.

"I should probably mention that I don't have enough magicka to cast the invisibility spell again. I had to cast Muffle as well to stay silent, and after keeping those two going for so long, I'm running on fumes here."

Aila hummed in thought. "I'm guessing you don't want to fight our way out?"

Kathryn grimaced at the thought. "No. I'm not nearly as good with a sword as you, and, like I said, I'm out of magicka. I could shift to wolf again if I really needed to, but it'd be a bitch to do again so soon, so I'd definitely rather not."

"Well then," Aila said, making up her mind. "I really hope this water is deeper than it looks."

"Huh?" Kathryn started, but whatever she was going to say next was interrupted by Aila vaulting out the window.

She faintly heard Kathryn's voice over the sound of air rushing past her ears, and as the water caught up with her she suddenly realized that she used to be afraid of heights. Now she couldn't help but wonder why.

She was mildly surprised that the water wasn't nearly as cold as she thought it would be when she hit the surface. She stayed under for a moment to see if any of the life-lights would come rushing toward the sound of something hitting the water, and surfaced when she saw nothing significant happening. She looked up to the window she had jumped out of and grinned up at Kathryn, who she could vaguely see leaning out of, and cheerfully waved her down . She could imagine her exasperated eye roll she would give before jumping out.

A moment later, and with another splash, Kathryn swam up to her, hitting the sides of her head when she reached her. "You almost gave me a fucking heart attack!" she whisper-yelled.

"Sorry, sorry!" Aila said, but she doubted she was very convincing since she was still grinning like a loon. She noticed several life-lights fast approaching, however, and her grin quickly faded. "Come on, let's go."

She took a deep breathe and dove under the water, Kathryn following after her, and began swimming toward the entrance. At some point she noticed that she had been holding her breath for much longer than she could remember being able to, but then again, she didn't swim all that much, so maybe she was just misremembering. She only had to come up for air once, and luckily no one seemed to notice her. When she and Kathryn surfaced near the entrance, she looked back to see looking around in the water, trying to find anything amiss. She snickered quietly to herself as the two exited the cavern unseen.

Aila stretched herself out in the sun when she left the darkness of the cave, laughing lightly at the way Kathryn shook herself in a way that reminded her of a dog.

"I can't believe you made us jump into the water like that. It's going to take forever to dry out my armour." Kathryn said.

"Oh, hush," Aila said with a teasing grin. "I didn't see you come up with any other idea to get out of there."

"You didn't even give me a chance!"

"You're just jealous you didn't come up with it first." She finished up her last stretch as Kathryn rolled her eyes. Aila was starting to think they just might pop out from how much eye-rolling she's been doing lately. Maybe she should tone it down. "I'm just glad that's all over with. Now we can get ready to head back to Riften."

"Oh joy. Two weeks of nearly nonstop travel with absolutely nothing else to do. I can't wait." Kathryn deadpanned.

Aila laughed as she started walking back toward Solitude, but she couldn't help but agree. Still, there was no reason to stay, so they would probably spend the rest of the day sightseeing and leave tomorrow. After spending the night exploring the Blue Palace again, of course. They still needed to find something worth taking after all. Maybe they would even explore that abandoned wing Kathryn found. There had to be something valuable left there, right?

She couldn't wait to find out.