The seagulls squawking in the distance made the coast seem much less serene than it looked.
Three days later and spring was still making the Gold Coast one of the most beautiful places to be. There was not one cloud in the sky the entire time. No strong wind to mar the experience. Just the sun and the heat. Though the heat did mar it a little for Bishop. He was fucking boiling in his skin the entire time. It was fortunate that it was only his skin though. They did spend most of their days and nights naked after all. And it was all so worth it to see Aeyrin in her element like this.
The only thing that ruined those three days was this one right now. This whole journey in fact.
They didn't even stop by Anvil. Not yet. They would spend the night there eventually, but first, they headed right towards their goal – the last known location of the Thrice-Banished clan. It was supposed to be an abandoned farmhouse. It sounded just like his family to squat in a place like that covertly while they terrorized the nearby town with their schemes.
The farmhouse was already in their sights, down the hill, but fortunately there was enough greenery around to hide them. Bishop had a plan on how to approach and the most important part was one thing.
"So, princess, you gotta wait for me here. Even if they have lookouts they shouldn't be able to see you," he sighed. He knew that this would be a point of contention, and the second she gave him a shocked look, it was confirmed.
"What? I'm going with you!" Aeyrin huffed at him. He kept going on and on about how dangerous they were! They were dangerous to him too, weren't they? He killed Torban and left. What if some held a grudge? Or just saw him as a threat?
"No, you're not. Please, just trust me, this is for the best," he gave her a somewhat stern look. Not only would it protect her from unexpected ambushes, but it would also make them less likely to happen at all. Bishop approaching their hiding place could mean anything, but him approaching with a girl armed to the teeth with so obviously expensive shiny crystal armor could only mean a bad thing for the clan. And besides, this way, the clan at least wouldn't know that Bishop came here with someone. That was always safer for anyone involved. "You look like a threat. They might shoot on sight with you by my side, think I came to wipe them out. If I come alone, I might be able to talk to someone."
"But… what if they just shoot you on sight? You have no idea who's in there. What if it's Ost or Duful? What if they know where Kari went and why?" Aeyrin shook her head at him desperately. If his brothers knew Kari was coming to 'recruit' him to kill them, they would surely not hesitate.
"Kari's many things, insane, for example, but she's not an idiot," Bishop smirked. "But… you have a point. I'll sneak around, how's that sound? You stay here and if I get into trouble, I'll yell."
"Alright," Aeyrin signed in resignation. It was their usual tactic after all. She just still wasn't comfortable with this, but he had a point about her being possibly perceived as a threat.
"Good. Don't make a sound and don't move until I call on you," Bishop nodded with determination. "You won't be seen like this, but I don't have to tell you that that armor of yours is hard to hide, so don't get out of the shrubs too much."
She looked down at her crystal armor critically. It was particularly beautiful as it glittered in the sun, but he was right. It wasn't exactly subtle.
"Wish me luck," Bishop winked at her for the last time before he started to skulk through the shrubbery that was hiding them, towards the farmhouse. It did look abandoned. She had expected something else. She expected the family to be lurking about, living in this place, not hiding in the basement or some such. But Bishop would know better.
She lost him soon enough. She had no idea if he had gulped down a potion or if she just wasn't eagle-eyed enough to spot him among the various bushes and hiding spots. In either case, he was impressive.
She waited for several excruciating minutes, trying to peek over the bramble to see any commotions down at the farm. Nothing seemed to be happening – no yelling, no sounds of combat. That was a good sign, wasn't it? She might be stuck here for a while if Bishop was talking to his family members. Though it did still make her nervous.
But after some time, his loud voice echoed through the area at last.
"They're not here! Come down!"
They weren't?! Aeyrin wasn't sure if she was relieved or not. Did the clan leave? Or were they never here? Ri'zhassa could have lied.
She quickly untangled herself from all the twigs and branches and rushed down the hillside. Bishop was standing by the decrepit farmhouse, holding something in his hand and studying it intently. She couldn't see what it was though.
"Where are they? Were they even ever here?" She called out as she was nearing him. She still had no idea what Ri'zhassa's game was. If he lied, why would he have expected Bishop to bring her as his 'payment' to Kvatch after? She expected him to tell the truth about the clan or she expected his own ambush here. But an empty farmhouse? That was strange.
"They were," Bishop nodded knowingly as he gestured towards the farmhouse door. He stepped inside as she followed him, stopping at the threshold. The house was barely standing, but it was entirely empty. There wasn't even any furniture, just cobwebs and some unidentifiable rubble. How did Bishop know they were here?
"It's cleaned out," he scoffed. "Of course they would take everything. But they left this behind." He finally showed her what he had been holding in his hand. It was an arrow. A broken arrow, for that matter. The shaft was snapped in half with the arrowhead on one part and the fletching on the other.
"It's just an arrow," Aeyrin scowled. "That could have been left here by anyone. Anytime." It was junk. Why was he so confident?
"Not quite. I recognize the fletching technique," Bishop pointed to the cut-off chicken feathers at the end, glued to the shaft by something yellow and glimmering. "It's ice-dried sap. Torban taught me, though it's not too effective. My own technique's better," he scoffed dismissively. "The sap is shitty in heat. He used to claim that it's 'amber', but that's bullshit. That's just some insane legend, nobody even knows if sap that hard exists. This shitty thing melts again in the slightest heat and the feathers fall off. The arrow doesn't fly right without them in the right place. Look." He tossed the arrowhead aside and grabbed the other half between his palms covered with his leather gloves. He started to rub them together promptly, creating heated friction for a minute. When he was done, he presented the arrow to her again and one of the feathers slowly began to slide down the shaft.
She wasn't sure what she took from the fletching lecture, other than he could do that better than his father, but she understood the point. Kind of. Still, anyone could be using this technique, right? But maybe if it was ineffective, nobody else would. Nobody with resources for anything better. But what could the clan do if they were camping in the middle of nowhere?
"So you think they left already? Maybe we shouldn't have stayed at the beach," she sighed. As pleasant as it was, it certainly was short-sighted.
"No, the arrow was all dusty and shit. And there's dust here everywhere," he pointed to the ground. "They've been gone for a while."
Alright. Good. At least it wasn't entirely the fault of them wanting to indulge themselves.
"So… what now?" She asked the lingering question. That was their only lead. They could probably go back to Kari, but Bishop always seemed reluctant to deal with her.
Bishop let out a frustrated sigh. He clearly didn't have an answer for her. He turned around and headed towards the small pile of rubble in the corner of the cottage, perhaps hoping to find some clues as to where the clan had moved on to.
Aeyrin stayed in the door arch, looking around the walls and floor. There was nothing there. If the clan had to leave, it was very likely they wouldn't leave any clues to their whereabouts behind, right?
Maybe that was Ri'zhassa's tactic. Maybe he knew they were gone and expected Bishop to 'pay' by delivering her first. But that made no sense. Why would Bishop do that? How would he even know they were ever here? She had no idea what Ri'zhassa's game was in this. She couldn't figure it out and it bugged her to no end.
As she pondered the situation, suddenly a familiar sound alerted her. A very familiar one. She had heard it countless times in their battles. She got too used to it. Too used to never flinching when an arrow was being shot behind her back. If only she hadn't been so comfortable with that.
She felt a stinging sharp pain in the back of her calf as the arrow buried itself into it. The chainmail was not enough to protect her from it.
She let out a scream of pain and stumbled involuntarily. Bishop turned around sharply to see what happened and he was by her side in an instant. He opened his arms to catch her as she fell, but just as he did, another arrow swished through the air and lodged itself in the same manner into her shoulder blade, as if expertly shot exactly where she didn't have a plate.
With aim like that, she was lucky the archer didn't aim for her head.
Why didn't they? Was it a warning shot?
"Sorry," Bishop growled when she yelped in pain after the second arrow hit her. He dropped her onto the ground instantly and flinched when she cried out at the suddenness of it, but he couldn't do anything else. Whoever was shooting needed to stop lest they actually do anything worse.
Bishop's bow was out in a second and he promptly aimed into the direction where the arrow flew from. There were some bushes there and he saw them move, but he didn't see anyone. Whoever was there was either very short or surprisingly capable of crouching and shooting at the same time.
"Come out, you fucker!" Bishop snarled at the unknown assailant. "I can see you in there! I'll shoot!" He would have shot that piece of shit already. At first, he wasn't sure why he hadn't yet. Maybe he thought it was one of his siblings. It was too eerie… the familiarly fletched arrow and now a shooter in this place where the clan was supposed to be.
"Fuck! Don't shoot," a voice came out of the bushes, half-frustrated and half-scared. Wait… that sounded like a kid. A boy.
Bishop only briefly looked onto the ground beside him and watched Aeyrin collect herself into a sitting position with a pained gasp. Fuck, he wanted to help her, but he couldn't let the archer do anything reckless. He had to keep an eye on him.
The boy soon came into view. Bishop didn't recognize him, though it was still possible that it was one of his new siblings. He didn't really seem familiar in any way, but the way Rina was going, that wasn't a guarantee either. Bishop did concentrate a bit to see his eyes. Most of Rina's children had the same deep blue eyes as her. But Bishop couldn't discern that from a distance.
He was young, maybe around ten. He did look like an Imperial though, even if it was a little hard to tell at this age. He still could have been only half-Imperial like Liesl, inherited some distinctive features. There were some noticeable spots on his face which were hard to identify as either birthmarks, filth, or sloppily applied war paint. He had light brown hair, disheveled and short in the front with a thin ratty ponytail in the back, and he was dressed in rags and tattered pieces of clothes in various places and something that looked like makeshift armor across his chest and forearms , though it seemed it was made out of old rotten wood. He also had a simple wooden bow in his hands. It all kind of looked like a kid's costume as they tried to play an adventurer.
"Drop your bow. And come closer," Bishop growled at him. The boy did look kind of frightened when he barked at him like that. He quickly let his bow tumble onto the ground and he carefully walked a few steps closer. Though he still kept his distance. Little good it would do him when he had an arrow trained at him though.
"I didn't do nothin'" the boy scoffed.
"You fucking shot her!" Bishop barked again, making the boy flinch. "Why?!"
"You got no business here! You guards or somethin'?" the boy narrowed his eyes in suspicion.
"Do we fucking look like guards?" Bishop scowled at him. He did lower his bow though. He was getting tired of holding it trained at the boy like that. Though he didn't let go of it, just in case. "Who are you? And what are you doing in this place? You live here?" Bishop looked at Aeyrin again while she was yanking out one of the arrows from her calf. Again, she let out a pained yelp and he fucking hated having to keep an eye on the kid, but it was not like she got hurt for the first time and had to deal with it alone for now. At least it wasn't anything too bad. Her armor guarded her from the worse injuries. Except the head…
Fuck, that could have gotten so fucking ugly.
"Everyone calls me Rat. What's it to you what I'm doin' here? It's not your place! I'm guardin' it!" The boy spat at him.
"It's not your place either," Bishop scoffed. It wasn't the Thrice-Banished's place either, but that was beside the point. The arrow that Aeyrin yanked out of her calf tipped him off enough. "You're guarding it for the clan? They don't come back to the same fucking place. Ever." They left when they 'overstayed their welcome' and then they always set up in another place to keep the law off them in case they came back to wreak havoc on the same city.
"What do you know?" The boy snarled. "They wouldn't leave me!" He pouted for a while, but then he started to focus more on Bishop's face. He studied his features with some measure of uncertainty. "You look like the bigguns."
"Yeah, I'm their brother," Bishop sighed. "I'm looking for them."
"Oh…" this Rat seemed much less hostile now. "Well… sorry for shootin'er and all that. I just thought you were guards lookin' for them."
"It's fine," Aeyrin grumbled as she finally managed to grab a hold of the arrow in her shoulder. She yanked it away from her body roughly, letting out another scream, but this time Bishop decided it was safe enough. He fastened his bow back onto his back and started to kneel down beside her to check on her injuries, but she waved him off with her other hand quickly. "I'm fine, just talk to him," she mumbled.
"Fine, Rat," Bishop let out a sigh. "What do you have to do with the clan?"
"Chomp's my best friend. She taught me shootin' and all that. In secret 'cause the bigguns don't let her have a weapon. But she taught me so I could hunt on my own and didn't have to beg," Rat mumbled.
Chomp. Right. That was one of the kids that Kari talked about.
"She taught you to shoot like this?" Bishop looked quite impressed. He got Aeyrin precisely in the weak spots in her armor. And if she couldn't even have her own weapon, how did she learn to shoot that well? And enough to teach someone else?
"What'cha talkin' about? I missed! I was aimin' at the head," the boy scoffed.
Ah. Fuck. Good think he was a crappy shot then.
"Chomp wouldn't leave me here. She promised they would take me with'em when they gotta leave," Rat growled after a second of silence. "But maybe the bigguns made her. They always told me to 'scram'."
"Do you know where they went?" Bishop asked. The clan always had an escape plan ready.
"She said they were gonna go to the City, if shit went tits up here," Rat shrugged. "But I ain't got the drakes to get there," he growled.
The Imperial City. The clan must have moved to the Waterfront again. There was no other place they could effectively hide there.
"When did they leave?" Bishop prodded some more. Just when did Ri'zhassa see them in Anvil?
"I dunno. Month or so," the boy sighed. "I thought she would come back for me. Or I could kill some fucker to get the money to follow."
Shit. Poor kid. He was headed down a shitty path if he was hoping to get protection from the clan. They didn't even protect their own. Everyone was left to their own devices when push came to shove.
"Listen, kid," Bishop sighed. "That's a fucking stupid plan. You're gonna get yourself killed or arrested. And you're a crappy shot. Just… go back to Anvil. Get yourself some apprenticeship or get some ranger to teach you to hunt properly. Earn money on your own. Fuck the clan. They're not gonna help you."
The boy nodded somberly. It kinda looked like after all this time, he did believe him. "Nobody's gonna help me with no fuckin' drakes," he scoffed.
That was… true enough.
"Fine," Bishop grumbled. He reached out for the coin purse on his belt and fished out some drakes. Fifty or so would make a huge difference for the kid and it wouldn't hinder them that much. He stepped towards the boy and handed him the coins. Rat was just left staring at it, slack-jawed. "Don't go following them, you hear? If you're around and they need a fucking scape-goat, you're the first one they're gonna sell out. Stay here and get up on your own feet." It was the safest bet for him.
Aeyrin looked like she wanted to interject, possibly to tell him that he should seek help at the local temple, but then she seemed to change her mind. She likely realized that he would never step foot in a place like that voluntarily after he had been 'raised' by the clan, no matter for how long.
He was gonna be fine with some drakes and someone willing enough to give him a chance.
"Alright. Fuck. Thanks," Rat nodded at Bishop. "Sorry 'bout the shootin' again."
"Just go. Forget this dump. It's not worth 'guarding'," Bishop urged him away. The boy didn't need to be told twice. He turned on his heel and rushed away.
Bishop finally walked back towards Aeyrin and squatted on the ground by her side.
"That was… nice of you…" she smiled weakly, but there was still a very pained grimace on her face.
"Did you want me to shoot him instead?" Bishop smirked, but his expression turned serious again soon enough. "Let's get that armor off you. You need healing. And a potion, likely."
"Y-yeah. They went kinda… deep…" she grimaced tensely.
They worked together carefully to remove her crystal plates. That was the easy part. The worst part was the chain. It was lodged in the wounds on her calf and shoulder blade as well. Bishop promptly fished out one of his healing potions and waited for her to gulp it down before they would even attempt to take it off. When she did, the pain numbed considerably, but once Bishop slowly worked on removing the chain off her, she still cried out as it went out of the wounds and as the rest of it scraped against the aggravated areas when Bishop rolled the mail off her body. And again when he rolled up the leg of her pants and pulled down the strap of her shirt.
When it was all finally off, she promptly moved her hands to her calf and lit them up with magic. The open wound, worsened by when the arrow was yanked out, started to promptly close and she let out a sigh of relief. Then she tried to reach with her hand to the opposite shoulder, but it was no use.
"I can't reach," she sighed. "I need to get to the temple."
Bishop nodded at her. It was the best option right then. Even if it might be expensive. He helped her stand up on her feet, but she did look a little unsteady.
"Do you need me to carry you?" He looked at her bare feet critically. She might not want to put on boots yet either.
"No. I don't think so. I'll be fine," she nodded. She just needed to go slow at first, but her leg was healed. It was just a little unpleasant after all the pain.
"Alright. Just be careful. I'll get your boots. And carry your pack," he inclined his head towards her shoulder. There was no way she would carry it herself, even on the other shoulder, the weight would do her wound no good.
"Thanks," she smiled at him warmly. "You know… I'm surprised you didn't just… shoot the bushes. I'm glad you didn't, I mean. I think you really helped the kid."
"We'll see," Bishop smirked. "I was surprised too, but I thought it might be… one of them," he shrugged. "With some information. I was almost right. Still… chances are, he's gonna waste that money away in a week with nothing to show for it but a full belly and a warm bed. And then he's gonna be back to doing stupid shit like this."
"I really hope not," Aeyrin scowled. Sometimes his realism was quite discouraging, even though she knew he may be right about that. "So… Imperial City, huh?"
"Yeah. We have a lead at least. They might still be there," Bishop nodded. "Waterfront. Definitely. That's the only place they would operate from, unless they found something outside the city walls. But that doesn't matter. Not now. First, we got another shithead to deal with."
"Right. Ri'zhassa," she growled disdainfully. "He wasn't lying, there was no ambush. He has something planned for Kvatch then, looks like."
"He's probably just counting on the Thrice-Banished readily selling you off for the info," Bishop smirked. "But we can discuss that later. Now, let's get you some proper healing."
At least the city was close enough. They would be there in no time.
…
Bishop looked around the temple curiously.
He had never been here. The only time he had been in Anvil was to do some shady business at the docks. He never really saw much of the city proper. Not only was it beautiful, fitting to the golden coasts surrounding it, but it was also just as lively as he had remembered the docks to be. Though instead of sailors singing drunken songs in the streets, there were bards and artists around, singing and painting in front of the passing masses. Aeyrin really seemed to like this place, but it was all a bit marred by her need to get herself healed, so they rushed to the temple right away.
The chapel was a lot different from the one in Markarth. Surprisingly enough, it was not full of golden statues, gems and anything else screaming 'wealth'. There was one statue of Dibella in the center, but unlike the chapel in Chorrol, it was not golden. It was made out of white polished stone and adorned with colorful floral wreaths. Those same wreaths were all over the place too, hanging off the grand arches and around the columns in the main hall. It did look nice, though he could understand why Aeyrin had been so shocked by the temple in Markarth. It was much more modest.
Bishop studied the banner of Anvil above the door as they waited for a priest to stop talking to a group of people in the front. He never really got what it was supposed to represent. There were just weird triangles there. The other cities at least had some pictures there. Were these arrowheads or something? He saw arrows everywhere today.
"Welcome, children."
A voice finally interrupted his scrutiny of the place. They had been waiting by the stairs that led to the quarters, presuming the layout was the same as in Chorrol. There was only one man in the main chapel at that time and he had been busy explaining something to other people, but now he finally approached them. A relatively young man, surprisingly tall and muscular for an Imperial, it was noticeable even under his adorned purple robes. Those were the only things in there that were beset by a few jewels.
"Hello, I… uhm… got shot," Aeyrin chuckled a little nervously and she pointed at her back. The strap of her shirt was still down so that her shoulder blade could be exposed and the wound could breathe a bit.
The man quickly stepped around her to inspect her back. He placed his hand gently on her shoulder, far enough from the wound not to aggravate it, but he let out a concerned sigh.
"Oh. We need to take care of this right away," he nodded.
Aeyrin expected to feel the warmth of healing magic promptly, but instead of on her shoulder blade, she felt the man's hand touch her against her lower back instead, urging her to walk. "Come, sweetie. Let's get you to the infirmary."
Bishop raised his brow at the action promptly. 'Sweetie'? And why was he leading her to the infirmary? She managed to heal her leg with the same wound in like a minute on the spot! It wasn't a magical wound or anything like that.
Aeyrin didn't question the man for a second and she started to walk. Bishop could not keep that thought to himself though.
"Can't you just do it here? It's a quick fix, she can do it on her own, she just can't reach," he grumbled.
"I'm sorry, friend," the priest chuckled at him. "But that's not the care we provide to the wounded. We need to make sure that everything is alright and that she is hale and whole. We don't neglect anyone with 'quick fixes'. Just wait here for your lady and we'll release her from our care soon."
Why did it sound so creepy to Bishop when the guy said it? Their 'care'? What did that mean? In this place. He was already having ideas about what it meant in Markarth with what Aeyrin had glimpsed down below the temple.
"I'll be back soon," Aeyrin just smiled at him wryly.
Like fuck he would wait for her here.
"I'm gonna go with," Bishop scowled at the priest, but the man seemed much less rattled by that than Bishop had expected. Maybe he was being weird. But he didn't like the look of this guy.
"Suit yourself," the priest shrugged. He did promptly return his hand to Aeyrin's back and ushered her on though. Did he really have to touch her? He could just tell her where to go. Fucker.
They went into the same direction as they would in Chorrol – down a side room in the main hall. That guy still kept his hand a bit on her back and it pissed Bishop off to no end. He wasn't even sure why he instantly got so jealous. Maybe it was how the priestesses of Dibella talked of their 'services' to Aeyrin. It sounded more like a fun glimpse into it all back when Aeyrin had told him about that, but now it made him uncomfortable when she was the one getting a healing here. Or maybe he was still a bit sour about what Aeyrin had to do in Chorrol with that Altmer guy. Maybe he was still a bit insecure about Lydia's and Saadia's comments.
They entered the infirmary where another priest was working, with a priestess in different robes, likely a Master, sitting at the side of the room and watching him, making sure everything was alright. There were only four people lying there on the cots. The infirmary was hardly bursting. It was surprising for Anvil. But maybe the sailors didn't bother with healing after their dockside brawls.
"Come here, dear," the man ushered her further, towards a cot in the corner of the room. There was a modesty screen in front of it, likely to provide some privacy during examinations. The chapel of Stendarr had no such thing. Then again, the infirmary there was also often much fuller. The city was larger and they offered free help to people from the slums. Aeyrin wasn't sure if they did the same here in Anvil. After all, charity wasn't exactly Dibella's domain.
"You can sit and wait… anywhere," the priest nodded at Bishop while he pointedly gestured towards a chair by the wall at the other side of the screen. Pfft. Ridiculous. Bishop ignored his 'suggestion' readily and he instead chose a chair right by the cot where Aeyrin had been ushered. It earned a dubious look from the priest, but what did Bishop care?
The man turned his attention back to Aeyrin promptly, ignoring Bishop's presence altogether. He had a patient to take care of after all.
"Now, let's get the shirt off and take care of that wound. Do you need help with that?" the priest asked as he gazed at her shoulder critically.
"What? You can get to that wound with her shirt on," Bishop immediately scoffed at the man. It was already hard enough to remove the strap from her shoulder in a way that didn't hurt her too much. And they did that just so someone would be able to get to that wound. Why the fuck would she need to undress further for this?
Aeyrin gave Bishop a bit of a startled look at his outburst and the priest only let out an exasperated sigh. "If you wouldn't mind and let me do my work," he grumbled.
He didn't need her half naked to do his 'work'. Bishop was ready to retort something again, but Aeyrin quickly interjected.
"It's fine. I just don't know if I can raise the arm to take it off," she sighed. She was thinking that maybe Bishop was just concerned about her injury, but that was naïve. What was he doing? The man was a priest. She had to undress in front of many priests in the past – a lot of wounds were more accessible without clothing. He had to undress in front of priests as well. Although… she did remember that she wasn't exactly reassured by that when he was being treated at the temple in Markarth. What was it about priests of Dibella? It was just stupid prejudice about their worship that tended to warp people's minds, like it or not.
"I'll help you take it off," Bishop quickly jumped in when he saw that she wasn't going to protest about the undressing as much as he did. At the very least he wouldn't let the priest do this.
"Please don't interfere," the priest sighed at him again. He was looking more and more tired by Bishop's antics. "My dear, why don't you just pull it down your hips? I can turn around, if it will make everyone more comfortable," he shot a pointed look at Bishop.
"Alright," Aeyrin chuckled a little. Bishop was being a little ridiculous. Although she kind of admired him for being so… brazen about how he was feeling. When she was nervous about the priestesses in Markarth, she just let it stew inside her silently.
The priest turned around diligently and she promptly started to take off her other strap, then rolling the shirt down her hips and legs with her hale arm. It took a bit longer than undressing normally should, but she was done within a few minutes and she laid herself down carefully on her stomach onto the cot.
"I'm done," she alerted the priest.
The man promptly turned around and began to run his hands over her bare bloodied back, over her spine and towards the wound on her shoulder blade. There was so much unnecessary touching. Bishop kept scowling at every action he made. It was just an arrow wound. It was nothing that required so much 'care'.
"It looks like the arrow went quite deep," the priest pondered. "Who removed it?"
"I did," Aeyrin answered.
"Ah, you should not attempt to do that yourself, sweetie, it aggravates the wound too much at that angle."
Could he fucking stop it with the nicknames? Bishop had to hold himself not to growl angrily as the man kept pawing at her.
"I know… I just… had to get it out," she sighed. Bishop had been busy aiming at the kid and she needed to get rid of the arrow quickly. It had a rusted head and the longer she left that in, the bigger were the chances of some unexpected persistent infections getting in there.
"Don't you worry, I'll take care of everything," the man patted her other shoulder in reassurance and she could have sworn she heard a groan echo back from where Bishop was sitting. He really wasn't subtle. It was kind of cute.
The priest's hands lit up in a moment as they hovered over the open wound on her back. It started to close promptly and quickly. Aeyrin let out a sigh of relief as the warmth enveloped her and soon there was no trace of her injury at all.
No trace but the blood, of course.
"Hold still, dear, I'm going to clean off the mess," the man pressed one of his hands to the small of her back again, keeping her lying on the cot, even though she didn't really try to get up yet.
"She can clean herself," Bishop scoffed. Or he could clean her. There was no need for this asshole to keep pawing at her. Stupid Dibellans.
"Could you please…" The man let out another exasperated sigh. He seemed quite exhausted with Bishop and Aeyrin couldn't help but let out a muffled chuckle into her cot.
He wouldn't hear it. The Imperial took out a wet cloth from a nearby basin and a small bar of soap. First he made slow circles with the washcloth in all the places that had dried blood on them, then he began to lather her up gently. It was quite pleasant. She didn't expect him to go to this extent to care for her injury, especially since they hardly looked like someone who couldn't afford their own bath or a room to rest in.
It took a long time. Way too long for him to finish cleaning her up, in Bishop's opinion. That fucker was clearly enjoying himself. Pfft… priest. He was a glorified whore. Bishop had no doubt that this temple served just like the one in Markarth. Why were they all women in Markarth anyway? Weren't there people who wanted those 'services' from men? That was weird. Though he kind of wished that it was the same here, then this 'priest' wouldn't be pawing at his girl.
Then again, maybe Bishop would be bothered just the same if a woman was so 'attentive' to her. It didn't really matter much, it just bugged him, especially after everything that happened in Chorrol.
Finally! He was done. He took a dry towel and, with infuriating gentleness, he dried up Aeyrin's back from the water. They could leave at last.
Aeyrin moved a bit on the cot, murmuring a thank you against its fabric, but then the man's hand pushed on her back once more.
"Not yet, dear. I have a salve that should help with any residual soreness."
"Oh. Alright," Aeyrin only slumped back onto the cot.
Seriously? 'Residual soreness'? She was a fucking warrior! She was sore from battle constantly. This was so fucking unnecessary. He just wanted to touch her more, Bishop knew it. And it became even more obvious when the man covered his hands with some green oil and grabbed both of her shoulders, moving down across her back with firm motions.
He wasn't just taking care of the wound. He was fucking massaging her. Bishop had to really hold himself not to bark at the man to stop touching her already. Yeah, yeah, Aeyrin kept claiming that this was all part of the healing process – she had learned that too after all, even in her celibate temple. But fucking Void as if there wasn't anything more to this shit. He was all too aware how it felt to be on the receiving end of these 'healing procedures'.
Aeyrin wasn't making a sound, but he couldn't help but wonder if she was just holding herself back because he was there.
"You look so beautifully content." The priest's chuckle tore Bishop's attention from his incessant groping for a while. "Moments like these should be immortalized in works of art. There is no better subject than a beautiful smile."
Alright, that was a fucking come-on! So fucking obvious. Aeyrin only murmured a brief 'thank you' as if he wasn't currently hitting on her and groping her in front of Bishop so brazenly. And where the fuck was he putting those hands?! He kept concentrating on her flanks, the sides of her bare breasts and her lower back. Too low for Bishop's liking. What kind of a fucking massage was that? This was ridiculous.
Fuck, he wanted to interfere. He didn't want to come off as that guy, but this was pissing him off so much. He had to hold his fists tightly clenched around the chair's handles so that he wouldn't stand up and smack those wandering hands of his away from his girl. And his teeth were permanently gritted to prevent him from yelling at that man.
He barely managed to hold in an audible sigh of relief when the guy ran his hands over her back one last time and then withdrew.
"You can dress now, dear. The salve should make you feel good as new. Unless you have any other injuries that you need tended to?" He smiled at her.
Aeyrin did ponder about her leg. That salve really felt amazing. It would certainly get rid of any lingering pain and soreness there too, but then again, she did look back a bit, careful not to rise on her cot too much to uncover herself in front of the priest, and she noticed Bishop's tense expression.
Alright, maybe she had indulged in tormenting him a little too much. It was fun to imagine how he must have been seething with jealousy, but now she kind of felt bad. Then again, she did a lot to diminish his jealousy too. The man was a priest. She would definitely not be concerned at all about undressing in front of him or just rising from the cot whether he saw everything or not. He had seen half-naked and fully naked people every day. If it was a cleric or an initiate, she would be apprehensive, but the priests were expected to deal with every ailment and disease. The clerics were only in the infirmary to help with the very minor issues and diseases – like scratches or ataxia.
But she understood why Bishop minded. She minded that too in Markarth. It didn't really matter if it was rational or not.
"No. Thank you, that's all," she smiled politely at the priest.
"Good. If I may then…" the priest gave her a bashful nod, asking wordlessly for his settlement.
"I'll pay," Bishop sprung from his seat very quickly. "You get dressed."
Aeyrin suspected he just did that so that he could get the priest away from her at last. At least she hoped as much. He wasn't going to punch him, was he?
The two men left her alone behind the modesty screen promptly as they moved towards the other side of the infirmary to settle up. She didn't hesitate to reach out for her shirt and drape it over her head once more.
She got up from the cot and stretched her arms properly. That felt so good after the massage. But she better go check up on Bishop and make sure he wasn't threatening a priest or something.
But the moment she reached them, Bishop only nodded curtly at her and grabbed her by the wrist. He practically yanked her away, dragging her from the infirmary and leaving the priest behind at last.
She only managed to throw the man a wry smile back. He didn't seem to look too shocked by Bishop's behavior though.
Maybe he was used to this sort of thing.
…
"Great. A hundred drakes short for watching a guy grope you," Bishop growled in frustration as the temple doors finally closed behind them.
"You didn't have to pay. And you didn't have to watch, for that matter," Aeyrin giggled at him. Although she knew where he was coming from, it was still a little funny.
"Don't laugh at me," he scoffed. "That guy was clearly giving you some 'special treatment' just so he could feel you up."
"He wasn't 'feeling me up'. It was a massage. A healing technique. How many times do I have to explain that to you?" She chuckled.
"Really? So that did nothing to you?" He narrowed his eyes at her. The priest said she looked 'content'. Granted, she wasn't exactly moaning under his touch, but still.
"It felt good for my sore back. You know, after your family friend shot me? That's it," she smirked. She really didn't get the massage thing. She only got turned on during them when he gave one to her and that was because he kept it chaste for only like a second at most every single time.
"Right. So you'd be completely fine if someone else was doing that to me? Like those priestesses in Markarth for example?" He smirked at her. Like fuck she would be able to stand that any better than him.
"That's different," she shook her head.
"How?"
"Well, because I know what the massages do to you," she scowled. He was enjoying them a little too much, even when she was only touching his back.
"It's just a healing technique," he chuckled meanly. "No big deal, right?"
Aeyrin rolled her eyes at him, though it all seemed in good fun, she did still feel a little bad that it got to Bishop like that. She really didn't know how to explain it to him that it didn't do anything to her though. Still, no matter what, she would probably be in a similarly frustrated state if she had actually watched the priestesses work on him that time in Markarth.
She stepped a little closer to him with a wry smile on her lips. Maybe she should make it up to him a little. It's been a long day regardless with lots of unexpected disappointments. Or maybe some relief too. It was time to end it on a higher note.
"Tell you what," she smirked at him as she pressed herself into his chest. "How about we go get a room instead and we can do some experiments. See what different 'healing techniques' do to either of us."
Bishop's permanent scowl finally softened and his lips promptly quirked up into the all too familiar smirk.
"Finally, a good plan, love."
A great plan, in fact.
Especially before they had to go back out there and deal with their sordid pasts yet again.