Northbound Pilgrimage III

by Jay'all

Aeyrin's and Bishop's adventures continue in Skyrim and beyond as old and new threats still hound their steps. There are many questions left unanswered and many loose ends still untied. Will there finally be some resolution for the incessant problems and will there be a vision of peace on the horizon? A direct continuation of the saga. Usually updated twice a week. (OC/Bishop SRM)

77. Chapter LXXVII - Stags and Hens

Chapter LXXVII – Stags and Hens

Dead Man's Drink had probably never been this lively. Sure, it was a lively place on any day, but this was on a whole other level.

Bishop and Aeyrin did worry about the Imperial presence here. What if the soldiers came in to recruit people again? That would be a disaster.

But when they actually voiced these worries, Brynjolf instantly told them not to worry about a thing and then he disappeared for a long time. When he came back, he informed them that everything was settled. He wouldn't tell them what he did, but he seemed very confident that the Legion would not bother anyone in the coming days.

They could all drink and celebrate in peace.

And they certainly took advantage of that. At this pace, Bishop and Aeyrin were steadily running out of funds. Some of their guests paid for themselves, but not all of them could. Erik and Brelyna didn't exactly have much money and neither did the Windhelm elves, of course. Those six drank for at least twenty people on their own. They kept calling the Nord drinks 'weak swill'.

That was kind of putting a damper on Bishop's plans. They hadn't discussed it with Aeyrin yet, since she couldn't possibly know it was even an option, but he still really liked the idea of that 'honeymoon' that Lydia mentioned. A month away from everyone and everything. He had the perfect place for it. But they would need money to live there and feed themselves without having to go dungeon delving.

He better step up his hunting game after this.

That was alright though. He still needed two trophies anyway. And he wasn't even sure if he and Aeyrin could spend a whole month without any battle or exploring.

But he didn't have to think about that tonight.

Tonight, he was not thinking about any money issues or any issues whatsoever.

"Hey, so…" Erik slurred his words a little as he approached the table where Bishop and Aeyrin sat. Their entire group was taking up probably half of the tavern. Though Therien and Brunwulf preferred to stay at Free-Winter's friend's house where it was calmer, there were still plenty of others that were eager to celebrate here. And most of them were crowding Bishop and Aeyrin at their large table as much as they could. It was so strange to be this… social. They usually took only the smallest tables for themselves not to be bothered by anyone. But this time, it was a nice exception.

"So?" Bishop smirked at him. Erik seemed to have forgotten that he started to ask something and instead he began to concentrate on a wet stain on the wooden table.

"Right! So… what's the… what's the plan for tomorrow?" Erik continued.

"Uuuh… we got some more shit to do… prep some food. Other shit," Bishop tried to list all the stuff, but it was hard to remember it. He wasn't sure what else they were supposed to do tomorrow.

"No, no, no, I mean with you two," Erik shook his head briskly, but it looked a bit like that motion made him… unwell. He stopped right away. "With… you know… seeing each other."

"What?" Bishop cocked his head at him in confusion. What was he talking about?

"You're not supposed to see each other the day before the wedding," Lynly clarified when she saw Erik struggle. She was not nearly as drunk as him. Mostly because she had been playing her music for the better part of the evening and was too busy to drink that much. "It's a tradition."

There were so many traditions. This one sounded weird.

"What? Why? I wanna see her. That's stupid," Bishop scoffed. Why shouldn't he see Aeyrin the day before the wedding? What kind of an idiotic idea was that? He promptly dragged Aeyrin across the bench towards him, eliciting a surprised chuckle from her. She wasn't talking much anymore. He could already tell after those years what that meant for her drunkenness. Soon, she'd be getting sleepy and a little delirious.

"No, it's a good tradition," Lydia chimed in. "I thought you would know this one at least. It's just to make the wedding more special. You see each other all the time, you'll be more excited when you don't see each other tomorrow."

"I'm always excited to see her," Bishop shrugged, which instantly elicited various 'aaws' from the people around. And an annoyed growl from him. "Shut up."

Aeyrin seemed to still be capable of following the conversation though since she leaned against him affectionately and pressed a long affectionate kiss on his cheek.

"All these traditions sound fucking stupid," Sapphire shook her head at them.

"Hear, hear!" Bishop nodded.

"You liked the last one," Lydia smiled a bit. "I think this one is nice too. You will only see each other right before the wedding starts. It's gonna be so special."

"Nords have weird weddings," Idesa smirked. "But I kinda like this one. Imagine all the trouble you'll get trying to finish the preparations apart. And then you'll have stories to tell each other."

Hmm… maybe it wouldn't be so bad. Though Bishop didn't like the 'right before the wedding' shit. What did that mean? That they wouldn't see each other at night either? That was the only time they got some privacy. When were they supposed to fuck?

"It's nice," Aeyrin smiled at him as she mumbled. "Imma miss you though." She promptly nuzzled into his embrace.

"How are we supposed to not see each other? We share a room," Bishop chuckled. There were definitely holes in their logic.

"Well, you can't," Lynly smirked.

Raven was surprisingly fast with his sudden scribbling. He probably didn't want the conversation to move on from what he was trying to say. And soon, he showed off the haphazardly scribbled note.

.

Aeyrin can stay with me.

.

"Give it a rest. She's not staying with you," Bishop scoffed, really emphasizing that it was not an option when it came to Raven. Though he did note that the suggestion didn't bother him as much as it would some time ago. For one, he knew that Raven partly only made it to poke fun at Bishop. And even if not… it was not that he thought it would mean anything other than just sleeping in that place.

"What's going on here?" Azshan looked at Raven, then back at Bishop with intrigue etched on his face.

"Stop… rumoring," Aeyrin mumbled, trying to chastise Azshan. What was the right word for it again?

But apparently, she was the only one who felt like Azshan shouldn't prod into that dynamic.

"The fucker kissed her," Bishop growled.

"He did?" Sapphire snorted with amusement.

"Bish," Aeyrin patted his cheek. He wasn't sure if it was supposed to be reassuring or chastising, but probably the latter. "No. I kissed him."

At that, Raven just gave Bishop a wide smug grin. Alright, now he was annoying him again.

"Big deal," Azshan waved his hand dismissively. Maybe he expected a better rumor. "So did I." That elicited a lot of laughs and Aeyrin promptly hid her flushed face into Bishop's shoulder. Nobody here really knew about these details, but apparently everyone was intent on oversharing.

"Don't fucking remind me," Bishop scoffed. "Still don't know why I tolerate either of you here."

"Because you like us, of course! Despite the constant grumping," Azshan chuckled.

'Liked' was a stretch. But… Bishop really didn't mind them being here. They better fucking stop reminding him of this shit though.

"But don't worry. I'm not gonna offer for her to stay with me," Azshan smirked. "I guess I'll be entertaining Taarie tomorrow."

"'Entertaining'?" Bishop raised his brow at him. "Old habits?"

"Uhh… not what I meant," Azshan scratched his neck a little nervously. "I meant hosting. No, that's not right either. You know what I mean."

"It's fine," Bishop sighed. "You can have the room, princess. I'll sleep outside." He didn't exactly relish sleeping in the wilderness around Falkreath, but it was gonna be fine. He placed a kiss on the top of her head, but she promptly looked up at him with a worried scowl on her face.

"Don't be an idiot, you dumb fuck. You're not camping out around here." Sapphire rolled her eyes. Yeah. Sapphire was definitely the one who would understand Bishop's reservations about this, even though he himself suggested it. She herself must have been really uncomfortable to be near Thorn's old stomping grounds again. "You can stay with us. The room's big enough. One of us can just grab a bedroll. Not like we'll fucking break from that."

.

He gets the floor.

.

Raven promptly presented another scribbled note as he grinned at Bishop.

"He doesn't get the floor – he's the one getting married. You get the floor, lad," Brynjolf chuckled, earning an incredulous scoff from Raven. "What? Are you gonna throw an old man or a lady from their beds?"

"Call me a fucking 'lady' one more time and you're gonna end up in a fucking ditch, not the floor," Sapphire growled at Bryn and it wasn't exactly obvious if she was joking or if she meant it. She probably meant it. But Brynjolf didn't seem fazed by that in the slightest.

"Of course, lass," he chuckled. "Wouldn't expect anything else."

"People can… can stay with us… too. Anyone," Erik piped up. He seemed to be a little behind on the conversation. Or maybe he was just confused. He was definitely the most shitfaced out of everyone there… wait, no… where was Malthyr? Bishop quickly looked around the room only to spot him passed out on one of the tables. Alright, Malthyr won that one, as usual.

"No they can't," Brelyna quickly placed her hand over Erik's mouth. "There's three of us in a room with one bed already."

"Speaking of… we should probably get him back to that room?" Lynly chuckled a little.

"Mmmph!" Erik tried to protest instantly, but Brelyna was still holding his mouth at bay. He did try to struggle valiantly though.

While Erik struggled against Brelyna and Lynly who were both trying to drag him to their room, Bishop turned his attention back to Aeyrin. She was still nuzzled into his embrace, but that was not enough if this was the last night they would see each other. Yeah, sure it was only for a day, but still.

He dragged her promptly onto his lap and she happily obliged, though her movements were a little sluggish already. She was definitely not far behind Malthyr and Erik.

"So, sweetness," he wrapped one arm around her waist and moved the other to her cheek, stroking over it gently. "You really wanna do this? Not see each other the whole day tomorrow. Not at night." He said the last part very meaningfully.

"I'll miss you," she mumbled again. "Is all gonna be… more special," she smiled before she buried her face into the crook of his neck, nuzzling him. He felt her lips and tongue on his skin there a second later, but it was clear her motions were sloppy and uncoordinated by now. They would probably not be fucking tonight either. She was gonna pass out the second she hit the bed, he just knew it.

Ah well. It was not as if he didn't know the anticipation could make shit better. It was kind of a nice idea, even if it might be a little more difficult to deal with the last preparations. Someone was gonna have to be running around like a messenger or something.

It was still hard to believe. One more day. After that, they'd be married.

He was actually gonna have a wife. That was so fucking weird. If someone told him that a few years ago, he would just laugh them off.

But he couldn't wait.

…

The morning seemed so peaceful.

Bishop felt awake for a while now, but he never opened his eyes before now. He felt rays of sun burn his bare back and Aeyrin's breath warming the other side, huffing against his chest in her deep sleep. It was pleasant. The rest of his body was cold enough with him being practically uncovered from the blankets, so he didn't mind the sun searing into him. Aeyrin always hogged the blankets when she was drunk.

So fucking cute.

She was huddled in the blanket with only her face visible, and nuzzled into his chest with her head comfortably resting on his arm. As he assumed, she fell asleep the second she hit the bed. She didn't even take off her clothes and boots. He had to rouse her a little and help her with that before they could go to sleep.

She was cute, but it wasn't ideal. He couldn't feel her at all through the blanket. She was really wrapped up in it, but he began to slowly uncover her a bit until he could finally pull her properly against him. Her bare skin pressed against his eagerly. She wasn't awake, but she instinctively wrapped one arm around him and rubbed against his warm skin, almost every part of her touching him. Yeah, that was much better. He missed feeling her against him like this.

She mumbled something in her sleep and began squirming a bit. That was not helping with his morning excitement. Damn, he wanted to fuck her right now. Should he wake her up? It was probably their last chance! They did agree on that whole 'not seeing each other' bullshit last night. They needed to make the best of their morning.

He wrapped his arm around her snugly, running it over her back and ass while he buried his face in her hair. Occasionally he planted a kiss on the top of her head, but despite him trying to just keep things calm and let her sleep a bit more, his hand had a mind of its own.

He squeezed her buttocks, pressing her hips more into his own. She did seem to be stirring a little though. Or maybe it was subconscious? Whatever the reason, her hand began wandering around his back and hips too.

Then, suddenly, a very loud knocking on their room door made Bishop flinch.

What the fuck?

"Wake up!" Someone yelled and Bishop couldn't recognize the voice fully. It was hard to tell through the door. It was followed by a bunch of chuckles and giggles though.

Fuck.

There went his morning plans.

Alright. Now he really needed to wake her up.

"Princess," he moved his hand to her upper arm and squeezed her a little. When she let out another incoherent mumble, he dipped his head down and began kissing and nipping at the skin of her neck. Finally, instead of the mumbling, she let out a groan of pleasure.

"Love, wake up," he murmured against her skin, followed by another nip, now a little harsher one. Aeyrin let out a gasp and her nails dug into his back.

Fuck. This was frustrating. He really wanted to fuck her right now. But the knocking began again. Even harder this time.

"Hmmm… what?" Aeyrin managed to get actual words out, but her voice sounded really hoarse. That was fine, Bishop expected that. He prepared a whole pitcher of water for her last night. He reached behind him and felt around for the goblet that should be on the nightstand. He was trying to be coordinated when he grabbed it, but a few cold drops fell on him anyway. Not that he minded. He could actually really use a lot more cold water right now.

Aeyrin's eyes fluttered open and she moved her head a bit to be able to drink. She was clearly still trying to make sense of the world, but she did throw him a grateful smile when she was done drinking. Then she dropped back onto the bed and snuggled into him again.

"Princess, you need to wake up, get dressed and open that fucking door," he sighed.

"Noo. You go," Aeyrin shook her head against him.

"I can't," he chuckled, punctuating his point by pressing his hips firmer to hers again. "Sorry, sweetness."

Aeyrin let out a snicker of her own when she felt what he meant by that. Alright. She needed to get up. She let out a loud groan. Everything hurt. Especially her head. But the incessant knocking on the door didn't make it better.

She placed a brief peck on Bishop's lips and began scrambling to get out of the warm bed. Dammit, she really didn't feel like waking up. She wanted to drink that whole pitcher of water she saw on the nightstand. She wanted to crawl back into the bed and snuggle with Bishop. And possibly help him with his predicament. That would wake her up effectively.

She almost stumbled off the bed while Bishop covered himself with the blanket. She bent down when she spotted his shirt on the floor and she heard a familiar grunt behind her. Heh. That view probably didn't help him.

But the knocking was not letting her tease him more. She draped the shirt over her head, made sure it covered everything below, and finally stepped towards the door to open it.

"Morning!" Several very loud voices boomed when she opened the door. That was not great for her hangover.

Aeyrin only groaned in response, but the guests didn't seem to be deterred by that. They all pushed past her, Lynly, Azshan, Saadia, Lydia and Revyn. The others were probably still asleep too.

"It's so late! Everyone's still asleep. And we have a lot to do," Lydia scowled disapprovingly when she noted Aeyrin's attire and Bishop hiding himself in the bed, clearly naked under the blanket's flimsy cover. At least he did his best to arrange it so nobody could know why he didn't come to the door.

"Yeah. Chop, chop," Azshan grinned. "Besides, it's a new day. You two are not supposed to see each other."

"That was a fucking stupid idea," Bishop growled. Right now, it was really the last thing he wanted. Fuck making things 'special' and fuck 'missing her'. He just wanted her with him. A lot closer than she was now.

"Too late!" Saadia laughed merrily.

"Come on, it's a nice tradition," Lydia pouted. She clearly liked all these Nordic traditions to keep pushing them. But they were kinda nice. Just very inconvenient right now.

"Come on then, f'lah. Get dressed and grab whatever you need for the day. This room is barred to you now," Revyn grinned.

So fucking annoying. Bishop groaned again and fell back onto the bed. He could practically feel the sympathetic look Aeyrin was giving him, but she didn't know how determined he was. He was not leaving until he got what he wanted.

"Fine. Get the fuck out then so that we can get dressed," Bishop sighed in resignation. They would have limited time before their friends started to pester them again, but he sure as fuck was going to use that limited time as best as he could.

The small crowd grumbled and nodded variously, but they did comply and left the room again. Finally. They were alone once more.

"Come right here this second, princess," Bishop hissed at her through his frustration.

Aeyrin only let out a giggle and rushed to jump back at the bed, straddling Bishop's thighs. The whole scene really woke her up properly. If she stayed in bed, she would have still been half-dozing off. Then again, she might also still be a little drunk after last night. She didn't remember how much she drank.

Bishop eagerly pulled her onto his lap. His hands were on the backs of her thighs within seconds and he began to palm her, sliding them over her asscheeks under his shirt. Aeyrin didn't waste any time either. She grabbed the hem of the blanket and yanked it off him enough to uncover his groin.

Bishop leaned in to kiss her hungrily in an instant. Now that the blanket was out of the way, he could move her even closer, having her smooth thighs and folds rub against his hard cock. Fuck that was such a relief to feel her skin against him.

Now he just needed…

The door swung open again and all he could process for a moment was Aeyrin's shocked yelp while she quickly rolled herself off him and into the bed, pulling his shirt over anything that might be showing and turning beet red. Bishop managed to react somewhat quickly and pull the blanket back up, but nobody could be fooled about what was going on.

Especially not the person that entered.

Again.

The three of them just stared at each other for what felt like a long time. This was just… either very unbelievable or very ordinary.

The silence wasn't even awkward anymore.

"So… that 'knocking' we discussed. Just really beyond you, huh?" Bishop smirked at Lydia after a while of letting that silence linger.

"We left this room two seconds ago," Lydia huffed.

"Yeah. You left. You were supposed to stay left. We were supposed to get dressed anyway," Bishop huffed.

"Nothing I haven't accidentally seen before anyway," Lydia mumbled. "But were you doing that? Or were you doing the opposite?"

"Stop nagging," Bishop scoffed. "I am already annoyed with this 'tradition'."

"Never mind," Lydia sighed, but there was still that bit of palpable amusement behind her exasperation. "I really need Aeyrin now. You got a letter and the innkeeper from Solitude and the innkeeper won't give it to anyone but you. I think she's mad at us after last night."

Bishop plopped down on the bed and let out a very frustrated groan again. Right. There was some breaking of bottles, some brawling between the elves. And maybe some inappropriate displays of affection that may have been his fault. Of course the innkeeper wasn't very happy.

"Well, get out and let her get dressed then," Bishop huffed.

"No. You two can't be trusted," Lydia smirked.

Shit. Bluff called.

Aeyrin petted his cheek sympathetically. She really did need to go then. It was likely about her dress. If something went wrong, she would have to get a replacement one somewhere somehow.

"Sorry, Bish. You're on your own," she chuckled a little and hopped off the bed again.

Fuck. Great. He really hated this tradition.

Aeyrin quickly located her trousers on the floor and pulled them up. Then, when she found her shirt too, she turned her back to Lydia and took off Bishop's tunic, giving him one last enticing and really frustrating view. She was all dressed again way too soon though and Bishop could only watch longingly as she pulled on her boots and left the room with Lydia.

Ugh. Well… at least he was alone now, if not with Aeyrin.

He should probably lock that fucking door.

…

Aeyrin let out a sigh of relief when she read the letter. It was just Taarie saying she was on her way and should arrive in Falkreath… well, today, actually. It also said she had a surprise. Aeyrin had no idea what that meant, but she was excited.

By the time she received and read the letter, and told everyone around what it said, because they had all been convinced it was something extremely secret since the innkeeper wouldn't let them have it and not just a result of her spite, Bishop finally left the room. He still looked morose about the situation, but definitely less… strained.

"Alright. Say your goodbyes," Revyn grinned at the two of them when Bishop approached Aeyrin by the bar. "You'll see each other tomorrow."

Aeyrin was still making sense of how exactly they agreed to this, but it was kind of nice to have the moment they saw each other at the wedding more poignant. Still, she hated parting with him now.

Bishop stepped towards her and wrapped his arms around her. She rested against his chest instantly. Gods, that was supposed to be her whole morning today, just lazing about with him, snuggling with him. And other things.

Ah well, they would make up for it. They had to. Tomorrow, they would be spending time together as husband and wife. That still sounded strange. Aeyrin wasn't sure if she could ever actually call him that. Right now, it felt unbelievable, but in a strangely good way.

Bishop leaned down to kiss her goodbye, but clearly the mood from this morning didn't leave him with his private stress relief. One of his arms wrapped around her back like a snake, and the other one sneaked down to her buttocks again. His tongue slipped inside her mouth almost instantly and she felt herself being pressed against the bar. She could vaguely feel the legs of a barstool as she took a few clumsy steps back and then some clattering sound, but she was kind of fully absorbed in the intense kiss.

"Nchow, it's one day!" Idesa called out to them while numerous chuckles filled the room.

"Aah, let them be, Ides," Ambarys smirked.

It was too late though. Aeyrin got too aware of their audience and pulled away with a wry smile and a very flushed face. Alright, she probably wasn't drunk anymore, otherwise she wouldn't get this embarrassed. She only pressed her fingers against Bishop's clothed chest for a while and stood on her tiptoes to give him one last, this time brief, kiss on his lips.

"Alright. We're taking him away," Lydia chuckled as she grabbed the hem of Bishop's shirt and started to pull. "We're using the alchemist's kitchen today, so we'll probably chain him there or something."

Aeyrin giggled at the image and Bishop let out another exasperated groan. His lips did quirk a bit in amusement though.

"Bye, princess. See you tomorrow," he stroked over her cheek briefly before Lydia managed to pull enough to make him actually walk.

Aeyrin just stared after him for a while.

Tomorrow. Unbelievable.

She couldn't wait.

…

Bishop had no idea everyone was going to take this tradition this seriously.

But he suspected that it was mostly because they were all very amused about how much it frustrated him. Whenever someone mentioned they needed something from the inn, he instantly volunteered to go there. But nobody bought his ploys. It was kinda fun. He was just doing it on purpose now. Sure, he wanted to see Aeyrin, but he also wanted to keep this tradition, now that they'd decided. He was just making these 'escape attempts' because it was fun to try to trick his friends, even though he never managed.

At first, Lydia and Saadia dragged him to the apothecary. The Redguard was already familiarized with what was going on and when she saw Bishop this time, she congratulated him on the wedding. She did promise not to say a word to anyone, but she admitted that people were already talking about it anyway. It was to be expected. This ensemble of theirs was anything but subtle.

She was more than happy to lend them her personal kitchen though. It had a baking oven too so they could even make some desserts. Well, Lydia could. Bishop stuck to their meat and vegetable supplies.

And soon, they weren't alone in there.

Saadia never left. She just hung around the kitchen, usually helping them as their 'taster' and distracting them with idle chatter. And soon, the smells attracted more attention. The rogues came down to the kitchen soon enough and Brynjolf and Sapphire decided to help. Raven rushed off instead. He didn't even have to scribble it on a note. He was definitely going to spend time with Aeyrin.

And eventually, Ambarys showed up too. He brought some ash yams, which the elves apparently brought along with the booze, and he requested that Bishop make them for them. For all the booze. His instructions were… a little more detailed than Bishop expected. He didn't like someone directing him that much when cooking. Lydia usually left a lot of things to his own judgment and tastes. But ash yams tasted like ass on any day, so maybe it was for the best.

"Stop, stop, stop!" Ambarys grabbed Bishop's elbow, stilling his motion.

"Amba, for fuck's sake, leave it. Without the spice, it will taste like an ash yam," Bishop sighed. That spice was good. It would kill the taste. He finally convinced Ambarys to let him add it to those boiled yams, but now he was stopping him from adding too much.

"It is an ash yam, f'lah. It's supposed to taste like that," Ambarys scoffed at him in annoyance.

"Yeah, it doesn't have to though. I know you're fucking poor, but you can eat actual food here. Enjoy it," Bishop smirked.

"You snowberries don't know what's good if it hit you in the face," the elf rolled his eyes at Bishop.

"It is hitting me in the face. Constantly. It's not good," Bishop scrunched up his nose. The smell was just awful. He also noticed that Sapphire was no longer chopping vegetables by his side but on the other side of the kitchen now. Hah! As if anyone could escape this.

"Just let him have his fucking yams," Sapphire grumbled. "You don't have to eat them."

"That's not the point. Lydia gave me a reputation to uphold," Bishop chuckled, eliciting an amused snort from Lydia. He had been pretty open about his cooking skill only being honed thanks to her and since then, everyone was eager to taste whatever she was making. "I can't just throw that aside," he continued. "And besides, where'd you go? What are you doing all the way over there?"

"Shut up. It stinks like horse shit left on the sun for three days," Sapphire huffed.

"That's… specific," Saadia chuckled. "But now that you mention it…"

"Fucking snowberries," Ambarys sighed in defeat.

"I'm not a snowberry!" Saadia instantly protested, but he only waved his hand at her dismissively.

"Fine. Fucking humans. Better?" He gave her a challenging look before he turned back to Bishop. "Alright, f'lah. Now we add the flin. Carefully. Slowly. Got it?"

"Got it," Bishop smirked and grabbed the bottle of flin Ambarys placed on one of the tables before. He instantly uncorked it and took a deep swig. The elves did have a point about the meads being weak as opposed to the Dunmer spirits. But it did depend on the mead. Dragon's Breath, for example, was probably even stronger. But not the watered down swill served in most taverns.

"Hey! Don't waste it!" Ambarys scowled.

"It's not a waste if it will kill my sense of smell," Bishop chuckled. Flin was really strong and it always stung in his nostrils when he took a swig. But fine, Amba wanted his yams, he should finish them.

"Alright, enough about the yams," Brynjolf interjected. "How are you feeling, lad? No cold feet?"

"Are you kidding?" Bishop scoffed. He didn't even have to think about the answer. "Not even a little. I can't fucking wait."

"Good. You deserve being happy, lad, after all that shit…" Brynjolf smiled at him sympathetically. Bishop got a little annoyed by the pity in his voice, even though he knew Bryn meant well, but Lydia fortunately stepped up and put a stop to that. Maybe she learned from the time Aeyrin explained to her how pity looks just made painful memories worse.

"No need to rehash the past. This celebration is about the future," she noted.

"That's right," Saadia sighed wistfully as she approached Bishop. She looked into the pot of yams for a while before she scrunched up her nose in disgust. That only made the two of them share an amused look though. And despite the smell, she stayed by his side for a while and wrapped her arm around his shoulders.

She leaned into him and he couldn't help but feel strange. But good. It kinda made him think about Jules for some reason. Maybe because this was kind of how he imagined a family actually should be. All that stupid teasing and arguing, but still… this.

"A great future," she added and Bishop instinctively leaned against her too. It better be. After all they'd been through, with all of these people, they fucking deserved it.

The sound of the door opening interrupted the scene and Bishop instantly pulled back from Saadia. Weird. It made him feel like he was doing something people shouldn't see. Probably because he just felt weirdly… unguarded. Fuck, this wedding and having everyone here was getting to him. Or maybe it was the yams. They probably had a weird effect on him.

He and Saadia both turned towards the door, as did the rest of the helpers in the room.

"Hey." It was Lynly who smiled at them weakly. She did look a little troubled though. "I'm bringing a message from the others. We've got a problem."

Well, that did it. Bishop was anything but unguarded within a second. What the fuck now? What happened? Dragons? Assassins? Siddgeir again?

"Gods, calm down. What exactly do you all expect to happen?" Lynly's eyes widened when all the present people pierced her with an intense stare. Well… it was valid. Most of them were very used to expecting the worst at any opportunity.

"What is it then, lass?" Brynjolf prodded. Finding out was the only thing that would ease their minds anyway.

"The innkeeper grabbed one of the bags of the prepared meat you kept there," Lynly sighed. Bishop and Lydia had been cooking some shit ahead of time and keeping it in bags there with ice wraith teeth. All it needed was a minute on the fire and it would all be good to eat again. They couldn't possibly make everything in one day after all. And they needed something to warm up for later in the day anyway – they were not gonna eat everything at one go. But now one of the bags was gone? That was a lot of meat.

"Why the fuck would she do that?" Bishop snarled. She agreed to let them use the kitchen and keep the shit there.

"It was a mistake. She thought it was her own supply," Lynly shook her head.

"Yeah right," Bishop rolled his eyes. "She's still pissed about last night."

"That place was barely fucking thrashed," Sapphire rolled her eyes. "Spiteful bitch."

"Uhm… I don't know, I really think it was an accident," Lynly chuckled a little nervously when she saw the reaction this 'accident' got.

"It doesn't really matter, does it? What do we do?" Saadia shook her head in defeat. They were now missing a significant portion of their food.

"Not eat as fucking much?" Sapphire suggested with a mean chuckle escaping her lips.

"That's not happening," Bishop smirked. At least it wasn't horker meat. They would only be roasting that today to keep it as fresh as possible. It was Aeyrin's favorite. And mudcrabs, but he didn't have those among the supplies.

But it was still shitty.

"Well, how about we check out our hunter in action?" Ambarys suggested.

Well… that was an option. Bishop never hunted in Falkreath, for obvious reasons, but… what else was there to do? They needed more meat. One deer would do it.

"Uuuh," Sapphire hissed uncertainly. Bishop understood her apprehension entirely. But he probably had to. It was fine. Completely fine. There was nothing in those forests. She didn't have to worry about him.

"Alright. It's a good plan," Bishop nodded.

"Bishop, you don't fucking have to…" Sapphire started with palpable concern, but he really didn't want to dwell on this shit now.

"I'm fine, Sapphire. Don't worry," he sighed before he gave her a meaningful look. Maybe she still wasn't realizing it either. "It's over."

"The fuck are you talking about f'lah?" Ambarys raised his brow at the exchange.

"Nothing. The forests around here are dangerous. Said to be cursed," Brynjolf explained. "There were dangerous people we all knew about all too well. But they're gone."

"Huh. Snowberry bandits? Those can be vicious," Ambarys nodded thoughtfully.

"You got that right," Bishop smirked. "But no more bandits. I'll go hunt us something down."

"You're not going alone!" Sapphire instantly dropped her chopping knife and stepped towards him. That was a sweet gesture, but she was probably the last person who should put herself through the memories.

"Sapphire, you really don't need to…" Bishop sighed, but he got interrupted by Ambarys again.

"We're all coming! I said we should check you out in action, didn't I?"

"Wait, what? The forests are still dangerous," Bishop shook his head. And besides, hunting with a bunch of people behind his back did not sound effective at all.

"All the more reason. Aeyrin would Shout us to pieces if we got you lost or hurt in the forest. You are not going in there alone," Saadia grinned at him as she threw her arm around his shoulders again. He did note that Lydia scowled a bit at the fact that Saadia was eager to go, but eventually, she nodded in determination.

"Yeah, come on. Get your shit and we'll finish up here for now," Bryn smiled at him.

Well, he could already see there was no convincing anyone. This was gonna be… interesting, to say the least. But he wasn't the only one capable of battle there. Lydia, Bryn and Sapphire were there. That put his mind at ease a bit.

"Fine," he sighed in defeat. "But you, you and you are getting actually equipped too," he pointed at the three of them who would be of any help if shit went tits up. "And you two," he scowled at Lynly and Saadia. "It's a fucking forest. No dresses." They were the only ones wearing dresses right now and he wasn't sure if they actually planned on getting changed. They fucking better. Stumbling around in a forest in a dress would be a nightmare. Though Saadia's was short enough that it wouldn't hinder her, the whole dragon scene played in front of his eyes again instantly. At least some fucking leather would help.

"Yes, sir," Saadia stuck out her tongue at him.

"Wait… I'm going? Oh… alright," Lynly chuckled a little. It looked like she expected to only be a messenger, but she did look excited to be included in the spontaneous adventure.

Bishop was still nervous about the forests.

But he couldn't pretend like he wasn't at least a little intrigued about how this shit would go.

…

Aeyrin returned to her room promptly after Bishop was dragged away from her.

There was still that pitcher of water there waiting for her. And the bed. Maybe it was still warm. She was kind of surprisingly energetic, but still, a warm bed was hard to resist, even when she wasn't tired anymore. Bishop's antics woke her up so well, but she was pretty sure that if she wanted to, she could fall asleep instantly.

She shut the door behind her and jumped back on the bed. What was she gonna do all day? She knew there was more to do, but she didn't recall the details. Saadia and Lydia knew, but they were cooking with Bishop. She couldn't go ask them.

Well, never mind. Sleep first.

She downed half of the pitcher in one go. That was such a relief. Her throat felt much better now. And now she could…

The door swung open again suddenly. Did nobody knock around here?

"There you are," Azshan grinned at her as he entered the room. "What are you doing? We got stuff to do."

"We do?" Aeyrin raised her brow at him.

"Yeah. Lydia instructed me. We're prepping the lanterns and picking up the boats. Also you said your dress is coming. There's so much to do," he smirked.

That was a lot to do. Well, kind of. She didn't really know. She wouldn't be trying on a dress for hours. And the lantern and boats wouldn't take that long either, right?

"Come on, the lanterns are in my room. No sleeping," he smirked at her and outstretched his hand to take hers in it and yank her off the bed again. No more warm bed. But she was still energetic enough. Azshan did stop to look around for a bit though. "On second thought, this room's bigger. And Taarie might need to set up in mine when she gets here."

"Set up?" Aeyrin cocked her head to the side. 'Set up' what?

"Her stuff. For hair and makeup and all that. You don't think she of all people will just toss a dress at you and leave it at that, do you?" He chuckled. Well… he had a point. That was not how things worked in Solitude. And Taarie was priding herself on her reputation. It did fill Aeyrin with a bit of dread though. More hours spent being pampered like that. It always took too long. But she would withstand it for Taarie.

"You need help bringing it here then?" She asked. She decided not to comment on the whole 'setting up' business. She did trust Taarie with amazing results after all, so she wasn't that bothered by it.

Azshan clearly wanted to say something, but then a scowl appeared on his face. He lowered his gaze a little and then he let out a frustrated sigh. "Yeah. Thanks."

"Azshan," Aeyrin gave him a somewhat chastising look. She hoped it conveyed what she meant it to. Did he seriously feel ashamed for needing help carrying things? She was pretty sure most people couldn't carry with two hands what he could with just one.

"I just…" he let out a frustrated sigh, as if he was internally waging a war whether to speak or not. In the end though, he just lowered his head in defeat. "I feel so… useless. With everything. Completely useless. I'm not able to do anything anymore. I can't write, I can't fight, it takes me three times as long to dress myself. I can barely even manage putting on my armor. I just don't wear it anymore. I mean… I probably can't wear it. Should I have returned that to the Order?" He got distracted for a while with his pondering, but then he shook his head to rouse himself from it. "For two months nothing's been improving. I just keep finding more and more things I can't do anymore."

Aeyrin didn't really know what to say. She couldn't even imagine how hard it must have been. All she could think of doing just then was to provide some comfort. She stepped closer and wrapped her arms around him, but Azshan pushed her away promptly.

"I'm sorry. You don't have to do this," he chuckled a little, but the strain in his voice was palpable. "This is my own fault and I need to stop complaining about it. And you don't need me to whine when you should be having fun and celebrating."

"Stop that," she slapped his bicep playfully. "I don't care if you're complaining or not. You have no idea how much it means to just… know you're honest with me. That you can be honest with me."

"It means a lot to me too," he smiled at her weakly, but he still looked so defeated. That was it. It was now the first task of the day – making him feel better.

"You know that right after we left Solitude, we got arrested in Markarth and thrown into Cidhna Mine?"

Azshan's eyes went wide at her in shock. Well, that definitely erased that defeated expression, but it wasn't exactly her intent to surprise him. There was a point to this. Sort of. She felt like there was a point to it.

"What? Why?" Azshan gaped at her.

"The Silver-Bloods framed us for murder. For some past slights. That's… not important. What I meant to say is… well… they were worried I would use my Shouts to do something. So they kept me tied up all the time and with this… thing on my mouth. I could barely breathe and I couldn't even drink or eat. Not unless they let me when they sent a mage to silence me for a bit."

"That's barbaric!" Azshan gasped.

"Yeah. It was. But I couldn't do anything. I never felt so useless in my life. I couldn't do anything myself. I couldn't even keep myself alive. Not on my own. Not without someone 'allowing' it. At first."

"How long were you…" he shook his head incredulously. He didn't have to finish the question.

"I think it was five days or so. The first day or two were just… a nightmare. I kept figuring out more and more things that I needed to worry about. More and more things I couldn't do. But then… then some… solutions started to trickle in. Ideas. And… some ways to make things easier. And when I actually let someone help me."

"I know I should be more patient," Azshan sighed.

"You should. But I think it's normal to panic. It's… awful, all those things you realize are just impossible. But it changes. You'll eventually run out of them. And then you'll be thinking about the things that are possible," she smiled a bit. "And… just you wait. You'll feel very useful soon. You'll have the whole city of Chorrol begging for your healing hand soon."

"Yeah. I keep thinking about that. One thing I can still be useful with," Azshan smiled back at her a little. "It's just that I still find those things I can't do."

"Yeah. I get it. And while you do, whine and complain to me all you like," she gave him a reassuring nudge.

At that, Azshan pulled her into his embrace briskly. "I don't know what I would do without you through all of this," he shook his head at himself before he buried his hand in her hair to tussle it a bit. Aeyrin had the instinct to flinch from that and get annoyed, as she always did, but she fought that instinct to indulge him.

Still, his words made her feel a bit guilty.

"Without me, you'd still have that arm," she mumbled. He lost it because he was trying to help her. Save her.

"Without you, I might still be in there. Deeper in. Probably already in jail, with my life ruined, dead, or just… a person I would not recognize anymore. I will never regret getting out of that mess. No matter the cost. You gave me the push I needed," he sighed.

It was really comforting to hear. Azshan had told her how grateful he was, but she worried he might grow resentful with time. It seemed though like he was just getting more resentful of himself than anything else. That wasn't great either. But she knew he just needed a little perspective. To start over. She really hoped the temple would do him good. And she would write to him. This time she would not let it fade out. Not a chance.

"Come on, honey," he pulled back from her again. She noticed his eyes were glazed over a bit and slightly red, but he was forcing a smile on his face. "We gotta prepare your wedding. To a really decent guy I almost got executed." Aeyrin gave him another half-chastising, half-sympathetic look, but he only shook his head again. "Void. I'm fine. I really am. Let's go."

She wished there was something she could say to make things better. But she had no idea what it could be. The best she could do was to follow him when he turned on his heel and headed out of the room. The best she could do, what she wanted to do, was to be there with him.

When they left the room, several people instantly swarmed them and Azshan quickly wiped his eyes again. It appeared that Idesa, Revyn and Brelyna were waiting there, not that hungover and clearly eager to help with anything that needed to be done.

"Hey! What are you up to?" Brelyna grinned. "Malthyr's out. So are Faryl and Aval, possibly for the day. And Amba went to get our yams. We can help with whatever you need now."

"'Yams'?" Azshan cocked his head at her.

"Yeah. We want our yams. It's a tradition at weddings. You'll see," Idesa explained briefly. "It's important. He'll bring them to the kitchen people. But we're here to help now."

"Well… Azshan said we need to do the lanterns," Aeyrin said. Idesa and Revyn beamed at her instantly at that.

"You are in luck, hla aka!" Revyn grinned. "The Dunmer are experts at lanterns!"

"We are? I'm not. Nobody told me I should be good at lanterns," Brelyna gave them an uncertain look.

"Of course you are, yifir rokav," Idesa chuckled. "I'm sure you'll find some amazing way to light them all at once after they are hung. Imagine how impressive that would be."

"That's ridiculous," Brelyna shook her head at the notion, but then her frown suddenly turned into a deeply pondering look. "Although… wait… no… if I'd use… hmm…"

"See?! It's happening!" Idesa suddenly jumped excitedly, clapping her hands.

"What is happening? And what did you call her?" Azshan blinked at them in confusion.

"Nothing's happening. Forget it," Brelyna roused herself from her ruminations and visibly chased her thoughts away by waving her hand. "I'm not doing that."

"Aaaw. Come on," Idesa huffed in disappointment.

"Yifir rokav. 'Brilliant chaos'. Young Erik told us about her experiments," Revyn grinned.

"Right. You are a College student. Experiments are part of that, aren't they?" Azshan nodded, as if he wasn't sure what the big deal was. He had never met Brelyna. It could not be really explained. And Aeyrin wasn't sure if she got excited about all that talk of lighting all lanterns at once or terrified about explosions on the lake.

"Yes. They are. They're completely normal," Brelyna rolled her eyes. "Let's just go make those lanterns then. Erik's hungover. And Lynly is taking a bath. They'll join us later, I think."

"Alright. The lanterns are in Azshan's room, but we're taking them to mine," Aeyrin explained. Nobody needed to be told twice. They headed over to the room at the end of the hall to pick up the supplies.

They were on the floor in Aeyrin's room soon enough, working on putting the colored wax papers on the constructions while Brelyna melted candles onto the finished lanterns so that they would hold still there.

Eventually, Erik made his way into the room, looking for anyone familiar around the tavern. He came up empty in the common room, but he started to knock on their rooms and finally found them in Aeyrin's.

He did look a little haggard after the night he had. Aeyrin quickly went to refill the pitcher with water for him. He really looked like he needed it.

Everyone teased him for a while, making loud noises or talking about food, which did not seem to make him feel great, but they let him be after a while. And soon, there was another knock on the door and Raven came to join them surprisingly eagerly.

"Shit," Idesa cursed as she rubbed her hand over the other's wrist. She had been flinching for a while every time she pulled the paper on a construction, but she always pulled her long sleeve over her wrist to hide whatever obvious injury she had there.

Aeyrin was getting increasingly worried. She tried to prod last night again, but the elves were so tight-lipped. They always dismissed her and told her to have fun and celebrate. They were part of the reason why she got so drunk. They kept shoving drinks in her face to shut her up.

"You know, I could take a look at that. Maybe I can help," Azshan scowled at her. Clearly he was fed up with her flinching too. Or maybe he still really wanted to feel useful. He wasn't doing that well with the lanterns – it was not a job for one hand. He did figure out a system where he held the construction between his knees and pulled the paper on, but it took him longer than anyone else. Still, it was helpful regardless, no matter the speed.

"I'm fine, I said so already," Idesa growled. "Why does everyone keep prodding? We're all supposed to be having fun."

"Because you keep flinching and you have bruises like you'd been beaten daily for months," Aeyrin scowled at her. Enough tip-toeing. "It's worrying."

"There's a lot of shit here that's worrying, hla aka. Do you want to go over all of it?" Idesa scowled. "Do you want us to actually enjoy something or do you want to rehash old wounds over and over again?"

"I was just…" Aeyrin tried to talk, but Idesa was kind of hard to interrupt. She promptly continued.

"You really want that? Fine. What happened to your arm?" She turned to Azshan sharply. He opened his mouth, either to answer or let out a shocked gasp, but Idesa just continued without letting him. "What happened to your tongue?" She turned to Raven next and then she turned her gaze to Aeyrin again. "What happened to your ear?"

Aeyrin quickly placed her palm over her mangled ear. It had been ages since she felt self-conscious about that. Bishop helped with that so much and eventually, she realized that the less she tried to frantically hide it, the less people noticed it. Now she wasn't bothering with hiding it at all. She was currently very much rethinking that though.

"See? Not pleasant," Idesa scoffed, but when Aeyrin only lowered her head in shame, still keeping her hand on her ear, Idesa let out a long sigh. She gently grabbed Aeyrin by her elbow and pulled her arm down, revealing her ear again. Aeyrin couldn't help but feel like everyone was staring at it just then. It was really unpleasant.

"Hla aka, we appreciate you so much. How much you try. How much you fight for us," Idesa gave her an affectionate smile and she brushed a strand of hair behind her mangled ear. "But sometimes you just gotta let it go and let us forget it for a while. Alright?"

Aeyrin nodded and gave her a soft smile in return. She was right. Aeyrin was just reminding them of the painful things in life. And for what? Nobody would be able to do anything about them now.

"What did happen to your ear anyway?" Azshan raised his brow at her, but it instantly earned him a hiss from Idesa. And Raven. He was the only one there who actually knew what happened to her in Thorn's lair. Aeyrin wasn't sure how many details Raven knew, but he knew when she lost the tip of her ear at least.

"What did I just say?" Idesa shook her head.

"What? She knows what happened to my arm too," Azshan shrugged, as if it was supposed to be some form of bartering information, but he deflated soon enough. "Fine. Sorry."

"You're all somehow mangled. It's weird," Brelyna pondered. "What are the chances?"

"Happens easier than you think," Erik smirked at her. He still looked like death warmed over, but that smirk of his did help the overall image. "One minute you're doing weird experiments, the next you're trapped in a swamp with a dragon trying to eat you. Imagine how easy it would be to get maimed for life in that situation. Life gets unpredictable."

"Point taken," Brelyna gave him a wry smile. It was clear he was referring to some anecdote only the two of them knew, but Idesa's outburst kind of deterred anyone from prying overmuch.

The conversation turned much lighter after that. They were mostly talking about the weddings some of them attended before. Predictably, Azshan had attended an astonishing number of them, but Idesa and Revyn did attend a few Dunmer ones in the Grey Quarter too. Then the conversation turned to Aeyrin's favorite topic – food.

As if she was called though, Lynly came to inform them that the innkeeper stopped her to tell her that she accidentally used one of their supply bags. That was a problem.

But it was a problem for the kitchen people to deal with. Azshan instantly made an executive decision and sent Lynly to deliver the message.

As the day progressed, they were all making some strides with the lanterns. They had whole strings of them now, long and colorful. It was all going very smoothly.

And eventually, there was another knock on the door. Possibly Aval and Faryl. Probably not Malthyr. Or maybe Lynly was back, though they all suspected by now she stayed to help in the kitchen.

"Come in!" Aeyrin called out, as she had several times today already. But the person did not enter. Instead, there was another knock.

Dammit. She had her hands full. But fine. She put down the construction with the paper half-pulled onto it and she headed over to the door.

When she opened, her face fell instantly. She really hoped she was done with this, but apparently not.

"What now?" She instantly growled. It felt like she needed to get defensive when she saw this woman. It probably wasn't even her fault, but Aeyrin got instantly annoyed. Because she knew the woman wasn't here out of her own volition.

"Dragonborn," Siddgeir's Altmer steward scowled a bit. "I'm afraid Jarl Siddgeir sends me with some grave news."

What? What now? There better not be anything wrong with Bishop. That man better not have another scheme up his sleeve!

"What is it?" Aeyrin frowned back at her, bracing herself for the worst.

"The Jarl was made aware that you are planning a wedding in Falkreath, but… I'm afraid you need an official document for that. It's common practice and you can organize such event in the city when…"

"It's not in the city!" Azshan quickly called out from the back of the room. Everyone in there was eerily quiet now, listening to what was going on, but Azshan decided it was time to interject. "Nobody needs any permission to do whatever they want in the wilderness."

That was true. It would have likely been different if they meant to hold a ceremony in the city streets, disrupting everyone's daily business, but who in their right mind would do that? In Falkreath, no less.

And that wasn't all.

"We have an official document from Jarl Siddgeir himself," Aeyrin hissed at the woman. What was this? What was the point of this? Was that asshole now just trying to ruin her wedding out of spite? That pathetic child. "One of our guests, Lord Free-Winter got it for us via a courier ahead of time. We didn't want to bother the Jarl personally. I'm sure that's appreciated." Aeyrin scoffed, letting a lot of venom spill out along with her words.

That man needed to pretend like he didn't exist, if he didn't want to be Shouted apart!

Calm down.

"Oh. I… see. I will… relay the message," the steward sighed and again she turned on her heel. Before Aeyrin saw her turn fully, she slammed the door behind her with force.

With a deep sigh, she went back to the floor to continue the work, but nobody else did continue. They all looked at her curiously.

"Seriously, what is going on with you and the Jarl? First the refusal, now this," Azshan shook his head incredulously.

"What refusal?" Brelyna looked at him curiously.

"He invited her to discuss the dragon crisis a few days ago and she refused to even talk," he explained.

"Azshan, I thought you were supposed to stop spreading rumors," Aeyrin grumbled.

"It's not easy," he chuckled at himself a bit. "And it's not a rumor. I saw it happen. It's the truth."

"Well… is it really that hard to believe that I don't want to talk about the dragons again? It's all the same. They all ask me not to 'forsake' their cities, as if I had any control over where I am and where a dragon decides to attack," she scoffed.

"I think they're worried, you'd just bolt when you see one. I would," Idesa shrugged.

Yes, that made sense. But it was exhausting. Also, coming from Siddgeir it was just an infuriating insult. She would certainly think twice about saving him personally from a dragon. Maybe that was what he worried about.

"And for that he's trying to prevent your wedding?" Erik raised his brow. "Or is this normal big city stuff? I don't deal with bureaucracy much."

"Not really," Azshan shook his head. "Even if she was planning an event in the city without telling anyone, no one would prevent it. The guards would disperse it if it actually happened. So… clearly the Jarl has some beef."

"He's a lying, manipulating snake," Aeyrin hissed hatefully. "That's all."

"Another shit that doesn't need to be dragged out, huh?" Idesa gave her a sympathetic smile.

Aeyrin did notice Raven watching her intently with narrowed eyes, as if he was trying to figure out the secret. He couldn't figure that out in a million years. But… he did know about Bishop's bounty in Falkreath. Maybe he had a hunch.

"Yeah. Let's not ruin the day with that," Aeyrin sighed.

"Right. Whatever bullshit he pulls, we'll deal with it," Revyn winked at her reassuringly. "Nobody ruins our hla aka's wedding."

…

Bishop narrowed his eyes in concentration.

Another one. A beautiful deer, standing around low tree branches and craning its neck for the leafy treats. The creature was perfect. Perfectly calm, perfectly still, perfectly close, but not too much.

This time it would work. He just needed to…

"Pssst. Do you think it's big enough?"

"Saadia, I swear to the fucking Gods, I will wring your neck," he growled, only earning a chuckle in return.

After they encountered a few targets, Bishop's focus got always interrupted by someone behind his back whispering. It was hard enough to have seven people traipsing around the forests, looking for animals they didn't manage to outright scare off. But once everyone saw how frustrated Bishop got with their interruptions, they just began doing it on purpose.

"She has a point though," Lynly whispered. "We need a big one to replace all that meat."

"Yes, I know, and we would have had one already if you were able to shut the fuck up!" Bishop growled at her. He wasn't really angry with her, especially when he knew it was just teasing. It all kind of reminded him of Jules's incessant teasing for whatever reason he could find. It was… a surprisingly nice feeling.

But it was still frustrating when he knew they did need the meat. If he took Karnwyr with, they would already have a few rabbits, at least. But he was still apprehensive about taking him to the forest. Granted, it was much more dangerous to take all these people, but Karnwyr would run off and wander. At least he could keep an eye out on everyone here now like this. And Bryn and Sapphire were always on guard. Maybe Sapphire was too much on guard, but that was understandable.

As for him, if it weren't for her nervous looks, he wouldn't even be aware of his surroundings, of where they were. The others distracted him so effectively from all the memories.

His outburst this time was a little louder than he had intended though and the deer skipped away promptly.

Great. Now he had only himself to blame.

"Another one, f'lah? I thought you were a better hunter than that," Ambarys chuckled at him.

"I am a much better hunter when I don't have to babysit during that," Bishop scoffed, earning a chorus of giggles in return.

"We really do need the meat though," Lydia sighed. She was the only one who never interrupted. He wasn't surprised. Lydia had been on a hunt with him before – or rather a manhunt – when they took down those Alik'r who were after Saadia. Bishop was fully confident that she knew how to behave.

Even Sapphire interrupted him a few times, but he suspected she just tried to do it to distract herself. It was a bit concerning to look at her. She looked so worried. So paranoid. Every time there was a small sound of twigs snapping and leaves rustling, she tensed up and her hand darted to her knife.

"Alright, alright," Saadia grinned. "Next one, we let you actually hunt. But then we have more fun making you grumpy. Deal?"

"Deal," Bishop smirked at her. Those were acceptable terms.

They set off on their journey again. For his and Sapphire's peace of mind, they went hunting in the eastern parts and they only stayed on the edges of the forests, close to roads and the city. But they still needed to get a little deep to find any game.

Bishop took point, but as they walked forward, he slowed down a bit so that Sapphire could catch up with him. She didn't really try to catch up, but when he slowed the pace, it ended up happening anyway.

"Hey, relax," he tried to give her an encouraging smile, tearing her full focus from their surroundings. "That's not where we are anymore."

"I know," she sighed. "Fuck, I know. Wedding, fun, celebrations and all that shit. I just… haven't been here since…"

"Yeah. I haven't gone to the forest since I killed him either," Bishop sighed. He avoided them pointedly. Though he wasn't sure if the vampire ruins he had cleared with Aeyrin didn't technically find themselves in the forests, but it wasn't the same as the deep woods, confusing and dense.

"Not then," Sapphire shook her head promptly.

Oh. Right. She didn't go to the forests then. She didn't join the fight against Thorn. Unsurprising, really. Why would she risk losing? Why would she risk getting captured by that monster again?

"The safehouse," Sapphire growled between gritted teeth.

"What?" Bishop raised his brow at her. What safehouse? Did she mean…?

"The one Karliah fucking put me up in after Thrynn died," she sighed in palpable frustration and anger. "She said that nobody would ever look for me here. Sounded like a good idea. Fuck. It was the fucking worst. I was here, all alone, all the time, just with those fucking ghosts in the trees."

Shit. Sapphire had been in that safehouse for months. He couldn't even imagine how that felt. No matter how very dead Thorn was, it must have been horrifying. And all this time, she thought another monster was coming for her. Mercer with all her old friends eager to take her traitorous head off.

Bishop felt a wave of resentment envelop him when he thought of Karliah's part in this. He understood the logic. He really did. It was smart. It was calculated and careful. But that was it. Just the fact that she didn't dismiss that idea outright for the sake of Sapphire's state of mind said a lot.

"That's fucking shitty," Bishop noted somberly. "I'm sorry."

"Not your fucking fault," she shook her head. "If not for your fucking shalk-level of survival skills when Thrynn fucked you over, I would be dead already. Still feels like shit to be back here."

"We can go back," Bishop encouraged her. There was no need for this. He could just hunt alone. When he got rid of everyone, maybe in the middle of the night, nobody would worry about him enough to tag along.

"No. Fuck that. I'm better than that – than running again. Come on, let's find your prey," she nodded at him in determination.

She was fucking admirable with all the shit she'd been through, even if her openness about the past often made Bishop flinch. He preferred to avoid thinking about it whenever possible. But it was just part of Sapphire's charm and courage. She never let those assholes be a secret to anyone. She made sure they all knew what kind of monsters were to be found around them.

They continued through the thick woods for a while, before Bishop raised his hand to stop them all. They did obey him without a word, surprisingly enough.

He snuck a little forth, careful not to rustle too many bushes. He was pretty sure he heard something ahead.

He could hear the others following carefully, but they were keeping their distance. And eventually, he saw it.

A stag.

A big one.

This would be perfect. He just needed to kill it. He could hear the others behind him, but fortunately they weren't making much noise. Apart from Lynly letting out an astonished gasp at the sight of the majestic animal, but fortunately not loud enough to scare it.

Bishop took out his bow and watched the stag traipse around the forest for a bit before it bent down to nibble on some bramble.

Perfect.

He narrowed his eyes and took aim. The forest was deadly silent now and…

Wait. What the fuck was that?

The noise.

It wasn't coming from behind him. He heard it further up ahead. There was something else, clearly rushing through the woods and… panting. A wolf? No… it sounded much bigger.

The trees obscured a lot. He couldn't see further than a few paces ahead. But then it happened.

A giant beast suddenly came into view, rushing forth at enormous speed. The stag got alerted and it looked ready to run, but there wasn't enough time. The beast lunged, right at the stag, gripping its neck in its sharp fangs and snapping it in half.

Shit.

Bishop stiffened when he heard the gasps behind him. And then there were very terrified and careful whispers.

"Is… is that a werewolf?" Lynly could barely speak.

"Shit. Shit. Shit. Bishop, kill it," Sapphire murmured under her breath.

Bishop's bow was taut and he was still ready. Still aiming, though now right at the werewolf's head. It didn't notice them yet. It was huge, with ginger fur and giant bulging muscles. A few arrows might down it before it managed to approach though.

A werewolf.

His trophy. He needed that one. He could take it down. Just a few arrows. He could be fast enough.

He could.

Fuck.

Why couldn't he move? Why couldn't he shoot?

"Bishop," Sapphire hissed behind his back urgently again.

Fuck. It could tear them all to shreds. It was a werewolf. It was strong and fast and… and…

A person.

A person. Like Aeyrin. Maybe it didn't want to be here. To be this. Or maybe it did and it was just a… choice. Maybe it never hurt anyone.

He couldn't see it anymore. It wasn't just a monster in the woods. No matter how hard he tried, he could never stop knowing what he knew. He could never forget those nights. He could never forget her scared eyes, her tentative attemtps at keeping him away, the comfort when she let him rest on her soft fur.

Bishop lowered his bow and another series of gasps rang behind his back.

This time it was too loud.

The werewolf's head snapped up and it looked at them very menacingly, growling.

Bishop didn't hesitate this time. He stood up and strapped his bow onto his back again with determination on his face, much to the shock of his flock. Then, he quickly raised his hands in a calming gesture.

"Are you in control?" He called out to the werewolf. Fuck, he really hoped it was.

The beast eyed him warily for a while before it nodded.

Fuck, thank the fucking Gods. That still didn't guarantee a peaceful resolution, but it was a good first step.

"We're just hunting. Like you. We need more meat for my wedding," he tried to smile, but he worried his nervousness showed. The werewolf let out a little huff.

It looked at them all with narrowed eyes. It was a horrifyingly tense moment. Bishop was becoming pretty fucking convinced it would lunge at them soon.

But with another huff, the beast grabbed the stag in its maw once more. This time it didn't just dig in. It began dragging the carcass away, back deeper into the woods where it came from.

When the beast was far enough, the voices behind him began to let out relieved sighs. Though the fear was still palpable in all of them.

"Holy shit, lad," Brynjolf shook his head. "You're gonna give me a heart attack."

"What the fuck, Bishop?" Sapphire gaped at him incredulously.

"It's a fucking person," Bishop growled. "Didn't you see? It's just a hunter. Not all of them go around slaughtering people."

"Big thing to take on fucking faith," Sapphire let out a frustrated sigh.

Lynly seemed incapable of speech. Ambarys just stared at him in shock.

But Lydia and Saadia approached him. Saadia patted him on the back and Lydia gave him an understanding smile. What did that mean? Since when were they so understanding about this? He fully thought he would get chewed out by everyone present.

"The Companions came for one of her personal possessions," Lydia whispered into his ear covertly. "They explained."

Oh. They needed a personal possession for the cure, right. Bishop forgot about that. Neither he nor Aeyrin questioned where they got it back then when Vilkas and Farkas told them what happened in that tomb. It made sense that Saadia and Lydia had to provide that.

"Come on," Saadia nudged him. "Let's go back to the city and look for prey on the way."

It was a good idea. Everyone was probably freaked out enough.

And maybe they would get lucky and find another stag.

…

They've done so much work.

The lanterns were all finished and Azshan assured Aeyrin that everyone would make certain they were set up at the lake when the time came. She wasn't supposed to worry about that anymore.

The next thing they needed to do was to get the boats.

Fortunately, those were all ready as well and, with some struggling, the group managed to move them to the lake and set them up by the shore where they already had four more fishing boats set up from before. There was also a note on the old boats, asking any fishermen to please return them to this spot for the wedding, if they needed them.

It all looked perfect.

By the late afternoon, everyone was back at the inn in Aeyrin's room. By now, they were just hiding out, not to upset the innkeeper with making more mess and ruckus. They ordered food and drinks into the room and they all enjoyed their time together there.

And eventually, there was another knock on the door. Aeyrin had to brace herself a bit, but when she called out for the person to come in, the door actually opened. That was a good sign.

Aeyrin did panic a little when an Altmer woman in a fancy dress entered, but that only lasted a second before she recognized her.

"Taarie," Aeyrin beamed at her. She made it. That was a relief. It was getting late and Aeyrin was feeling a bit nervous about her lack of dress.

"Lady Aeyrin," Taarie smiled at her warmly. "We have arrived."

"We?" Aeyrin cocked her head to the side. Well, she did tell her to take whatever guests she wished, so that was probably it.

"Yes. Me and my sister. I needed help carrying my luggage. Endarie is by the bar, trying to get us a room," Taarie explained.

"Oh… there's no more rooms," Aeyrin bit her lip nervously. There was not much space. The elves already had to share only one room. Most of them probably slept on the floor. And she had to lend her own bedroll to Lynly too.

"Lady Taarie," Azshan rose from the ground and gave Taarie a respectful half-bow. "It's a pleasure to see you again."

"Sir Azshan!" Taarie instantly beamed. "I did not expect to see you here. It's a pleasure as well."

"Everyone's so weirdly polite," Revyn murmured under his breath, but the two didn't really react to that.

"No 'Sir' anymore," Azshan smiled at her wryly, though there was a palpable tinge of pain in his voice when he said it.

"I heard of your tragic accident. I am so sorry," Taarie's eyes went to his tied up tunic briefly, but she didn't linger overlong. "To me and my sister, you will always be a noble knight, worthy of the title."

Azshan tried to smile again, but it didn't come out exactly right. It was strange, it used to be so easy for him to fake all sorts of emotions, but now he didn't seem to be able to.

"I appreciate it," he nodded. "And do not worry about the space. You and your sister are welcome to share my room. I will sleep on my bedroll."

"A gentleman to the last," Taarie giggled at him. It seemed the sisters were still quite smitten with him, no matter what. No matter any disfigurements. Right after that though, Taarie looked back at Aeyrin. "And where is your betrothed, lady Aeyrin?"

"He's staying somewhere else. Apparently there's some tradition that we shouldn't see each other today," Aeyrin pouted. It was still a bit strange, but she loved spending the day with her friends nonetheless.

"Ah, yes, that's a very popular one among the Nords. Even better," Taarie nodded. "If he will not be staying here, I could set up for tomorrow in your room and have Endarie set up in Sir Azshan's to prepare your husband to be."

"Are you going to try to put all your products on Bishop again? That didn't go well last time," Azshan chuckled merrily.

"Oh Divines, no," Taarie smirked. "My sister told me. There would be no point in trying. But when I told her about Lady Aeyrin's commission, she was horrified that her betrothed did not commission a matching outfit. That simply could not stand."

Oh shit. Aeyrin instantly panicked. They made an outfit for Bishop too?! That was… very nice, but… she could barely afford the dress back then! She only had a little over a hundred drakes left.

"It's a gift, lady Aeyrin," Taarie smiled at her reassuringly when she saw her expression. "There is no need to worry about a thing. It will only make it better when we can tell everyone about the beautiful matching outfits we made for the Dragonborn's wedding. Solitude will be all ears."

"Are you seriously getting free outfits from Solitude tailors?" Idesa smirked at Aeyrin. "Pfft. Some people…"

Alright, maybe that made her sound a little privileged and spoiled. But she couldn't hide her excitement. That was so sweet of Taarie and her sister. She just hoped it wouldn't be anything Bishop would hate, but she doubted that, given their previous results.

"You are amazing, Taarie," Aeyrin beamed. "And your sister too. Can I… can I see it?"

"Not a chance, dear," Taarie shook her head. "You will only see the final perfection. On both yourself and your husband to be. I will set up my station here, but you will not peek at the dress, understood?"

Gods, she suddenly looked so stern. But Aeyrin quickly nodded at her. She was so eager to see the dress, but this anticipation would only make it better.

"Give me a moment," Taarie inclined her head at her again before she turned on her heel and left the room once more. She left the door open and Azshan promptly followed her, likely to show the sisters to his room.

Soon enough, Taarie came back, dragging a large ornate chest with her. Even her luggage was overly fancy. Idesa and Revyn promptly began studying it with astonishment when she set it down on the floor.

"This thing alone could feed the Grey Quarter for weeks," Revyn shook his head in disbelief.

"Even longer, dunchar," Taarie puffed out proudly. "It was made by the best smith in Solitude as a gift for me. My sister got a matching one."

"Of course she did," Idesa shook her head incredulously. This was clearly a glimpse into a world neither of the elves knew existed. Especially for elves.

"Take us to Solitude when you go back?" Revyn chuckled at her, though Aeyrin wasn't sure if he was even kidding.

"'Grey Quarter'… you are from Windhelm?" Taarie scowled a bit. "My sympathies, dunchar. My kin does not fare well in the east either, from what I've heard."

"No elf fares well in the east," Idesa scoffed. "Unless it's… even more east."

"Unfortunately true. But let us not mar this day with such thoughts," Taarie waved her hand dismissively. "Go ahead. Open it," she smirked at the elves and tossed them a small silver key.

Revyn and Idesa didn't need to be told twice. They eagerly used the key and opened the chest. There was almost an overwhelming sweet smell as they did. The chest was filled to the brim with small vials, combs, little boxes and one large bag made out of silk. The elves stared inside and examined the contents while Taarie approached. She reached out to grab the silk bag carefully and pulled it out. It was long, but nobody could see the content inside.

"Here, lady Aeyrin," she handed her the bag carefully, almost reverently, so that it would rest on her outstretched arms. "My masterpiece, I dare say."

"I'm so excited," Aeyrin squeaked.

"You will curb your excitement and hide this in your closet," Taarie gave her a strangely warm and stern look at the same time. "I will try to set up the rest of my equipment. With my new helpers, I hope," she winked at the elves.

Aeyrin nodded eagerly. She would be good and resist the temptation.

But before she could take a step though, another knock on the door interrupted her. So many people today. It was probably Endarie. Azshan didn't tend to knock anymore by now.

"I will get it," Taarie smiled at Aeyrin as she still held her arms outstretched with the silk bag on them.

The Altmer walked towards the door and opened them, only to be faced with another Altmer. The dreaded one this time.

Siddgeir's steward stood there with a large moving bag in her hands. What?

"Dragonborn," the woman smiled when she spotted Aeyrin in the room. "Jarl Siddgeir apologizes for the earlier misunderstanding. As a sign of goodwill, he sends a tradition wedding gift for a bride from a jarl."

What? He was sending her gifts now? What in the Void was this?

The steward suddenly crouched down and opened the bag. Much to everyone's shock, loud clucking sounds rang through the room and chickens began to frantically jump out of the bag.

"Five hens, as tradition dictates," the steward smirked as she straightened up, leaving the empty bag on the floor. They could all barely hear her though. The clucking was deafening and the chickens began to run around the room or attempt to fly with their clipped wings. The poor things looked outright terrified.

It was pure chaos. Taarie tried to quickly rush back to her chest and close it, but before she managed, one hen jumped right inside it. It seemed even more distraught on the unfamiliar ground and sounds of glass shattering filled the room.

"What the fuck?!" Revyn yelled as he scurried back from the chest in shock. Everyone was up on their feet instantly, but that only seemed to rile the hens more. Two chickens ran out of the room entirely and the steward was more than happy to step aside to let them. And then there were distraught yells and curses heard from the common room too.

"Save the dress!" Taarie cried out in shock.

Aeyrin had no idea how. What she should do. So in her panic, she quickly stepped up onto her bed and held the dress as high as she could. The overwhelming smell of Taarie's tinctures being spilled filled the room and it made her eyes water, but she still tried to watch what was happening, to make sure the hens got nowhere near her.

"Get these fucking things out of my inn!" The innkeeper's voice boomed across the tavern. Aeyrin could only imagine what damage they were doing in there. The chickens already got into the food in her room and tipped over a few of their goblets with drinks.

Fortunately, Revyn, Idesa and Erik started to chase the chickens to catch them. Well… it was questionable whether it was fortunate. The hens just ran more and more frantically, flapping their wings.

Aeyrin could only see the steward smirking as she turned on her heel, but before she could take a step, Azshan's figure blocked her way. He was holding one of the chickens by its bottom and 'brandishing' it at the woman. It was impressive that he even caught one in the first place.

"Hmpf," he narrowed his eyes at the woman. She looked much more nervous now and she flinched every time the chicken moved in Azshan's grip or clucked at her. It even looked like it tried to peck her sometimes and she instantly pressed herself to the doorframe. "Are you proud of yourself?" Azshan snarled. "Happy with the work you're doing? This is what you do with your time. I really hope you feel very appreciated by that man. And valuable. Well done." His cold tone left nothing to the imagination. The woman certainly didn't look smug anymore.

"This is outrageous!" Taarie yelled at her as she knelt by her chest along with Raven, both trying to salvage her vials now that the chicken finally managed to get out of it. "Your Jarl will certainly be hearing from me. He can forget about any other commissions at Divine Elegance."

Suddenly, one of the chickens… exploded.

There was a loud bursting sound and a few feathers flew about the room. Everyone looked over to the scene in shock. Did Siddgeir somehow send exploding chickens?

Instead of a chicken, there was now… a small kitten. What just happened?

"Well, come on, grab that little cutie. It won't last long," Brelyna only grinned at everyone. Only now Aeyrin noticed that a soft light disappeared from one of her hands.

Oh. It was a spell. Thank the Gods for her.

In the confusion, somehow the steward managed to slip by Azshan and run from the inn. But the damage was done. Now they needed to do some damage control.

Erik grabbed the kitten and instantly placed it into the bag again and Azshan carefully put in his chicken too. Revyn and Idesa were still chasing after two of them and the innkeeper and the patrons were still yelling. There was one more out there.

Brelyna marched out of the room to deal with that and, in the meantime, Idesa caught her chicken and cheered victoriously. And soon enough, Faryl and Aval appeared in the room too, roused by that commotion, and they helped Erik catch the last one with their united hungover spirit.

When the coast was clear, Aeyrin finally jumped off the bed and rushed towards her closet. Nothing would happen to that dress on her watch! This was already messy enough.

She placed the bag on one of the hangers gently and then quickly closed the closet again. There. It was safe there. But the same couldn't be said about everyone here.

"You!" The innkeeper appeared in the open door to her room, seething. She had a chicken feather in her hair and it was so rustled, it looked like a hen actually made it its nest.

This was gonna cost her.

…

A pleasant smell filled the entire house as Bishop plopped down on Raven's bed in satisfied exhaustion.

It had been a long fucking day. But clearly not for just them. Raven wasn't back yet and it was well past midnight.

That was fine. Bishop just tossed a bedroll on the ground and left it there for him. He would get the hint. He was not relinquishing the bed. He felt so sore after such a long hunt.

But they'd been successful. They caught a rabbit and eventually even another stag on their way back. Now when everyone was through that sobering experience, they were all very quiet in the forest.

But the entertainment flowed again once they got back to the alchemist's kitchen and it lasted long into the night.

Bishop suspected he wasn't just tired from the hunt. Being social this much could get oddly exhausting. He wasn't sure when the last time was when he spent this much time with this many people. Even when they stayed in the Guild after Mercer was killed, he often went alone on errands or disappeared somewhere with Aeyrin. Not today. The whole fucking day with so many people around.

It was a weirdly pleasant exhaustion though. He never knew he could actually stand having so many people around for so long.

But this was actually fucking fun all the way through.

It did distract him effectively from just pining after Aeyrin the whole day. But then again, now that the room was silent and he had time to be with his thoughts again, he couldn't help but think of her.

Idesa had a point – it would be so fun to tell her about all that crap he went through today. And he couldn't wait to hear what she was up to all day.

But most of all, he couldn't wait to see her. He couldn't wait to have her near him again.

And he couldn't wait for her to be his wife.

…

Aeyrin snuggled into her bed and let out a satisfied sigh.

Everything was ready. Everyone left her room late and night to get some rest and she herself could finally get some shut eye.

She would have thought the day was perfect if not for Siddgeir's generous 'gift'. The innkeeper was livid. It took a long time of Azshan's and Raven's sweet talking and all of Aeyrin's money to placate her and talk her into letting them all stay. She also took all the hens. Well… she could have them. Aeyrin was a little anxious about being completely broke, but hopefully Bishop had something left for any necessities.

But that wasn't important right now. There were other things she wanted to think about.

About how much fun that day was, even with all that chaos. She was so glad to have everyone here.

And about tomorrow. And Bishop. The bed was so cold and empty without him, but she had to keep reminding herself that it would only make it more special down the line. Their reunion would be amazing.

Hmmm… were they going to spend their wedding night here?

In this inn?

In this inn where…

No! Don't think about that!

It didn't matter. She had to remind herself that the place didn't matter. Now she had good memories of this place and the old ones could go suck it! She just wanted to be with Bishop, wherever she could.

Tomorrow, they would be married. It was still something she had a hard time wrapping her head around.

But all she could feel was excitement. She couldn't wait.

She couldn't wait for them to move forward together, to start their life together officially.

Nobody would ever be able to take that away from them, deny what they had, no matter how many years passed. She didn't care how long she was meant to be in this world.

Not as long as she had him with her now and could always carry that with her.