-Murkmire, Bright-Throat Village-

"Tasvee! Return, now!"

Her Egg-mother's voice an insects buzz that cannot stop her, Tasvee laughs and slips into the marsh, coming out on a dry batch of land on the other side. With a happy laugh, she falls on her belly, scales shimmering in the sunlight, mossy green with vivid orange-red on her neck and belly. In her claws, what has made her run, what has made her so very happy. A fancy golden necklace inlaid with jewels. So shiny. So VERY shiny.

But her happiness is interrupted by an angry hiss as her Egg-mother, at last, catches up with her. "The Hist does not steal, Tasvee!" she snaps. "Neither should you!"

The angry look in her Egg-mother's eyes and the angry Altmer mage that is slowly making his way to them. A visitor to their village, and the owner of the shiny thing in her claws. With a small hiss, she rises and hands the necklace back, watching longly as the mage tucks it back in her robe and departs, though not without giving her an angry look.

Later that night in their hut, her Egg-mother lectures her. "You are not a hatchling any longer, Tasvee. You are a full-grown member of this village and you must be more serious. You must choose the river you will swim in as part of your tribe." she says and then with an angry hiss departs, leaving Tasvee alone.

Slowly Tasvee rises and moves around her small hut, her claws lightly touching the shiny treasures she has found around her village. Rocks of vivid colors, shells of various creatures, the rare old bits of armor, and a silver ring rusty with age. To...stay here forever. When there was a world full of shiny things out there! But... The Hist does not steal. And she was to stay here. Stay and choose a roll in the village. Stay until it was time for her to brood a clutch of her own, in which a male from a different tribe would come to woe her before departing home. Such was the way of the tribe. And Tasvee loved her tribe, her family very much. But...the longing in her heart. For adventure, for shiny things, for a life beyond it was fast eclipsing her feelings. And so she decided.

Later that night the moons shine over the marsh. Bright-Throat Tribe sleeps, save for the patrols that guard it. Patrols Tasvee knows by heart, patrols that are easy enough to slip past. When she's at last away from them and at the border of the village she looks back, giving her home one last look before she sets off towards Lilmoth.

-Lilmoth-

"Get back here you damn fetcher thief!"

More screaming. Why must everyone scream when she took shiny things? Tasvee thinks as she darts behind buildings and boxes trying to lose the angry Dunmer on her tail. She...she did not mean to steal something right when she got to the town, but the Dark Elf...he had the shiniest broach she had ever seen! She wanted it, so very badly. He had been outside the Inn, half passed out. She was sure he would not awaken when her nimble claws unclasped and snagged the broach...but how very wrong she had been. And upon waking...this Dunmer was not slow at all, but nearly as fast as her, with cunning eyes. She squeaks and dives out from the side of the building only to collide right into one of the Lilmoth guards who takes one look at the Dunmer and the shiny in her hand before deciding what one of them was guilty. "...Shiny," Tasvee says weakly as the guard leads her away, the angry Dunmer following.

-Lilmoth Jail-

Tasvee sits on a hard bench staring at the wooden bars, which seem to mock her. Made of Marsh trees, it was as strong as metal. Unbreakable. Her head moves to the other room where the Dunmer and the guards were arguing and as she follows the conversation her scales begin to crawl. The Dunmer seemed insistent that she should be given to him for reparations. The guards protesting about Ebonheart law against such a thing, the Dunmer counterarguing how powerful a figure he was and how much trouble he could make for them.

"Got yourself in a bit of trouble, eh?"

She starts, so intent on the voices she failed to notice the mer that had appeared by the cage and she slowly rises to stare at him. Green shimmering eyes, focused on her, dark leathers with a hood. Slowly he lowers his hood, the lamp light shimmering on his tossed brown hair and delicately pointed ears, and she returns the Bosmer's stare.

"Bright-Throat, local tribe," he says as he studies her. "Why?"

Why...did she do it? Slowly she lowers her head. "Shiny," she hisses. "I...want shiny things. The Hist does not...I...may have swam away from my tribe...I...he had such a shiny thing," she says miserably.

The Bosmer smiles at her, amused. "Acting out, sounds like when I was a lad. All I heard from my folks, from my family, was Y'ffre this, Green pack that. Bunch of nonsense, if you ask me." The mer moves closer to the cage. "Think of thieving...gold and jewels. The thrill of it, the rewards at the end. I understand this, so deal. You help me on a job, I'll take you back to the Thiefs Guild after, train you up proper.

Tasvee's eyes widen and she moves to the bars, claws tightening on them. "I am Tasvee," she breaths, excited, this...this was her river. The one she was meant to swim. A river full of shiny things and this interesting Bosmer. "Yes, yes yes!"

His eyes twinkle as he starts to pick the lock with deft nimble hands. "Names Jathdor. But you may call be Jath."

-Western Skyrim-

Jath watches Tasvee with a smile on his face as she explores the Thiefs Guild, her eyes full of curiosity, her claws lightly touching everything in sight. The Thiefs Guild was near Solitude, or rather under it, unbeknownst to most. "Newly formed, we wanted to branch out from Hewsbane," Jath tells her.

She turns to him, fangs glimmering in a huge grin. "I love it!" Tasvee declares. "Teach me how to get all the shiny things...without ending up in a cage again!"

He laughs. "All in good time, Tasvee. There is a lot to learn," he tells her and then regards her thoughtfully. "Tasvee, keeping the name or changing it to Tamrielic style?"

Tasvee pauses, thinking about the possibilities. A new river... a new name? But in the end, she shakes her head no. "I do not hate my former home, they just do not understand I needed to swim in a different river. I still want to remember my tribe, my family. I keep this name," she says firmly.

Jath folds his arms across his chest. "Good, I kinda like it. Now, let us go see the Guild leader. Got to turn in the money for the job you helped on, and introduce you."

The training passes swiftly over the next few months and soon Tasvee is going out on jobs with Jath, the two swiftly becoming an unbeatable duo. The way they could work in perfect silence, and yet know each other's every move, perhaps even every thought. Never failing a job, never getting even close to being caught. And it was on their next job, that things would change...but perhaps that is the way the river always was heading.

The job, steal a simple but ancient relic. It leads to an Altmer's run-down house in Auridon which leads to a secret door, which leads to a trek down into the depths and into a room filled with so much gold, jewels, shimmering armor, and weapons. The relic was in a corner, dull compared to all else around them. Tasvee looks around in wonder and more than a little greed. "So...so... many shiny things," she breaths as she moves along the piles with Jath. At last, the excitement overwhelms her and she turns to him and leaps at him, sending the two tumbling into the gold with a crash. On top of the Bosmer staring down at him, she hisses happily. "We can take all of this with us! ALL OF IT, right?"

Jath laughs as he flings his arms into the gold. "Need a bit of help from the rest of the guild," he says eyes twinkling. "Going to let me up so I can send them a message?"

Let...him up? Yes, she should do that, but as she stares down into the Bosmer's eyes her claws move to the side and dig into the gold. "Perhaps...," Tasvee hisses as she leans in closer. "You know Jath... you are shiny too."

A mischievous smile crosses the Bosmer's face. "I am? Well...all the shiny things seem to belong to you, Tasvee," he answers and then raises a hand to her face. "Think I might...like belonging to you."

Sometime after that night in the gold, Tasvee and Jath are outside the guild, basking by the water. Tasvee is on her belly, claws skimming the flowing stream and Jath is sharpening his daggers. "Shiny things," Jath at last says. "Temptation. One we both share. But a simple lesson. Ya see we take guild jobs. And one should try and resist the urge to freelance it, for at times it can end...rather badly."

Tasvee turns her eyes on the Bosmer. "There...is a story in there. I see the twinkle in your eyes," Tasvee tells him.

With a rueful smile and he tells her the story and at the end of it, both are laughing wildly. "You...FELL IN, with the stolen pig over a waterfall and onto a bathing guard?" Tasvee gasps in amusement.

The Bosmer pushes his hair back with one hand blushing slightly. "My teacher...I thought he was going to kill me. Dovrhen was a damn good thief before he retired but he was SO strict and serious. I sometimes think I might have driven him to retirement." Jath says and then a serious expression crosses his face. "Mean it, Tasvee. You crave all the shiny trinkets and gold. More than any other thief I've ever seen. The Thief Guild will keep you relatively safe. Not all the out-of-guild contracts ended as amusing as mine. Promise me."

His dusky eyes, the points to his ears. He was her shiny Bosmer, what else could she do but promise him this simple thing. "Promise," Tasvee swears.

-A year later-

Jath's Job for the Guild is taking longer than expected. It was true that it was no simple task. It required the Bosmer to go undercover...and it was not a place where Argonians were commonplace. Why Tasvee had to stay behind, and it drove her near mad. Never since they met had she and Jath ever done a job apart. But his mission was important. Someone had information against the Guild, and they also stole...something of importance. They needed to find out who, and why. They needed it back. And Jath was one of their best. But it left her without her shiny Bosmer. The Guild at least kept her busy with smaller jobs she could do solo. But it still had been over a month and she was restless and lonely. Missing Jath was more than she could nearly bear.

The next job took her to Summerset, and after a flawless completion, Tasvee rests on a bench in Shimmershine, awaiting the ship that would take her back to Skyrim. It was here that an Altmer found her. As he stands near her, his blue fancy clothes immaculate, his hair long and blond and his blue eyes piercing she slides an eye to him.

The Altmer folds his arms across his chest. "I know you are a thief, Argonian." Tasvee looks startled for a brief moment before regaining calm and slowly she hisses at him. But before she can speak he interrupts her. "Do not deny it!" At another hiss, he smirks a bit. "Have no worry I do not intend to call the guards. The embarrassment that I, Telamando Caemaen, let my property be stolen would hardly be worth it."

At his name, she sits up. Recognizing it, he, the very one she had stolen from. Never before had she been caught, not since that first attempt in Lilmoth. And yet, somehow, he knew. "...You want your shiny back then?" she hisses, claws moving to the pouch at her side protectively."

Telamando smirks again. "Keep it. I have a job for you. A book I simply must-have in my collection. If you are clever enough to steal from me, despite all my precautions, you are clever enough to steal this for me."

She stills. A...private contract. What she was warned against. What she promised Jath she would never do. "I do not do personal contracts," Tasvee starts to say, but the Altmer interrupts and names a starling amount of gold, causing her eyes to widen. More than any of the Thief Guild contracts had ever paid.

"A quarter now, the rest upon delivery," Telamando tells her, taking out a bag bursting with gold. "Do we have a deal?"

The promise vanishes from her mind as she reaches for the gold, her claws closing around the bag. She was a very very good thief, even alone. This would be easy as swimming in the marsh waters.

-?-

The portal closes and Tasvee glances around. The room is dark, lit only by a faint light coming from the door. Telamando had said he would open a portal to get her in. That it would open once she claimed the book he wanted. It seemed simple enough, but now she was...whever it is that here was, her spine trembled. Slowly she moves to the door and creeps down the staircase. He said, also, not to be seen. That was the easy part, as she keeps to the shadows but as she comes to the bottom she freezes. Outside...outside was very very strange and so very beyond her river. The sky was a sickly green color with toxic green clouds. Dark green water below. Strange structures with bridges connecting them. And everywhere, books. So very many books. Not the one she wants. With a hiss, she starts to move out of the shadows and then darts back in as something passes by. A creature with tentacles and a giant eye. Once it is gone she creeps out onto the first bridge passing quickly to the platform, painfully aware of how exposed she is. A glance at the water below, it may be the only way out if another of those creatures comes. But is it water? With a flick of her wrist and a small ball is dropped into it. The sounds of it dissolving sends chills up her spine. And then, the sound of cloth rushing and she turns around the way she came. A thing in robes is at the end of the bridge. Its back is to her but it is slowly starting to turn. With a burst of speed she moves to the next bridge and with a deep breath scampers under it, claws clinging to the grate as she silently inches her way across, aware that to fall is a painful death. At the end of the bridge she pauses until she is sure the thing has passed and she flips to the top and darts into the next room, enclosed with stone that seems to have teeth, strange patterns on the ground, and in the center on a pedestal the black book she was instructed to steal, it pulses with dark power. Carefully she steps around the runes and at last her claws touch the book, quickly she snatches it up and cradles it to her chest. She wants out of here now. NOW. Tempted to just run back to the room where the portal will open. But as soon as she steps toward the entrance the room goes inky black and she hisses and then freezes in terror as eyes appear all around her, their glow faintly illuminating the tendrils that make up the black void that surrounds her.

"So...you would have one of my books, little mortal?"

Tasvee trembles at the voice, the all-consuming presence. "I... The Altmer...so much shiny gold..." Tasvee trails off as the tendrils start to flick in anger.

"You would..." the voice says the depths of fury behind it, "I could understand if you claimed the book for the knowledge within. But...you would dare steal the book for gold? Dare steal from Hermaeus Mora?"

The dread in her spine was nearly overwhelming. For at last she knows whom she has been paid to steal from. "Telamando...did not say it belonged to a Daedric Prince," Tasvee says weakly.

The tendrils cease their movement and the eyes focus thoughtfully on her. "Open it, mortal. Claim the knowledge for yourself. Pay for it with service to the Lord of Knowage and I will forgive this trespass," Hermaeus Mora says, and at Tasvee's hesitation, he continues, "No? Another choice, mortal. I will bring this Telamando here and he will read the book he so desires and he will pay for it with service to me. And you...You may leave, but your trespass will not be so forgotten."

The thought of staying here, perhaps forever chilled her spine to the core. Would she even die? And if she did die in this nightmarish place would she ever return to the marsh, to The Hist? She may have chosen a different river...but she still wished to return after her adventures were done. And... the pain that passes through her is near agonizing. To never see Jath again. Never hear him laugh, see the twinkle in his eyes. Whatever cost for her trespass would be better than servitude to the Daedric Prince. "Take Telamando," Tasvee hisses as she thrusts the book out.

A tendril snatches it and then a portal opens, more tendrils stream through and Telamando is dragged through screaming, and the Altmer only stops when they drop him in front of the Argonian. As he stands up he glares at her. "You...You botched it!?" he snaps.

Her hiss is the only response he gets and then Hermaeus Mora speaks again, causing the Altmer to spin around with a frightened squeak. "Altmer, you wished for this forbidden knowledge. Open it and take your reward."

The Altmer looks affronted. "I have no desire to read it! I...I have other uses for it! Surely...this...you can...forget this...perhaps?" Telamando manages to spit out.

The Daedric's response is immediate as the eyes narrow and the tendrils writhe in fury. "Read it or you will be plunged into the water below mortal. You will scream for my wisdom long moments before you die."

The Altmer goes white. Shooting one more angry glance at Tasvee he snatches the book, seeing no other option. As he opens it eerie light and words engulf him...and the screaming starts for long moments before the book seemingly devours him whole, both vanishing into the depths of Apocrypha.

The Daedric Prince's attention turns back to Tasvee. "You tried to steal knowledge for mere trinkets. You thought such a simple thing was worth more than knowledge. Foolish mortal..." Hermaeus Mora tells her.

"It...was a lot of shinies," Tasvee whispers. "I..did not know..he did not tell me..."

Hermaeus Mora interrupts her. "Silence, mortal," he tells her, and she falls silent. "You made your choice. Shinies, insignificant as these are, over knowledge. Over serving The Prince of the Forbidden. Little mortal, you will be punished for such trespass. You could have served me...learned so very much...but now..." The tendrils shoot out and ensnare Tasvee's arms lifting her as she hisses in terror. "I will return you to Nirn, as promised for presenting me with the Altmer, but you who covet the shiny things above the knowledge of Hermaeus Mora...you will be cursed to be that which is shiny, never again will you be able to slink in the shadows." Energy courses down the tendrils into Tasvee, who screeches in pain before falling limp. A portal opens after and they throw her through, back to Nirn.

-Summerset-

Slowly Tasvee wakes up, eyes flickering open, claws gripping the grass under her. The sun is setting, making the grass seem aflame and as she sits up, she's aware of two passing Altmer giving her strange looks and a wide birth. Slowly she looks down at her gloved hand, which now glows strong enough to pierce the leathers and with a small squeak she rips it off to see her scales are glowing orange, tinted with purple. "Oh no..." Tasvee whispers as she stumbles up and moves to the city. She needs to return to Skyrim.

-Skyrim-

At last, Tasvee is within sight of the Thieves Guild's secret door. So many strange stares, in Summerset, on the ship, on Solitude's docks. Never has she felt so exposed, so less a thief in the shadows. Taking extra care to make sure no one is around she opens the door and makes her way down the tunnel. On the ship, her scales had changed to electric yellow streaked with bright blue, in Solitude toxic green with shades of lighter green. Now in the dark tunnels, they shift to snowy white with purple stripes. And what is worse is if she attempts to cover them, to hide, they change to make it impossible. Start to glow, or shift colors. Impossible to escape notice, impossible to hide.

At last, at the end of the tunnel and she stops at the threshold of the main room. Jath had at last returned. He stands at a table, his back to her. Slowly she moves toward him and stops halfway. "J...ath," she whispers.

Jath turns to her with a happy expression on his face which soon turns to shock. "Tasvee! You're...By... Your scales!"

She hangs her head, her tail dragging on the ground. "I...," she whispers. "I am sorry, Jath. I...I broke the promise. I..." Tasvee trails off. Unable to speak any further. Unable to bear it, she collapses on the floor and he rushes to her, wrapping his strong and wiry arms around her.

"We'll fix this, Tasvee, deal with it, no matter what. Just tell me what happened," Jath tells her.

Weeks later Tasvee and Jath sit at the table in the Guild, and the mood is grim. For the past few weeks...she has tried. Tried to do the jobs the Guild gave them. But every time, no matter what she did, her scales changed and betrayed her. Too many narrow escapes, and too many utter failures. "This...is my fault," Tasvee whispers. "If I listened to you. If I kept my promise."

Jath places his hand on hers. "I'm with you, guild or no guild," he tells her firmly.

She hands her head miserably. "They will kick me out. You know they must. I cannot..." she says.

Jath interrupts her, "One last chance," he tells her, "Big job, if rather simple. We'll try it. Together."

She looks up, "And if we fail?"

"Lots of ways to get by in this world," Jath answers, and a smile crosses his face. "Not letting you go, Tasvee. Us against the world, if that's what it comes down to."

-Blackwood-

Grasslands, woods, and marshlands. A house far in the north, long since abandoned. A treasure inside, a sword from ancient days. The buyer wanted it, was willing to pay a small fortune for it, so the Thieves Guild took the contract. The sword belonged to an elderly Imperial and was in a secret vault somewhere inside the house. All records indicated he had not been at the house for many many years. It was far from Leyawiin, far from any other settlement. This was a mission, a place where Tasvee's curse would not, could not bring them to failure.

It took a while for Tasvee and Jath to find the secret door. Instead of leading to a vault, it leads underground. As Tasvee follows Jath her scales transform to brilliant blue and silver but for once the change does not distress her. "Underground!," she says.

He turns to her with a smile, "Reminds me of our biggest score," Jath reminisces.

Memories of that day bring a small smile to Tasvee's face, a smile that has become a rarity. "So many shinies," she breaths. "The river of gold and jewels...and a pretty little Bosmer."

Jath smiles in return, taking her hand in his. "This will work. We can prove to the Thieves Guild that there are still jobs for us."

This brought a warm feeling to her spine. Always us, even though she was the one cursed. How lucky that her river had led her to this Mer? The one she treasured above all the shinies of the world. She had forgotten that in Summerset for a brief moment, but never again. "Jath, you are my most precious shiny," she declares.

"And you mine," he responds, his hand warm in hers.

Soon the tunnel levels out and they find themselves entering a small circular room on a pedestal the sword rests a glowing spell around it. Another tunnel leads further down. Jath dismantles the spell carefully and then Tasvee takes it in her claws, fitting it carefully on her belt. The two turn to return the way they came, but voices echoing down from above freeze both. "Blast," Jath hisses. "No one else knew of this place. Why...," he trails off as the voices come closer, quickly he turns and grabs Tasvee's hand and the two run down the second tunnel, deep into the earth.

A giant cavern fainty lit by luminescent moss. The two take shelter behind a stalagmite. Long moments pass before the voices reach them, now angry. Jath turns his head to Tasvee, looking carefully at the sword. "Damn it," he hisses. "The buyer said nothing about this being Daedric. I should have seen it but..." he trails off. So eager to finish the job, so he could see his beloved happy once more.

"Jath, who are they?" Tasvee asks.

"Cultists, Waking Flame I'd wager from the words they are throwing around. Heard the rumors they were causing trouble in Blackwood. They...they worship Dagon."

The dread curls through her spine and she crouches even lower. "I do not like Daedric Princes," Tasvee hisses. "This sword...belongs to a Prince? I do not want it. Let this job fail to. Let them have it!"

Silence for long moments. "Tasvee...," he whispers. "Could throw it away. Let them have it. But they may hunt us down still. Try to kill us, sacrifice us to Dagon, something. And..." he growls and thrusts his hand in his hair. "Damn it. Used to looking out for me. Then us. That is what matters, not the whole damn world. Something bad gonna come out of them getting their hands on this." Silence again and he speaks once more. "Up to you. I go where you go."

A glance at him and then back at the sword which she now clutches in her claws. Always after the shinies without regard to anyone but herself...until she met Jath. He had suffered because of her mistake, her broken promise. And yet he still loved her. Still that rakish smile, still by her side. She could tell he wanted to try to keep it from them. No matter the risk. "Well...we cannot let the Guild down again," she says and is rewarded with a smile.

Footsteps at last entering the cavern the two fall silent barely daring to breathe as the cultists near them...and then turn away as one of the cultists find another tunnel leading up. Footsteps start to fade but suddenly a brilliant glow cuts through the darkness of the cavern. Tasvee's scales shine nearly as bright as the sun and she lets out a squeak. The cultist's shout and footsteps run at them as the two thieves jump up. "Too many," Jath swears and then turns to Tasvee. "I love ya. No regrets," he says and then grabs the sword and leaps toward another tunnel that leads even further down. "Come on you bastards, ignore the gold Argonian, I got the sword!" he screams at the cultists before vanishing into the dark.

"JATH!" Tasvee says as the cultists run down the tunnel. She leads toward it but three of them bar her path. With a frightening hiss, she grabs her dagger and leaps at them. Her near blinding glowing scales give her an edge as her knife finds the soft squishy parts. At last, the third one falls and she runs down the tunnel into a small cavern, and the sight of Jath on the ground in a pool of blood freezes her in place. The cultists are running up yet another tunnel with the sword, but now, now all she can see is her Bosmer. Her beloved and she runs to him ignoring the fleeing cultists to fall to his side.

"You...should go after them," Jath weakly says.

"NO!," Tasvee hisses. "No, no no. I do not care about the sword. About shinies. About the guild. Just you! Just you, you stupid Bosmer."

A hand covered in blood reaches up to touch her cheek. "In...in truth I...I rather have you here with me," he whispers. "Tasvee, Promise..."

"NO!" Tasvee inturpts him, grabbing his hand with hers. "I cannot keep promises. You know that. I try and try and fail. Please do not make me promise anything else. I cannot..." she trails off, tears falling down her golden scales.

A small smile. "No promises then. Just... know I spoke truth above. No regrets." Jath tells her. "Not change a thing about this life. Knowing you...gift beyond all the gold of the world, my love." The strength starts to leave him and his eyes start to close.

"Jath, my precious shiny," Tasvee whispers, lowering her head to his. She wants to deny this. To scream against it. But his life is fading, his light nearly out. "Where...where do I take you?" she asks.

"Take me...to the marsh," Jath whispers. "I want to be where you someday will be too." and with that last request, he is gone.

Tasvee stays that way for long moments then throws her head back and howls, a sound of utter agony.

-Murkmire - Bright-throat village-

The moons are full over the marsh, just as they were when she left home. Silent she makes her way to the outskirts of the village, to her favorite place as a child. A huge tree casts shadows over a dark pool of water and it is here that Tasvee places Jath. A tear falls as his body slowly sinks into the marsh and she remains there for long after his body has vanished from view before turning from the marsh and her home once more. She knew she could never return home. Never return to the guild. And she did not want to. From now on, she would be alone. Alone with her curse, and all her regrets.

-Within-

The last wisp of memory fades and Books looks down at her claws, silent for long moments before speaking. "I think I wanted to end. I tried to steal things on my own. Always got caught. Got in so much trouble. I...think I wanted to steal from someone bad enough to end me. Even if we could never be together again." Books says quietly. "But...I do not want to end yet, not anymore. Perhaps..." she trails off. Not knowing what else to say her eyes shift to Cheese.

Cheese's hand on her own briefly before he folds them together. "Ebonheart Pact happened. Freed me, but I was on a ship at the time. Ended up in Daggerfall lands." And with those words Cheese's memories start to appear.