[h3][center]Rescuing Princess Peach [/center][/h3] A Collab by [@LadyTabris] & [@MacabreFox] [i]Anvil, Sometime after the duel with Meg[/i] Brynja had worked up an appetite by the time she finished her last duel with Megana. She didn’t quite feel like eating tavern food, and decided to wander the streets of Anvil, a chance on her end because there was the likelihood of her getting lost. She had told Marius to tell the spectators that the next duel would be in two hours, it would give her time to rest her weary bones and replenish her energy. She rounded a corner, slowing her pace. She didn’t recognize the area, but she did - [i]hold on…[/i] She caught the sight of two city guards holding a rather ragged woman between them, and if she weren’t mistaken, it was Anifaire. Puzzled and concerned, she approached the guards, hand resting on the pommel of her longsword. “What seems to be the problem here?” She asked, her auburn brows knitting together in annoyance. “Found a-” the first guard began, turning to face the newcomer. He stopped, glancing at the woman and her sword, then his partner interrupted his thought. “Nothing at all,” he said, moving to continue their patrols. He shoved his friend, who hadn’t begun to move yet. Reluctantly, the other guard followed. “Coward,” he muttered to his companion as they left. “Not worth the effort,” the other insisted. Anifaire, eyes wide, watched the guards leave. Her gaze turned to Brynja, thankful to no longer be alone both in the city and with those guards. She wasn’t sure what they would have done, but she was glad she never found out - the opportunity was gone now that she wasn’t alone. “Thank you,” the Altmer muttered, still a bit confused. “I’m not sure what they thought…” “Aye, doesn’t matter now. Good thing I came along when I did. What happened?” She asked. “The bank wouldn’t let me access my father’s funds. He told me I would always be able to.” She frowned. “It’s never happened before.” A frown turned into a sympathetic smile as Brynja realized the source of her mistreatment, “Where are you staying?” Anifaire sighed. “Nowhere,” she replied. “I was relying on that money.” [i].. to get on the first ship out of here,[/i] she finished mentally. She nodded, as much as she suspected. Brynja shifted from one leg to another, before deciding on what to say, “Well… I don’t mean any offense. Folks probably think you’re common riff raff with the way you’re… well, you get my point. I’ve got a room over at the Flowing Bowl. Why don’t you take it?” With a frown, Anifaire glances briefly at her dirty clothes, but she knew it was the truth. She only wished it wasn’t. “Really? I-“ She hesitated. She’d been getting so much kindness from this group of people. It was completely unlike anything she was used to back home. Even her mother had a certain firmness. Yet, here, in this unfamiliar place she’d somehow found people so willing to give up what they had when she was struggling. It occurred to her that she had never considered what poor people did before. “Thank you,” was all she mustered. “Don’t mention it. I know a hot bath, and a good night's rest will do you some good. C’mon, I’ll walk with you so no one bothers you again, eh?” Brynja started off for the inn when she asked Anifaire. “How have you been? I see you keeping to yourself… but it never hurts to ask.” “Well, it’s just,” Anifaire paused, considering how to put her feelings into words. “It’s a lot to handle. I’ve never been around anything like this before, and I’m not really.. used to strangers, either. I don’t know how all of you seem to just… handle this.” “No? It comes… easy for me. Served as a House Carl for damn near eight years. Served as a healer in the Legion too. You’ve… got to work together with your companions whether you like them or not if you want to make it through alive.” She paused, thinking on what Anifaire had just told her, “Where do you come from anyways? I mean, what was life like for you before you signed on with the company?” “I’m from Auridon,” Anifaire replied. She hesitated. “My father is prominent in the government there. Life’s been… easy, in retrospect. I was free to pursue my studies at leisure. I only left my parent’s home a few years ago, to go to the University. This is… very different.” It all made sense now to Brynja, she could understand why Anifaire acted so reserved and rather prim and proper, “And that’s how you found the company? So… what now? Are you going to head home?” “That’s what I was thinking. I came here to go deeper into my research, get hands-on with Dwemer ruins and I just didn’t intend for it to be quite [i]this[/i] hands on.” She shrugged. “I was trying to get the funds for the journey home, but now it seems I may need to find another option.” “I’m certain you’ll find a way. Gods know I have. I’ve just convinced the innkeeper at this tavern to let me host a duel for free board and all the ale I can drink. Works out good, as long as I win. Granted, I’d rather heal people than put on a show to earn some coin, but what can you do?” Brynja paused, trying to recall the last time she saw Anifaire fight, so to say, back in the Jerall mountains. “So, remind me again, what can you do? Any magic?” “I, um, study Alteration magic. I know, not really the most useful thing when Falmer are swinging swords at you.” She had been wondering if destruction would’ve been a more useful study. In what she’d begun to think of as her life before, alteration had been one of the few things she was good at, but now it made her feel useless. “Mm. Not quite. How skilled are you in Alteration?” The sight of [i]The Flowing Bowl[/i] came into view. Brynja wracked her brain, trying not to confuse Alteration with Illusion, and attempting to find an idea on how Anifaire could raise money for a ship home. “I’m not bad,” she replied, not certain of herself. She had never been confident or passionate about her magic the way she was with Dwemer research. “Hm. Seems like you’ve got yourself in quite a pickle. But come on, we’ll get you cleaned up right and proper then.” Together they entered [i]The Flowing Bowl[/i], many of which glanced first at Brynja and then to Anifaire. Their expressions were mixed, some intrigued and others disgusted. Nevertheless, Brynja guided Anifaire up the flight of stairs to the room Marius had given her on agreement. “Right. Here we are.” She opened the door, and checked inside before holding out her hand as a gesture for Anifaire to head inside. “When you’re finished washing, come and see me downstairs, aye?” “Thank you,” she replied. She stepped inside the room. When she closed the door behind her, it felt wonderful just to be completely alone. She took the time to clean herself up, even scrubbing her hair and stripping completely to rub her skin until it was raw and dirt free. In her bag she had only the cloak Alim gave her, along with the two pairs of clothes. The dress she was wearing when she fled the Imperial City was cleaner, if torn up, but it was preferable to muddy clothes. She put it back on and set the dirty clothing aside. When she finished, she remembered that Brynja had asked her to return downstairs, so she left the room, hair still wet - something which would have been unspeakable once - and made her way down the stairs towards the main tavern area, looking for the other woman. Brynja had taken a seat at a table near a window overlooking the exterior of the tavern, a plate of food before her. She looked tired with bags under her eyes. Nonetheless, Brynja happened to look up in Anifaire’s general direction and waved at her. Anifaire made her way over and pulled out the seat across from Brynja. As she sat, delicately folding her skirts as though she was still wearing a fine gown, she eyed Brynja’s plate a bit jealously. “Thank you, truly. I feel much better, even just after washing up.” “Good. I’m glad to hear it.” Brynja caught Anifaire’s longing gaze and a soft smile danced across her lips. “I wasn’t sure what you liked to eat, the barmaid will be back over after she’s done making her rounds,when she comes, order what you want, it’s on me.” She explained, “I’ve been thinking about what you can do to get passage back home, if you care to hear.” Anifaire couldn’t help but glance around to see how far away the barmaid was, but she tried to hide it. Still, Brynja’s idea intrigued her. “What were you thinking?” “Correct me if I’m wrong… I’ve never studied Alteration, but… do you know how to lessen the weight of an item? Make it easier to carry?” “Yes,” Anifaire replied. A bit of relief flooded into her - it was something she could do. “I can do that.” “Good good. That’ll help you,” She fell silent, trying her best to collect her thoughts, “so here’s what I’m thinking… head down to the harbor, and ask the ship captains if they’ll grant you passage to the next port or wherever their destination. But offer them to help unload or load the ship. You would make the process easier on the sailors and the help would be appreciated.” By then the barmaid returned to the table, her attention shifting to Anifaire. “What’ll it be?” “I -” Anifaire stopped, a bit surprised. She hadn’t considered what it was she wanted. “Do you have any… fish? Some kind of fish would be lovely.” “Rice, or potatoes?” the barmaid asked. “Rice,” Anifaire answered with more certainty. The barmaid turned to walk away, and remembering a bit late, Anifaire blurted out “thank you!” a bit too loudly. A bit embarrassed, she turned back to Brynja. “Do you think it would work?” she asked. “It sounds possible.” She’d never thought of her abilities as particularly useful before. After some sleep… maybe she would try. The barmaid returned quickly with a hot plate of fish and rice. She couldn’t tell what type of fish it was - something local, probably - but it was of little consequence to her. Her manners were ingrained into her life; despite how hard her stomach growled, she sat straight in her seat and ate delicately without the idea of eating faster even crossing her mind. “It couldn’t hurt to try, I’m sure they would need the help. Maybe check with one of the trading ships, they’re bound to have a large amount of cargo.” Brynja watched Anifaire, taking note of the way she ate her food. Very prim and proper. Something her own mother tried her hardest to instill in her. Pausing in her eating, Anifaire looked up at Brynja, trying to look her directly in the eyes to emit sincerity; however, she felt nervous, and cast her eyes down to her food as she began to speak. “Thank you for helping me. Being here has been very…” she recalled the guards who had tried to accost her outside the bank, the thieves in the alleyway, and, finally, the dwemer, “frightening. But you have all been so kind to me.” She continued to pick at her food. Even while eating politely, the food was disappearing quickly. Where at home she would’ve paused and enjoyed the meal, setting down her utensils and holding conversations, now the only thing in her mind was the bed she had seen in the room upstairs and how nice it would be to lay there. Still, one couldn’t simply abandon propriety. It was odd, hearing such words come from Anifaire. Brynja tried to think back on when she had last spoke to the Altmer woman before her but she couldn’t recall, not since the Jerall Mountains. Brynja shook her head after considering the nature of her words. “It’s tough when you’re alone out here… sometimes it helps having someone looking over your shoulder. Your food is paid for, you should get some rest too.” Brynja rose up out of her chair, and made to head off, when she stopped, something nagging at her core on the inside. She could do [i]more[/i] to help Anifaire… “Here, it’s not much, but it’ll help.” Brynja pulled out the other coinpurse Marius had given to her after the first duel of the day, and set before Anifaire. “Alright then, I’ve got more septims to rake in.” Anifaire looked down at the purse - something she may have considered to be very little coin once. Speechlessly, she sat as Brynja moved on, until, the surprise wearing off, she finished scraping the last crumbs of food from her plate. A nap was calling her name.