By the time Sevine had exhausted half of their stockpiles of fire bombs, leaving the bottles of poison largely untouched, a cry of shock, and despair escaped her lips as she watched momentarily as the ships in the bay withdrew in retreat, she wanted to cheer in victory as others were doing below, yet an onslaught of ice shards began to assail those gathered below, and those stationed on the walls. Leif let go of their make-shift sling, and forced Sevine to the ground, seconds from possibly losing her head as a massive shard of ice sailed over her head. Screams of the dying, and the desperate filled the air below as she could hear the creaking of the gates lift, allowing those still alive, and wounded into the city for a retreat. The pummeling of ice ran for a good part of half an hour, and they remained hunched down waiting for the barrage of ice to stop, before someone, she couldn’t identify who, called out for those on the walls to evacuate, and re-group for the next onslaught as siege weapons by the Kamal's were set into place. She managed one last look over the walls, and the sight of familiar, Nordic weapons caught her off guard. Or at least she was sure they were Nordic, she had seen some before during the war, but they weren’t really used much. Leif pulled on her hand, a worrisome look in his sky-blue eyes, one that she had seen before on the fields when things were turning sour. Careful not to be caught by any more stray ice shards, Sevine and Leif made for the stone stairwell, and exited the ramparts. When they reached the bottom, Sevine leaned against the stone walls, and cast a weary glance at her friend, as if exhausted by the idea of the siege weapons alone. The docks had been nearly destroyed, and just over the gate, she knew many had lost their lives in this last part of the battle. Her eyes scanned the area around them, looking for Sagax and Roze, praying to Mara that they had made it through safely. She had no idea where they went during the course of the battle, and felt the salt of tears sting her eyes. Blinking them away before they could spill, Sevine sighed again, this time more shakily as her nerves were rattled. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she felt as if she was getting too old for this, sure she may only be twenty-six, but she had seen enough death, and blood to last a lifetime.

“Are you ok? You look a little pale.” Leif said, his eyes sweeping over her. He couldn’t help but to feel a twinge of sympathy for Sevine. He knew she was a battle-hardened warrioress, but the look on her face spelled of concern, pain, and anguish. If he had ever seen anyone green in the face, it was Sevine. It reminded him of the look the new sailors of [i]The Courtesan[/i] experienced while they learned their sea legs.

“I feel sick. My stomach is in knots Leif.” She mumbled, and it was true, her stomach had knotted in a series of tight, painful pangs of worry, making her sick to her stomach. Her mouth salivated as her stomach itself threatened to up-heave the contents within, even her hands felt shaky, and her head ached.

“We’re going to be okay, I promise you that. These Kamals won’t stand a chance against us.” Pulling her into his chest, Leif held her head against his shoulder with one hand, and rubbed her back, trying his best to console her, and ease her suffering. “Be strong, Sevine. I know you all too well. Grab a bite to eat, or drink some mead or water, it’ll settle your nerves for a bit.”

	A curious chain of words spilled out of a Redguard’s mouth as he went from man to man, woman to woman, beast to Mer, seeking their aid to free some sort of thief who stole pages from the jarl, and was now locked in the dungeons at the Palace of Kings. Leif released her in due time, cocking an eyebrow at her with a wondering smirk before hooking a thumb over his shoulder at the man. “I don’t suppose he’s with the company too?” Farid gestured towards the Palace as they both watched in astonishment as the fortress took a hit from one of the siege weapons.

	Sevine as well, had heard the words of Farid, and questioned silently what he intended to do with this man in the dungeons, the offer of gold sounded tempting, but she was in no mood to do any form of prison breaking. Not at a time like this… “Aye, that’s Farid. Some think he’s a bit full of himself, but he’s alright really. Are you going with him?” She turned her gaze back to Leif, and even though her stomach threatened to blow chunks, she managed to curl her hands into knuckled fists on her hips, more concerned that he would get himself into more trouble than was necessary.

“I will, wouldn’t hurt to make some coin in a time like this. Like he said, that’s what we signed up for eh? To be paid? I’ll let you know what happened when I get back. I’ll come and find you, alright?” He squeezed her shoulder reassuringly before darting after Farid, eager to see what the proposition entailed, leaving Sevine alone with her thoughts.

“Don’t get into trouble…” She mumbled to herself, watching Leif before he disappeared amongst the throngs of the wounded, the dead, and the living to chase Farid down.

	She sighed hopelessly, the thoughts of the Kamal’s plagued her mind, and she could think of nothing else. For the time being, she figured it would be best to take a walk for some fresh air, to clear her head. Heading off towards the Stone Quarter, her steps were slow, and heavy, as if down-trodden with the outcome of the battle so far, and she knew that any moment, any second, the warning bell could ring again, sending them all back to defend the city. Typically, Sevine wasn’t so easily moved by such events, yet with the ominous blood moon lingering in the skies, she couldn’t shake the feeling that something bad was going to happen. As she entered the square where the vendors sold their goods, she hoped to find at least one of the merchants with food, she found none, except for a mysterious gathering of Dawnguard’s surrounding a woman. She caught their words just in time to discover the source of the situation, and felt surprised that they would judge her so harshly, even though she had potentially saved so many lives. She had watched this woman, in her vampire lord form, suck the very life out of the Kamal's. Crimson brows furrowed together, she charged over to the assembled group, and forgot about her stomach in knots, or the ache in her head. She had heard the woman pleading her case to live, how a group of cultists had sacrificed her to Molag Bol, how she chose to hunt those like her down for the very same reason that the Dawnguard had formed. With teeth gritted, Sevine barreled through the group, elbowing, and shoving aside the members of the Dawnguard without a care, knocking several off their feet as they were caught by surprise at the lithe woman that broke up their circle of aimed crossbows. She found the man that had spoken, the one seemingly in next in line to command and grabbed him by his throat in one smooth motion, lifting him off his feet. By all means, the man was heavy, but Sevine was angry, and the surge of adrenaline that coursed through her veins proved otherwise. With eyes locked, the two gazed fiercely at one another as he tried to claw at her hands, desperately trying to free himself from her grip, feet kicking and swinging like wheat in a windy field. Spittle flew from his mouth as he struggled to catch a gasp of air under the vice-like grip of the huntress. The man she held ensnared in her grasp was of Nordic descent, with pale skin, thick brown hair, with a beard to match. Disgusted, Sevine tossed him to the ground, her lip curled into a snarl, revealing a line of gritted teeth, leaving him to collect himself as she turned to step in front of the woman who knelt before them all.

“And what in Mara’s name do you think you’re doing!?” She roared, as she took a defensive stance before the woman, one hand placed protectively on her shoulder. Her eyes swirled with hot, poisonous venom, like that of a mother bear protecting her cubs.

“You’re telling me that you mean to kill this woman, simply because she’s a vampire? Didn’t you hear what she said? She was [i]sacrificed[/i] to Molag Bol, for Mara’s sake! You may be Dawnguard, but look what she did for us out there. Would any of you be willing to do the same, to put your own life at risk, for the possibility of saving others instead of hiding behind your bolts? You’re not thinking straight here, we’re in a war against demons more powerful than our own men, and women. It takes at least four of us, to [i]hopefully[/i] bring down one. She can clearly control her powers, if you haven’t noticed until now that she’s a vampire. I don’t give a damn what your motto is, she can be of more help to us than anyone else right now. Didn’t you all see how she drained the life force out of the Kamal? None of us can do that, and we don’t have mages strong enough to do anything similar. She can change the tides of this battle, and did you not hear what she said before? She’s killing her own kind, she doesn’t want to be one of them, she’d rather kill them all, just like yourselves. If you kill her, you may as well kill every man, woman, and child in this city right now, because without her, we’re all dead.” Her gaze shifted to everyone that stood before her, looking them each in the eye until they looked away, nervous to meet the same fate as their second-in-command.

	The man she had choked, and tossed to the ground seconds before, rose to his feet as he rubbed his throat, coughing as he went, while he glowered at her and took a step forward. “Who do you think you are? You don’t know what we stand for. We seek to eradicate this horrific disease that has taken so many lives. The vampires are a curse to us all, and they must be killed, so that others may live in peace, and in the safety of their homes. Step aside.” Her eyes narrowed dangerously at his words, he had no idea what kind of woman she was, and she was a woman that wasn’t going to let some group of vampire hunters decide the fate of the woman whom she stood in front, hand on her shoulder, when that very woman could help change the course of battle. 

“Reconsider.” Her voice was a guttural growl, almost inhuman, her words elicited a wary exchange of glances from the others surrounding them. She remained steadfast in her position, and refused to step out of the way. No man could tell her what to do.