[This collab is brought to you by: [@MacabreFox], [@MiddleEarthRoze], and myself]

Rhasha'Dar had offered up a smile to Sevine as she apologised, remnants of anger still blazing away in her green eyes. 

"Do not feel the need to apologise Sevine - This one is sure that if you had not intervened so violently, our Vampiric friend would be naught more than a pincushion." He said with a low chuckle, then examining the crossbow the Dawnguard Munoel had given him. He had no skill with ranged weapons of any kind, but the power of a crossbow matched no other. Perhaps he could get some lessons in aiming from Sevine?

    Shaking off the encounter with the Dawnguard like it never even happened, it was best not to dwell on those things or at least so she figured, Sevine turned her attention to Sagax, who looked like he had gone through a lot in the course of the last battle. Did he have a [i]broken[/i] jaw? It certainly looked swollen, puffed up like a piece of blooming tundra cotton, and he had talked differently than she remembered when he arrived on scene. She looked him up-and-down, head-to-toe, and promptly placed her hands on her hips into clenched fists, the toe of her left boot began to tap against the cobblestone, her tongue making little, [i]tsking[/i] sounds as she shook her head.

“For Mara’s sake, Sagax! What happened to you? You look like you’ve been put through a Kamalian meat grinder. You look awful. I’m sure you feel like it too from the looks of you. And where’s Roze? Is she ok? I haven’t seen her since before the battle.”

If Sagax didn't know better, he could have sworn Piper was standing right in front of him, hands to her hips with her usual scolding glance. Thankfully(?), it was just Sevine, though she still looked a tad miffed at his current condition. Looking up at the huntress' inquisitive face, he could only laugh sheepishly. Oh boy, how was he gonna explain this? [i]Oh yeah, I lost my fucking marbles for a little bit and thought it would be a wonderful idea to charge past the giant warriors with spears the size of tree trunks and bomb their ship with a highly volatile and unstable piece of magical explosive ordanance. All in a day's work, really![/i]

"Uhm...well, you see, hm, how do I put this..." Now he wished she [i]were[/i] Piper, at least then he could smile cockily, since he knew what he could get away with. Sevine? He had no clue, and that was absolutely terrifying. Piper could certainly get plenty scary if pushed enough, and so he wasn't keen on testing Sevine's limits. "Well, I thought that since, you know, I'm not all that well built for direct combat, that I would take it upon myself to devise a different strategy." Looking down at his scorched upper body, he coughed nervously. "It got a little...[i]heated[/i]. As for Roze? She's...fine, I'm certain! Sleeping like a baby, I'm sure, but completely fine!"

    His words didn't satisfy her by any means. Her foot stopped tapping, tongue stopped [i]tsking[/i], and her hands dropped from her sides, though her hands were still clenched. "What do you mean, [i]devise a different strategy[/i] Sagax?" Somewhere in the back of her mind, she had a gut feeling, that these two were involved in something horrible. But what? She had been busy firing bottles of liquid Oblivion over the walls into the battle down below. Her eyes widened in sudden realization, at the only plausible scenario that had drawn enough attention to her. The ship. The [i]explosion[/i] in the bay.
    
    Rhasha's eyes darted between his fellows - Sevine's anger rekindling, and Sagax's horribly bruised face looking rather guilty. 
    
    [i]"Oh, Azurah. I hope Sevine doesn't end up throttling Sagax too."[/i] Rhasha thought to himself with a light sigh.
    
"Sagax... What [i]did[/i] you do? You'd best tell me. And tell me straight. Don't give me any hogwash." She growled. If it was them, she wanted to hear it straight from the horse's mouth. However, a nagging feeling began to grow like a bothersome tumor at the back of her mind in regards to Roze, [i]She's...fine, I'm certain![/i] His words exactly. Oh dash it all! If Roze was hurt, because of some stupid plan of theirs, she was really gonna let loose.

"Weusedthosechargesfromtheredoubttoblowuptheship!!!" Alright that came out WAY faster than he wanted it to. Oh gods, he said "we". No no no no not good, not [i]good[/i]! "Uh, uh...I mean..." Why did she have to be so scary? He'd rather have Jorwen stare him down, or Piper! ...Oh GODS, [i]PIPER[/i]. If she heard about the siege, WHEN she heard about the siege, and the idiot Imperial named Sagax and a Breton who ran up to the Kamal suicidally to blow up their ship, only to be blown up themselves, she'd make the eruption of Red Mountain look like a small geyser. Sagax made a mental note to avoid Madura; avoid ANY possible reporter for ANY paper.

This was just getting worse and worse! For once, Sagax would like to meet a woman that wasn't liable to throttle him at a moment's notice.

    All color drained from Sevine's face as he blurted out what they conspired and put into action, her mouth fell open in horror. She almost didn't hear his words properly, but she heard them alright as it took a second or two to register in her mind. So it was them! They were the ones behind the explosion of the Kamal ship in the bay. Those dunces! Her jaw closed like a snapping turtle as she gritted her teeth, the apples of her cheeks turned red, dangerously red, like blood itself colored her cheeks. If it was possible, one would see steam pouring out of her ears, and fire dancing in her eyes.
    
    Looking between the pair somewhat awkwardly, Rhasha focused on Sevine... or rather, the fury evident in her face.
    "Ah... Sevine... perhaps calm down?" He suggested hesitantly - although it clearly fell on deaf ears.
    
"You did [I]WHAT[/I]?!" She shrieked. Sevine took a step towards him, her hands lifted up as if to throttle him, but then they fell away, back to her sides where they curled into white-knuckled fists. "You better take me to her, right NOW, Sagax. Or I [i]will[/i] skin your hide like a rabbit." She growled.

Flinching back in response to Sevine's sudden advance, he threw up his hands in surrender. Holy hell she was PISSED. She certainly had a shorter fuse than Piper, and that was saying something! "O-of course, of course, I know exactly where she is, in the Gray Quarter! Come, come, I'll show you right away!" He said, trying his hardest to reassure Sevine. In case his placations failed, though, he made a conscious decision to move behind Rhasha, hoping to use whatever power the Khajiit had over her to his advantage. He really wished he could move faster, but his legs simply did not want to comply, keeping him dependent on his scabbard to keep himself upright.

    Sevine looked to Rhasha, and while the anger in her voice had subsided, it was evident she was still angry. "C'mon, you're coming with us. Roze might need some help, and I can't heal worth a damn." She gestured for him to follow along, before heading after Sagax. "You better hope she's not dead when I get there." Grumbling, Sevine kept her hands balled into tightly wound fists, irritated at the fact that they both had gotten hurt. "I don't know what possessed you to think of such a [i]stupid[/i] idea. You could've gotten yourselves killed, and by the looks of it, you almost did." She added sourly, none too pleased at the idea, although, she secretly acknowledged that no matter how stupid their plan was, it had worked. They had blown up one Kamal ship, it hadn't sunk, but they did do some serious damage to it.

Although somewhat taken aback at Sevine's order - and an order it undoubtedly was - Rhasha dared not to refuse, not with the fire raging in her belly. He felt severely concerned for Sagax's wellbeing, and for himself. He was strong, certainly. But strong enough to hold Sevine down to let Sagax limp away?

Only the Gods knew.

Besides, there was something in the Gray Quarter he wanted to see, and that was the injured... as he had overheard one of the Dawnguard talk of a feisty Bosmer who had lost their arm. Although the idea of Sylvanis losing her arm was a horrific one - considering how much the woman both loved and depended on her talent for killing things with her humongous hammer - there would be some relief there should the Bosmer mentioned be her... it would mean she had survived.

Losing a limb was better than dying, after all. 

[hr][hr]

Roze was no longer in the Gray Quarter.

Having summoned the strength to sit up, Roze was able to look at her surroundings more clearly. She noticed her side and shoulder were heavily bandaged, the latter being in a sling. It still hurt like Oblivion, but at the very least she wasn't walking around like a skeever on a spit. There was a vague memory of having the wood splinter being removed, but she figured she had passed out from the pain.

Either way, it wasn't a pleasant thought to dwell on.

After a few moments of looking around, a healer had come by and given Roze some water; although doing nothing to ease her pain, it was blissful for her dry throat all the same. Apparantly they were running low on health supplies, so they were being reserved for the most injured... which Roze supposed she agreed with, but if she found one lying by itself, and nobody was looking, her natural state of stealing to survive would take over.

It had taken a further ten minutes to get to her feet - the struggle was a painful, and almost comical one, but Roze eventually was able to stand. At which point, she realized she was without her most beloved piece of equipment - her Father's bow.

"Oh... Gods. I can't decide what would be better - it being at the bottom of the sea, or being hawked at some market in Windhelm." She muttered as she limped along, using the wall to her left as support.

Thankfully, it didn't take her too long to find it. It was leaning against a wall near the dock gates, alongside countless other weapons that had been abandoned. Although almost gleeful as she picked it up (The bowstring seemed to have snapped, but hell, it needed replacing anyway), the sight of all the other weapons struck her as quite melancholic. The amount of people that had been injured, that had died... and as far as she knew, all of her friends could be in either of those categories.

Quickly making his way back to the Gray Quarter - well, as quickly as he could, anyway - Sagax didn't dare look back at Sevine. He heard her mumbling about how stupid he was, and it was very hard to disagree. It WAS a really dumb and stupid plan, and he felt like going to consult a priest about what Daedra took ahold of his mind at that point in time. On the other hand, the plan worked..kind of. The ship wasn't destroyed, but it still took a very heavy amount of damage, thanks to Roze's charge.

Roze...he said she was fine, and he believed it, but dark thoughts began to form. What if she wasn't? What if when they got back to where she lay, she had succumbed to her wounds? It would have been all his doing. Should have kept your mouth shut, Sagax, your plans are always stupid, that's why you stick to the sidelines. Would he be able to live with that kind of guilt? Hopefully, he wouldn't need to find out.

Rounding the corner into one of the Gray Quarter's alleys, he turned to Sevine, hand outstretched to where he thought he knew where Roze was. "See, Sevine?" He said, smile on his face as he turned his head to confirm for himself that the Breton was indeed still in her former spot on the stonework. "There she...[i]isn't!?[/i]" Eyes wide and mouth agape, Sagax swept his head back and forth across the alley and trying his hardest to peer into the adjacent streets, hoping to catch any sign of Roze. Turning to Sevine, he raised his hands apologetically and spoke slightly frantically. "B-b -but...she was right there, next to that sconce, I swear! Where...!? How...!?" Where was she? Had she been carried off by a healer? Or did she walk off on her own accord? Yes, of course, Roze was much tougher than she looked, as was proven when she had carried Sagax across the water, even with a bit of wood running through her. 

He began calling out, hoping the rogue would hear her name through the noise in the city. She must have been close by, no way she got very far with those kinds of wounds. He could already feel Sevine's hands around his neck, and he was of a mind to let her do the deed. Who could blame her? Certainly not the stupid wimpy Imperial who gets people killed.

    What could she expect? By the time they made it to the Gray Quarter, she could only place a hand over her eyes, sighing in irritation at Sagax. [i]'Calm down, Sevine. You've already lost your cool once today. Maybe she wandered off?'[/i] She tried to rationalize [i]not[/i] throttling Sagax, but she looked around to anyone present. What was Sagax thinking, leaving Roze under a street sconce, instead of taking her inside where it was warmer? She could only manage a groan as her hand dropped away, and looked Sagax dead in the eyes, most of the fire in her eyes had gone, but she was still pissed. Like a cat being thrown in water pissed. As her eyes scanned their surroundings, she spotted someone that looked like a healer, for they had a few potion bottles attached to their hip on a holster belt.

"Excuse me, have you seen a tiny Breton woman, about yeh big?" She gestured with her hand, as to how tall Roze was, certainly smaller than Sevine by all means. 

    The man turned to look at her, and shrugged haphazardly, "Eh, I think so. Gave her some water, looked pretty banged up poor thing. I thought I saw her headed thataway." He hooked his thumb over the shoulder in which Roze had apparently gone.

    Glancing at Sagax, and Rhasha, she gave an even louder sigh, started off in the general direction of where Roze had headed. "C'mon, better find her before she gets herself hurt. Did she have her bow, or did you leave it behind somewhere?" If she knew one thing, being left without any sort of weapon, especially one's bow, would prompt anyone to retrieve their weapon before some sticky hands claimed it for themselves.

Sagax kept his head low, like some sullen pup, even when Sevine addressed him directly. He perked up slightly when the healer told them of a certain Breton that passed by recently. So she was okay after all! That brought great relief to the scorned Imperial. Maybe the huntress would cool a little if she saw Roze for herself. Hopefully.

"I think she lost her bow sometime after we retreated back into the city. I don't know where it went, and she wasn't exactly lucid enough to notice it went anywhere. Maybe she went off looking for it?" After that, he went silent again. He didn't particularly feel social at that moment, casting only a sideways glance at Rhasha.

"Then it would only make sense if she went to go look for it, no matter how badly hurt she is." She muttered to herself, focusing her energy on finding their lost friend.

    It didn't take as long as she expected to find Roze actually, as she stopped a few other people in the street to ask about her whereabouts. They all pointed in the same direction that the healer had. Before long, they ended up where the weapons of those lost, or fallen lay lined up against the wall. And sure enough, Roze was there too, looking over her bow, though its bowstring had snapped. Sevine could hardly contain her relief at the sight of her friend, and cried out immediately.
    
"[i]Roze![/i]" She thundered, and darted over to the Breton woman, unable to suppress her joy at seeing her alive, pulling her into a smothering embrace as she went, literally crushing her to her chest. Her joy turned into grief as she began to shake Roze like a ragdoll, grabbing her firmly by the shoulders, and shouting. "What were you thinking? Just look at you! You look worse than a rabbit skinned for stew. You could've killed yourselves! I don't know whose stupid idea it was to do this, but thank Mara you're alive." She continued shaking her as tears spilled down her cheeks. Honestly, she could have backhanded Roze instead, but she could only shake her around.

Upon his mind registering the familair figure of a certain psychotic Breton, an uncontrollably large smile grew across Sagax's face. It hurt like hell, but he couldn't help it; he was so happy to see Roze up and about. "Aha, Roze, there you are!" He was about to make his way over before Sevine darted by and started crushing the poor rogue. It was a peculiar mixture of sorrow, relief, and anger that radiated from the Nord as she drew Roze in to a bone-shattering bear hug. Careful about being drawn into the fray, Sagax slowly limped over to the pair. "It's really good to see you alive and well, Roze. Really, really good." Sevine's previous scowl left his mind as he was filled with joy upon the realization that he hadn't gotten the poor woman killed. He'd hate to lose a friend so early into his time in Skyrim, especially one so relateable. His relief gave way to his guard being let down momentarily, becoming inattentive to any possible advances by Sevine to rope him in with Roze...

At first, Roze felt a shattering sense of relief upon seeing both Sevine and Sagax. She'd been so worried about them - especially Sagax. Seeing him alive and upright - and distinctly less beaten up than before, although his jaw still looked pretty bad - brought peace to her heart. Her face split into a smile, that faltered as Sevine sprinted towards her. It collapsed entirely as she was pulled into a bear-hug that would make a real mamma bear feel jealous over. If her ribs hadn't already been broken, they would have cracked under the pressure of the hug. As such, it did absolutely nothing for her injuries, and Roze's vision faded somewhat in the sudden onslaught of her pain sensors.

And then, of course, things were hardly made better when Sevine began shaking her like a doll, spouting anger and grief as she scolded Roze as if she were naught but a bairn, who had wandered too far from her Mother in the wilderness. 

And through the pain that that brought, Roze simply felt... surprise. Surprise that Sevine had been so worried about her - she hadn't made that kind of bond with someone since she'd left the Guild, and even then, it was never this... strong.

Tears sprang in Roze's own eyes as guilt hit her - she had no idea her actions would have such an effect on her friends. Hell, perhaps a light scolding, some jokes, maybe even praise, but tears? 

"I... Sevine, I'm- I'm sorry!" Roze managed to squeak out as Sevine continued shaking her, shoulder burning in pain now.

    Sagax had wandered over in the midst of her shaking, relieved to find Roze alive as well. As she spotted Sagax out of the corner of her eye, Sevine snatched Sagax's arm, stopped shaking Roze, and resumed her bear-crush of an embrace, this time, smothering the two of them against her, arms wound tightly like a coiled snake.

"Oh you fools! You stupid, stupid fools!" She let out a strangled croak of a sob, burying her face into the heat of their chests. Her body trembled with tears before she released the two of them, a lopsided smile plastered across her face, with red-rimmed eyes. Wiping her cheeks with the palms of her hands, Sevine moaned with relief.

"I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me... I just... I was worried about the two of you. When Sagax told me what you did, I was mortified. I was on the walls slinging fire-bombs, and when I saw that explosion, I thought that, surely whoever set that off would be dead. Neither of you look decent to say the least, but at least you're alive. That's all that matters." Placing her hands on her hips, Sevine eyed her two friends from head-to-toe, and burst out laughing.

"You ought to see the looks on your faces! Mara be damned, you both look like you've been run through a meat grinder." She added lastly, her eyes lingering on Roze's pale face. "This will be a grand story to tell your future children." With a shake of her head, she finally turned her attention to Rhasha.

"What happened to your Bosmer friend?  I haven't seen her around." 

When Sevine made a grab for his arm, Sagax thought he was done for, fully prepared for hands to be gripped around his neck. That never came, though, but what did was almost as painful. Instead of throttling him, he was pulled in the embrace none too gently. Sevine's arm wrapped firmly around his bad shoulder, causing him to let out a small gasp of pain. "Y-yes, Sevine...urk...we're perfectly...agh, perfectly fine!" He looked over at Roze, letting her know that he knew her pain. 

What shocked Sagax, though, was the amount of tears leaving the huntress' eyes. Surely, she couldn't have been that worried? They had only really met a day prior. Did he really leave that much of an impression on the Nord? Either that or she was simply an incredibly compassionate person, which, admittedly, was not standard practice for Nords. 

When she finally let go of the two rogues, Sagax put his hand to his side and massaged his aching ribs. Sevine had one hell of a grip, that much was certain. He was inclined to agree with the huntress' observations; no doubt he looked like shit. He was glad there were no mirrors nearby, all he had to really see was his torso which at worst sported burn marks. 

Sagax turned to Roze after Sevine drew her attention to Rhasha and gave her a hug of his own, this one being much, much gentler than Sevine's bear hug. "I'll be honest, Roze...you scared the shit out of me. Watching you lay there brought some of the worst feelings I've ever experienced to surface. Knowing I couldn't help you...well, it made me feel useless and worthless. I'm glad to see you back among the living." He finished with a friendly smile.

As the shaking stopped and another hug appeared, Roze felt weak at her knees, both in exhausation and pain. But as Sevine's grief gave way to amusement, Roze couldn't help bUt give a somewhat shaky smile in return. She hadn't even seen a mirror or reflection of herself, but she had no doubt she looked awful. There was obviously scrapes, bruises and cuts on her face, and her hair... well, the less said about that the better. Being scalped would have looked nicer than the state it was in.

As Sevine turned to look at the Khajiit - who Roze recalled as being Rhasha'Dar (Boy, had the cat been right about those bloody moons.) - She was happy to return a far gentler hug to Sagax, feeling completely moved by his words.

"I feel the same way for you, Sagax. When I woke up and you were gone, I thought... perhaps you'd died from your injuries. I didn't know how long I'd been out, or if you were okay." She replied, her tone hoarse from unshed tears. certainly, there lay alump in her throat, borne both from guilt and relief.

"And if it's any consolation, you're not worthless. If it hadn't been for you, I wouldn't have had the balls to go near the Kamal and blast them to Oblivion." She added with a light chuckle - and instantly regretting it as even that slight movement of her diaphragm caused ripples of pain.

As for Rhasha'Dar, he was pleased at the outcome of the day. Rozalia was alive; and Sagax remained unthrottled. Even Sevine's anger had been reined in... after shaking around the poor rogue like a doll, which didn't appear to do much for her injuries, but she did not complain. The girl was stronger than she looked... and she truly did look terrible. Skin as pale as the snow heaped in the city, a sheen of sweat covering her face which was littered with small lacerations and bruising. A bandage covered her right shoulder which was slinged, and another covering her midriff - a red patch of blood still visible towards the right hand side.

However, his attention was removed from the injured girl at Sevine's question, and he shrugged, brow furrowing in concern.

"This one is not sure of her location. This one hopes she is still passed out drunk in bed at the inn... but from what the Dawnguard say, she may have been injured in the fight. This one just has to find her." He replied, playing with his amulet almost absent-mindedly. Perhaps that snippet of news was Azurah's work?

"But if the rumours are true, no amount of healing will aid her. It is quite hard to re-grow an arm, from what this one has heard."

    Nodding her head in agreement, Sevine glanced at Sagax and Roze behind them, before turning her attention back to Rhasha'Dar. "Well, lets go look for her. If those Dawnguard's were talking about her, she ought to be somewhere near the gate at least."

"Are you two coming with us?" She asked, a matronly glint in her eye, as if they were her own children, or at least her sister. That thought alone made her feel guilty. Why hadn't she kept in touch with Liliana? She hadn't even bothered to write a letter, to let her know how she was, or to ask if she was with child yet, how her new husband was treating her. Making a mental note to write her when she found time, Sevine broke her gaze from her friend's to look back at Rhasha, and tipped her head in the general direction of the gate.

"Let's get a move on."

The thought of wandering around searching for someone made Roze's stomach turn... or was that just hunger?

"Actually, I think maybe I should find somewhere warm to sit before I pass out again. I could kill someone for some soup too." She replied, belly growling as if to exaggerate her words.

Hearing Roze talk about soup caused Sagax's body to make him realize just how long he'd been running on empty. No wonder he felt so damn tired. His gold was in his pack in the warehouse, though...hopefully tale of suicdical bravery would be enough to pay for something basic. "You two go on ahead. I think Roze and I are going to go grab something at Candlehearth. We're both starving; I am for certain."