[center][h2]Collab brought to you by [s]Bonnie and Clyde[/s] [s]Garrett and Victoria[/s] [i]Roze[/i] and [i]Sagax[/i][/h2][/center]

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Sagax sat bitterly in a dark....well, more dark, area of the cave after the rest of the Falmer had been driven off. His loud pre-combat empowerment speech didn't seem too great any more, seeing as how he got shot directly afterwards. Is this what being a war-drummer in the Legion is like?  You think you're an inspiration to your comrades but really you're just giving the enemy an easy target? He wasn't even sure if anyone bought it. He didn't hear any mocking laughter though, so at least it didn't make him look like an idiot. Sighing and leaning back, Sagax began to rest his eyes a little. The bit of cloth Farid gave him helped stop the bleeding of his wound, but his head still pounded for whatever reason. He couldn't wait to get back to Dawnstar, maybe he'd actually get a proper room. Sleeping on the floor again didn't sound too enticing at that particular point in time...oh come on, he wasn't even dreaming, and yet there that armored pile of bones was, staring at him.

"Go away, I'm not in the mood..." he said aloud, and they vanished. Well, at least the guy had some manners. Sagax probably wouldn't retain any great wisdom in his state. He also apparently was very unaware in his current state, as he didn't hear the tiny footsteps that made their way over to him moments before. That's nice, Sagax, now you look like an asshole to...someone. Who was it anyway? Looking forward at his visitor, he saw a familiar and welcome leather-clad Breton, arms crossed in mock-annoyance in response to his rude words, which to Sagax's credit weren't even meant for her.

"Oh, hi Roze. Sorry, was talking to my ghost advisor." Is what he would have said if he were utterly delusional. He settled with just the greeting part. "Oh, uh... hey Roze. How're you doing on this...absolutely magnificent day?" He sounded a little more cynical than he was actively trying to be, but hopefully Roze wouldn't be too off-put by his foul mood.

Raising one eyebrow in confusion, Roze's eyes darted to the wound on Sagax's forearm.

"Better than you, obviously. Also, I'm certain you'll change your mood when you see what I've got." Unfolding her arms with a dry smile, Roze walked over to Sagax, kneeling beside him and taking out two items from her nearby bag - one, a bottle. Two, bandages.

"Drink some of this - it's Dunmeri Sujamma, so it'll knock you out nice enough." She stated, handing it to him and she unravelled the bandages. One of the Khajiit had given them to her, as he tended to the wounded himself, she had offered to help out in some way. "I'm the current resident expert on arrow wounds, so you're in safe hands." She added with a light chuckle, glancing up at Sagax once again with a somewhat more worried glance. "You sure you're okay? You were way more happy after the Kamal incident, which was a lot worse than an itty-bitty arrow wound."

She was right. He got blown up back at Windhelm, this was nothing in comparison. "I don't know...I guess I feel like I didn't really accomplish much this time around. I mean, I got one Falmer, and then I was back down on the ground with an arrow wound. At least we managed to obliterate that Kamal ship, even if we got blasted ourselves." He took the bottle and looked at it almost worriedly. Seemed like he might be meeting with his new friend whether he was in the mood or not. At least Roze could deal with that accursed arrow wound, though. No doubt she'd do a better job of it than Farid. "Sorry about snapping at you, by the way. Didn't really hear you until you got really close, thought you were someone else." He swapped the Sujamma over to his other hand to set it down on a more even part of the cave floor. Instead, he nearly shattered it; his arm could barely hold it up,  just enough to stop it from plummeting straight down to the ground. "Oh that's going to be a joy to work through...good thing I'm right handed!"

 Taking the sujamma from him with a swift roll of the eyes, Roze gripped the cork with her teeth, spitting it out and smelling the liquor before taking a cautious sip. It was a curious flavour; sweet as honey, with a hint of spice and a definite punch of alcohol.
 
 "Ooh, by Shor's sweet ass that tastes good." Holding Sagax's arm out as gently as she could manage, Roze carefully poured some of the alcohol over the wound. It wasn't perfect, but it would do to fight off some infection. Hopefully. "Look, don't put yourself down for getting hurt. For all you know, that Falmer you killed would have fatally stabbed me, or Sevine, or yourself.  It wasn't a worthless act." These words were said in a soft, yet matter-of-fact tone. Roze wasn't going to be argued on this point; she wouldn't have Sagax feeling down just because some foul creature had pegged him so soon.
 
 Placing the sujamma firmly back in Sagax's good hand, she began to wrap the bandages around the wound, making it as tight as possible without cutting off circulation. Sebastian was around the cave somewhere, helping the rest of the injured; she'd have him give Sagax's arm a blast of healing magic at some point before leaving.
 
 "And I'm sure I can forgive you for your rude words - stressful times, after all." Speaking with an impish smile upon her face, she tied the bandage off as neatly as she could. It was far better than her first attempt of bandaging; it would likely last until Dawnstar. "As for this "someone else".... I'm going to be having words with that certain Redguard." Roze added, a steeliness coming to her eyes; she'd heard Farid in the cave. In fact, she'd heard plenty of the things he'd been saying recently, and quite frankly, she'd sooner have a conversation with the Cat-Kicker at the rate Farid was going. Perhaps he had to be taught a lesson by a small, angry Breton.
 
 While the burning sensation of the alcohol on his wound wasn't exactly agonizing, it wasn't very pleasant either, getting an audible grunt out of Sagax at the very least. He opted to focus on Roze's words to help him ignore the stings and pangs in his arm as she wrapped the wound up. "Yeah...you're right, I suppose. The hero can't always get off scot-free, right?" he said jokingly. He knew he was no hero, just someone that could use a blade a bit better than his enemies. It felt good to help his friends, though, and didn't mind taking a hit in Sevine or Roze's place. Besides, one more scar to add, right? Another story, another victory. 
 
 Sagax dismissively half-waved with his open hand at the mention of Farid. "Don't bother with him, Roze, he's not worth your time. He's got a big mouth, and that's all." As much as he would have loved to see Farid get taken down a notch, the only thing that would come from Roze seeking retribution was trouble. With Farid, with Ashav, whoever. "If he ever does anything truly abhorrent, I'll deal with him myself, ya?"
 
 Out of curiosity, Sagax held the bottle of Sujamma up and took in the liquor's scent. It was...strange, to say the least. Roze seemed to love the stuff, though, so it probably wasn't too bad. Speaking of good spirits, just as Sagax was thinking of having a taste of the Sujamma himself, he noticed that the air behind his Breton friend shimmered strangely. It appeared as though the specter had influence even in the far reaches of Skyrim, albeit very weak influence. They didn't seem capable of taking any definite shape, and they emitted no sound. Whatever mental link the spirit had with Sagax seemed to be greatly diminished in the waking world, as they made no attempt to speak to him. They just...stood there. For a moment, anyway; the shimmering ceased completely after he blinked. This was completely crazy! Or maybe Sagax was completely crazy. Should he tell Roze about his recent dream...? What harm could it do? The worst that could happen is that Roze would laugh it off as just that, a weird dream. He needed to tell someone lest he utterly lose his mind.
 
 "Hey, Roze, can I tell you something? It's nothing intimate or anything, just want to share something real quick."
 
 With her job all done - quite nicely, as she thought - Roze settled herself down more comfortably on the floor and shook her head in amusment.
 
 "Aw, c'mon. You know I'll be more likely to get out of trouble than you - I'm all sweet, innocent and angelic remember?" The laughter in her expression dimmed somewhat at Sagax's next request; not in discomfort, certainly, but rather confusion. There he went, going all serious again.
 
 "Sure, you can tell me anything, Sagax." She replied, curious as to what it was - and somewhat happy that he wished to share something - that was having some large impact on him - with herself.
 
 "Great! Now, this is going to sound pretty crazy and...well, it is pretty crazy, but hear me out. Last night I had this wicked dream. I was back at Windhelm, about to fight that Kamal mage that gave us so much trouble, but just before it got a spell off, it just...disintegrated." Just to think, that's the normal part of it. "Behind the mage was some kind of swordsman; he turned the damn thing into ash with a single strike..." He went on to describe how the land transformed before his eyes, what the swordsman looked like, and the limited information the specter offered about itself.
 
 "...then it told me that I should not be...what did it say? That I should not be fooled by fear? Yeah, something like that." Good thing Roze already thought he was unhinged, or else Sagax was sure she'd be running for the hills at that point. "...uh, anyway, I brought this up because well, one, it's super weird and I had to get this crap off my chest. Two....I think I just saw him right behind you. Gone now, though, so no need to freak out or anything!" Right, because that'll make her feel so much better. Could you be any more inappropriately nonchalant, Sagax?
 
 Roze watched on in silence, an increasingly incredulous look growing on her face as he spoke. Dreams could be weird, sure - she'd had her fair share of odd ones, and even more about the Kamal incident (although those were more in the realm of terrifying than odd) - but having these dreams affect what you saw in the awake world?
 
"Uhh..." Roze hesitated before she spoke, not mentioning the sudden goosebumps that had appeared over her at the thought of some kind of ghostly dream guy standing behind her. "Well... at least he's not telling you to stab people in their sleep or something crazy like that." She joked weakly, unsure how to process the information. Certainly, Sagax seemed to be worried about the situation. Hells, anyone would be, unless they were insane. And despite Sagax's strange hobbies of blowing shit up and bareback riding monsters, she sincerely doubted he was losing his wits.

"So, can you like... talk to this guy? Ghost? Thing?" She asked after an awkward moment of silence between the two, hastily glancing behind her before looking back to Sagax.

"Well...kind of? We can converse when I'm dreaming, but when I'm awake I don't really feel his presence anywhere. In fact, what I just saw maybe have just been my imagination; there wasn't really anything solid there." Sagax rubbed his temples and seriously considered downing the entire bottle of Sujamma right there. "Sweet Mara I'm already talking like it's a fact...maybe it really was just a vivid dream? I mean, dreams sometimes have meaning, don't they, a kind of subconscious subtext? At least, that's what I remember reading back in my tutoring days. This guy really could just be a figment of my imagination." Why was that so hard for him to believe? Out of anyone, he should be able to convince at least himself, but it just wasn't happening. This world, Nirn, was a very strange place, with countless unsolved mysteries, and it's not like ghosts didn't exist; there were people that hunt the things for a living. 

"I must sound fucking insane to you, Roze. Like, actually clinically insane." Rubbing his eyes, he was relieved to see nothing, and when he opened them again, all he saw was Roze. It was the stress, it had to be. The siege, the college rescue, the shipwreck, it was just getting to him was all. "I think when we get back to Dawnstar, I'm going to rent out an actual bed. Maybe some decent sleep will knock this crap out of my head. If it persists, then, well...I'm sure there's a priest somewhere I can go to. I apologize in advance for any nightmares!" he finished with a smile.

She had to admit, despite the ream of... unlikeliness that Sagax had just spouted, the prospect of a real, proper bed in Dawnstar was tantalising. Right now she'd make do sleeping on Sebastian, who'd likely grumble about it but wouldn't dare push her off.

"I've heard crazier stories Sagax. I grew up in Riften, remember? Man, some of the shit I heard there was unbelievable." Stopping herself before launching into a long tale of sorts, Roze grasped the bottle of sujamma and took another drink, this one a good heart swig before handing it back to Sagax. "Relax, I'm not planning on throwing you into an asylum at any time. Just... try and keep..." She paused, wondering what to say. Sane? Not hallucinating? "Look, just let me know if it happens again, or you need to talk about it anymore. You don't have to deal with this on your own." Standing up and brushing the dust from her trousers, she motioned towards the bottle in Sagax's hand with an amicable smile. "Keep a hold of that - it should help you get some decent sleep tonight. Ghost or no ghost."

It was a great relief to Sagax, hearing Roze offering up her support. He'd hate to chase away such a good friend with his crazed ramblings. "That means a lot Roze, thanks. I'll make sure not to completely hit rock bottom any time soon...I'm sure there's plenty more ships to blow up, and we'll need to be in top shape, I'm sure!" Lifting up the jug of oddly sweet-smelling liquid, Sagax drank a share large enough to make sure that he'd actually get some damn sleep; the spectral training could wait. Wouldn't you know it, when Sagax found a good enough spot to lie down, he slept without interruption. No dreams, no weird shimmering blotches of air, just some quiet down time. He didn't even think about all that nonsense. Sure, he felt a little dizzy when he woke up, but that was probably just the Sujamma. Alcohol has the tendency to pull those kinds of tricks on you.

Roze did not have quite as good a rest as Sagax - not nightmares, but insomnia. She was unable to sleep for a good long while, having only taken in a few hours of rest before the rising sun brought everyone to consciousness. Thankfully, the journey back to Dawn star was not a hard one, and at every stop they had along the wilderness, she caught up with her exhausation. It seemed the thought of having a bed to sleep in after so long was tricking her into thinking the cold grounds were comfortable.

Well.. perhaps not overly so, judging by the back ache.

Either way, by the time the group reached the markets in Dawnstar, Roze was in high spirits. The fun of the festival charged some mischief within her, and with with plenty of people milling about with bulging coinpurses, Roze felt they were ripe for the picking. The rich ones wouldn't complain that much, probably. 

After successfully snatching a couple of coinpurses, Roze wandered around the different stalls, pondering what to buy, and of course, the location of her companions. Sebastian had gone off somewhere to send several letters of import to mages around the country, even the Mages Guild down in Cyrodiil. Last he visited them in Skingrad he was run out the city for some reason... but he had no doubt they would answer to his call for help upon hearing what had happened at Winterhold. As for her other fellows, Roze did not know. She'd been meaning to catch up with Sevine, to see just what was going on with Do'Karth and Leif. Perhaps Leif could use some company too. As for Sagax - well, she just hoped he hadn't followed his ghostly dream friend off a cliff edge or something.

Unfortunately, Sagax didn't have a great time making his way back to town. He had a decent night's sleep, but the wooziness continued further into the day, and he eventually had to take off his cloak; he just felt far too hot. He shook and sweat constantly, and almost tripping over himself several times. The sun also felt much brighter than usual...actually, everything seemed brighter, like he was staring into a candle or something.

"I'm never accepting any kind of drink from Roze ever again..." He severely regretted drinking that Sujamma. That's clearly what was causing his ills, of course. When the company finally got back to Dawnstar, the first thing Sagax did was find a bench in a relatively empty part of the market and sat down. His vision had begun to swirl and blur, and he felt incredibly nauseous. What a shame, he was looking forward to joining in the festivities, but his body was simply not agreeing with him. The sounds of the celebration were just noise and he paid no attention to anyone that passed him by, not even to Roze and her impish laughter brought on by a pocket well-picked. 

"The 'path of the warrior' sucks..." 

[i]"Ah! Speaking of friends, there's one now."[/i] Obviously in a high mood, Roze made her way to Sagax with a bright smile, that only dimished as she got closer and saw him properly. His skin had become incredibly pale, and she could see the sheen of sweat on him from where she stood. Merriment abandoned, Roze tossed whatever pastry she had been munching on over her shoulder (It promptly hit one woman in the back of the head, but Roze was gone before she could even shriek in anger) and ran the rest of the way to Sagax.

"Sagax, what's wrong?! Have you been hurt again?" She asked in a panicked tone, kneeling in front of him and placing her hands on his shoulders - he looked ready to tip over at any second. What in Oblivion was it? Surely not his arm wound? It was just one Falmer arrow!

"Oh, crap. Falmer." She muttered, suddenly realising. How could she have been so damned dense? 

Roze startled Sagax a fair bit, causing him to jump up a little out of his fevered stupor. "Hey Roze....I don't think the Sujamma agreed with me whatsoever. I feel...well, I feel like trash, I'll be honest with you." Oh gods there she goes again with the weird angel....blur...thing, but thankfully he wasn't quite delirious enough to make the same mistake again. He hadn't felt this awful since he first woke up on the docks after the bombing run...wait, what'd she say about Falmer?

"Why are the Falmer important? Pff, what, did they poison your liquor just to try and spite you?" Sagax said with oblivious sarcasm. Suddenly, he felt the urge to expel everything he ate in the past day or so. Leaning over to the side of the bench, he did just that. Oddly enough, that made him feel a little bit better...kind of...sort of. Not at all really. He didn't feel nauseous any more though. Still pretty awful, he wasn't going to lie.

Roze leant back slightly as Sagax emptied his stomach - silently thanking the Gods he'd leant over the side of the bench rather than straight on her.

"No you idiot, they've poisoned you! How strong do you think that Sujamma was to give you a two day hangover?!" She said in an exasperated tone, removing the water skin from her belt and handing it to him. "We need to get you to an apothocary or something... I'm so sorry Sagax, I should have realised those bastards would use toxins on their weapons."  Roze felt awful about it - she'd grown up in Skyrim, she'd heard endless stories about the Falmer, even ran into them plenty of times herself.  And yet she forgets something that could potentially kill her friend.
[i]So much for my "expert medical skills."[/i] She thought to herself chidingly, standing up and attempting to get Sagax to his feet.

"Come on, let's get you some help." She said in as brisk a tone as she could manage to get the barely lucid Sagax standing, but it wasn't a tone she was used too - especially when upset.

Slowly getting up with the help of Roze, Sagax gave it his all to stand on his own two feet. He could manage it, but just barely. Before leaving for an apothecary, Sagax made several futile swipes at his cloak, which he left sitting on the bench next to him, but he was able to grab it eventually.

 "Damn, I didn't know the Falmer used such terrible poisons..." This was the result of a single arrow, and it was affecting him this badly? If he had taken another one somewhere, he'd certainly be dead. Maybe, in a roundabout way, killing that Falmer and taking the one arrow was the best course of action, as it stopped him, and others, from taking several more. "Do not be fooled by fear." Those words rang in his head, and Sagax found a new understanding of them. If you let your fear of something get the better of you, your inaction simply gives it more time to affect you. Just strike them down, before they get the chance to do anything beyond scare you....or something like that. Maybe he'd run that by Roze later, whenever he stopped dying for a few seconds. 
 
 Looking up, he could feel Roze guiding him to some kind of building with a sign hanging over the front door. His vision was...messy, but he could sort of make out a bottle of some kind. Was that the apothecary? Maybe. Probably best to just leave that thinking stuff to Roze for the time being...