[center][i]26th of Rain’s Hand - Evening[/i] [sub][i] [@POOHEAD189] & [@Stormflyx] & [@DearTrickster] [/i][/sub][/center] [hr] The small fire crackled invitingly, large enough to keep feet warm and provide just enough light. Judena stretched out her long legs to do just that, warm her feet. Boots at her side she flexed her scaly toes. Having eaten her small portion of rations, she indulged in a pickled treat to help ease the hurt of the day. Her mind may not remember in the morning but her heart would ache still. She had finished writing her notes for the day, understandably others around the fire were hard pressed to distract themselves or to try to sleep. The new face of the finely dressed breton woman caught Judena’s attention, she carried herself with surely bred nobility and a higher station of life. Curiosity was at least the most simple distraction for the likes of the argonian. Judena slipped on her boots then circled around the fire approaching Raelynn. Raelynn had been glancing over at the Argonian between sips from a small cup of tea brewed from some wild flowers she had managed to pick up from around the campsite. She left the pot simmering beside the flames of the fire to keep warm, and she wrapped her cloak around herself just a touch tighter. The journey across the waters had chilled her to the bone. She had already thrust a cup of the tea into the hands of Alim. She was only slightly more fond of him than the others. “It’s blue and purple wild flower, it’s not much but it’s the best I can offer to you. May it keep you warm, friend…” she let the enunciation roll off her tongue on the final word, she had noticed him eying her over while they were in the face of danger - and even though that was acceptable then, for now it simply wouldn’t do. She couldn’t be seen to be cosying up to this one in front of his group. Certainly not now that she had spotted the older Imperial gentleman, anyway. His presence was commanding in the way that only a true Knight’s was. With one look up and down she had read him like a book, and was excited at the prospect of getting to know him in the near future. As she gazed over at Gaius, she spotted in her peripherals the Argonian making way over to her. She clutched her hands around the cup a little tighter and did her absolute best to crack a smile. She had clocked that the creature had done the decent thing and put her boots back on… For Alim’s part, he didn’t seem very forward compared to how he presented himself during the rescue. He often had a flair for the dramatic and was more addicted to high stakes actions than most were. As the danger had abated, so had his libito for the most part. Oh, Raelynn was a pretty woman, but Alim was merely glad to see most people had gotten out safe. He worried for Arinfare though. He should have stayed with her… “Ah, thank you.” He said, accepting the cup from Raelynn. Well, at least he had saved someone during the invasion. He might have heard the inflection of her voice at the end if he wasn’t lost in thought. Alim took a sip, and it did indeed warm him. It was slightly bitter, but still good considering what limited ingredients they had. Jude approaching perked him up however. “Jude!” He said brightly. “Let me introduce you to a pretty woman I picked up in the city.” He gave a wink. “Raelynn, Jude. Jude, Raelynn.” Judena cracked a classic argonian smile, all lips and no teeth. “Good evening, Raelynn. Judena Callisar.” She beamed at Alim. Taking a seat on the other side of Raelynn, “I am glad you could join us in relative safety, with Alad to thank. He is quite sneaky and very proficient with sword in hand. I cannot remember why I believe that but I have a good instinct about these things.” “You dress in fine thread, were you a noble? You speak quite well.” Judena asked, she shuffled her logbook out of her shirt ready to commit their conversation to memory. Feeling like something was off she discreetly flipped back a page and reread it. “Apologies, Alim forgive this dusty mind of mine.” “Charmed…” she responded slowly, making eye contact with Judena as she sat down beside her. Raelynn’s brow raised slightly as she took a sip from the cup drinking in every word from Judena’s mouth. At least she had taste, she could see that Raelynn was dressed well, and perhaps it was this sincere and curious observation that softened Raelynn’s composure and warmed her ever so… “This? This was… a gift of sorts, a thank you for a favour…” The moonlight cast a glow on the Breton’s face, and the warmth of the flames had finally brought a touch of pink back to her face. She smiled and brushed a loose strand of her behind her ear before continuing; “I am not a noble by birth - but I was fortunate in life to have good parentage…” “Your threads are…. Interesting, are they special?” She could see that Judena was dressed in mage robes. She did wonder what kind of magic she practiced. As she made looked up at Judena,, she took note of the golden colours speckled throughout her eyes. They were actually rather beautiful in the combination of moonlight and flame. “My mage robes? There is nothing special about them. I thought of enchanting some clothing to help support my alteration spells but never remembered to visit the local enchanter. They were what I was wearing before fleeing the city, always have a spare set at the University.” Her smile dimmed considerably, looking down to the pages. “Assuming the University is still standing. It survived the Oblivion Crisis and being sacked during the Great War. I believe it can survive the Dwemer as well, beings of logic would not destroy a place of great knowledge.” “True or not, in that I take a small comfort.” Jude replied, she returned her attention to Raelynn. “I had been hoping to celebrate my naming day on the twenty-eighth in the city. Walk to Ulrich’s Bakery, spend the day at the Arboretum, perhaps buy myself a bottle of wine.” She sighed wistfully, realizing how arbitrary her complaint may have sounded, “Please do not mistake me, I am grateful knowing I will survive to see my naming day this year. Many cannot say the same.” It didn’t sound arbitrary at all. In fact for some reason it was when Jude said it that Raelynn really began to take in what had happened, and responded with a sharp giggle. “I’m sorry… I don’t mean to laugh… I just…. I don’t really know how else to react…” It was a combination of shock and horror, and yes, not knowing what to do. The fair Breton composed herself, but took one glance at Alim to the left of her and started up again. She didn’t mean to be offensive to anyone, but she couldn’t control it. “I mean, really, Dwemer?!” “Whole city - destroyed and sacked.” “Thousands dead…” Her laugh slowed to punctuate the last words from her lips, and then she looked down. Her entire being felt hollow. Like the lightest touch would shatter her into pieces. “...All of them dead…” she said quietly, returning to her tea, eyes on the ground. Alim had simply sat in silence, happy that their new addition and Jude were really seeming to enjoy one another, oddly enough. But it was nice. The adventurer patted Raelynn’s shoulder lightly, giving her a nod. His look was surprisingly soldierly, as if he was helping a fellow comrade in arms rather than a (seemingly) frail woman. It was best to encourage; to show feelings needed to be controlled rather than suppressed. Alim might enjoy pretty women for obvious reasons, but he was an adventurer and soldier of fortune, first and foremost. He was a professional, and he learned to cope with loss a long time ago. Of course, this scale of attack was even beyond him. But the Dwemer would pay for this. Right now, they all needed to cope and find their footing. He turned to Judena, and managed a smile. “We’ll just need to get you a bottle of wine elsewhere.” He said, giving a wink. “You didn’t tell me your birthday was coming up, anyway.” His next question was a sincere one, because he had no idea. “How long do Argonians live?” “The Empire and its Imperial City has risen from the ashes of war and I believe it will again.” Judena said reassuringly to Raelynn, not perturbed by her laughter. It was a another form of sadness. Judena looked to Alim, beaming at his suggestion of wine. “Name Day,” She corrected. “We certainly do not live as long as Mer but we live longer than Men. I will be sixty one. My father lived until he was one hundred and forty seven, which is about a decade longer than we expected him to live. Argonians do celebrate the day of their birth with their Hist, give thanks but some years it is not as easy to travel back to Argonia.” She folded her hands over the pages of her logbook, “I have lived a fairly exciting life, I have found passion and work for what I can do and have travelled to see all the great provinces of Tamriel. I take my day of birth to reflect as best I can, every year I wish to be a little braver than I was the year before.” She reached for her bag, filled with unopened letters - all from the same person. “May be forced to do so before I am ready this year but such is the world we live in. Certainly will not be the first time any one of us have been pushed into deeper waters before one is ready to swim.” She pulled at a smile, clutching the bag. “Thankfully I am quite good at swimming.” Alim smiled too, truly feeling a warmth for his friend. “You’re good at a lot of things.” “Thank you, my friend.”