[i]A Shaft and Dervs production[/i]
[I]Anvil Habour, 22st Second Seed, sunrise…[/I]


Sleep had not come easily that night, despite how bone tired Daro’Vasora felt from the travel. Paradoxically, the comfortable and clean room had felt strange and uneasy compared to her far more improvised sleeping arrangements the past several weeks, pitching tents and sleeping on bedrolls on uneven ground. It probably also didn’t help that Roux, one of her more persistent rivals and two-time paramour, had found her and covered her room expenses for three nights in exchange for ripping her off on the second occasion by stealing King Greklith’s scepter from under her nose while she slept. It wasn’t exactly a fond reunion, but it was a part of the game with people in their trade; trust nobody, but use them when you can. You win some, you lose some, but the losses lingered like bruises on your reputation and pride, and she vowed to never let herself be screwed over like that again. The only reason she even listened to him the night before was that she couldn’t afford not to, she simply didn’t have the money. 

The light of Magnus began to creep across the city behind her, illuminating the far reaches of the Abecean Sea before creeping ever closer to the harbour itself, the masts of great ships catching the light like tree trunks competing for energy. She sighed, both caught up in the romantic imagery of a good sunrise, and thinking that maybe her ruthless ability to cut attachments was in fact a bit of a character flaw. She didn’t even say anything to Latro; she had been so angry and caustic towards Rhea, wanting to cut as deep as she could, that she lost herself in the moment of triumph and never looked back. A wave of guilt washed over her. Daro’Vasora never meant to abandon him, especially after reuniting with him at Elenglynn, but life wasn’t the typical light-hearted adventures she typically enjoyed, and she was at a loss for herself and what to do. 

Some gulls squaked overhead, looking like their biggest problem was fighting over fishermen’s scraps, and she considered how lucky they were that that was the only problem they faced in any particular day. For someone with such a rigid and twisted heart, it was beginning to get so wound up that it was beginning to hurt.

“You wouldn’t have even said goodbye, would you have?” Latro stood behind her, fist shaking under its own tension. His view of her on the docks stood blurry and black against the spreading fire that was sunrise. To think that she had made him think he was as important to her as she was to him made him feel like the lowest fool to walk the streets. The same fool braying and bleating to every passerby about the friend he’d lost, how she was this tall, the color of her eyes, the shades of her fur, her name. All parts of her that he missed with each stranger’s utterance of [i]no[/i] or a disinterested shrug, each a boulder on his chest. “I looked for you last night.”

He stepped closer, “I looked for you in the Imperial City. When I came to among the Rangers, the first thing I asked about was you.” Now he stood next to her, not knowing whether to grab her by the shoulder and ask her not to leave or to yell his blessings to her flight in her face and trudge back from where he came. “Say [i]something[/i] to me.”

As if he were an apparition that could will himself into existence by thinking about him, Latro was suddenly upon Daro’Vasora, startling her. She turned to his voice, the angst and despair etched across his face, his tense body language, she couldn’t bare to look upon him without shame filling her. “Latro, I…” her words faltered. Her arms wrapped about her waist, her teeth ground against each other. “You didn’t deserve that. You deserved better than what I did, who I am. I’m not a good person, I’m selfish, I’m grieving, I don’t know what’s real anymore, and after everything, all I can think about is how it’s all because of Rhea. I never meant to walk away, I guess I thought either you’d be there still, or we’d find one another again. I’m so used to people coming and going out of my life, or betraying me, I never saw myself becoming that person.” The words just came out, like a dam breaking. She leaned back against the rope-bearing post and slid down, not trusting her legs to support her. She felt small, wanted to be small. She expected tears, but everything was happening too fast, her body simply didn’t know what to do. “I guess sorry is meaningless, yeah?”

“What were you even going to do?” He threw his arms at his side and shrugged, “Wander alone forever? Find another group to abandon? Or were you just going to walk fast and hope I could catch up?” He added in under a growling breath, “Or that I’d fucking want to after that?”

He wiped the first of the tears of anger and resentment away with a sleeve. Sniffling, he looked out beyond the coast and shook his head at the audacity of the woman before him. [i]How dare you[/i], he wanted to ask, [i]how dare you treat my trust and kindness like a leisure trip to end whenever you fancied it.[/i] “What happened to all those good, good words about the cave? About the lute?”

“I meant it all.” She replied, her voice sincere. She looked up to meet his scornful gaze, letting it burrow into her soul. He deserved at least that much. “I don’t know what the plan was, I suppose trying to find something familiar and comfortable. I just had to get away from the others, the constant death that follows it. Zegol would still be alive had Rhea not fucked around with Dwemer technology, I’d still have a home, and I wouldn’t have been dragged into this bloody war that was started because our fearless, stupid leader decided that she knew better than everyone else. I appreciate you, above all else, and I genuinely care about you. I just… I don’t know how to reciprocate that. I just ran into a man I used to run jobs with, he paid for my inn room. We had a thing I thought might have been romantic. As soon as we found something valuable, and I mean you could buy a nice lakeside house valuable, he got me drunk enough to pass out and when I woke up, him and the artifact were gone. Weeks of research and setting up an expedition, gone. He gave me a pity charity because the asshole now owns a ship and had some semblance of a soul, I suppose.”

She sighed, her gaze returning to the cobblestone street she sat upon. “Look, I’m only telling you this because I’ve been where you’re standing, and I want you to know I never meant to be like him. I never think far ahead, I get focused on a singular thing and pursue it at the expense of everything else. I don’t know how to really process someone actually giving a shit about me that wasn’t Zegol or my family, I set out to hurt the person I thought deserved it, and didn’t stop to think how it would hurt you, too. I’m not a good person.”

He couldn’t help but bite his lip to stifle the shuddering little breath at the mention of Vasora running off on a half-cocked romantic tryst without even a word to him. A reflex, like yelping when you’re cut. “All I fucking hear is that this is all Rhea’s fault. Maybe. Maybe you’d still have a home and Zegol would still be alive and there wouldn’t be that fucking light in the sky. If we didn’t do something, who’d be still alive to go to that home?” Latro frowned, letting himself lean on the ropes, “I’m glad I’m alive. I’m glad I saw you and the others when I was with the Rangers. And I’m at least a little glad you’re alive too, even if you decided to fuck off with somebody else at the slightest coaxing.”

“People might be pieces of shit in the places you go, Sora, but don’t you ever go insulting me like that. Zegol and your family might be the only ones you feel you can trust, but...” Latro gritted his teeth, “To some of us, this right here is the [i]only gods damned family[/i] they have left in this [i]shit world.[/i]” He looked at her with something softer and more vulnerable than hate or resentment then, “You can’t possibly fathom a world where someone could trust you with their life and hold to that. Look at me.” He whimpered, arms out at his side as if trying to convince her he wasn’t a hallucination, “Just [i]start. Fucking. Trying.[/i]”

“Nothing happened. I didn’t run off with anyone; he cornered me and shoved money at me, that’s [I]it.[/I] You think I’m going to run off with the same asshole who gave me the same trust issues we’re talking about right now?” she shot back. “You misunderstand me.” Daro’Vasora grunted, getting back to her feet. She was still quite a bit shorter than Latro, but at least this was more even footing.

“I never meant to leave you, and I wasn’t going to. I meant what I said, I just… it was a lapse of judgement in the moment until I could gather myself. You’re with the same people for weeks and weeks, you don’t just feel like you cut ties immediately when you leave. I guess a part of me always thought we’d find each other pretty quickly, and I wasn’t wrong. And that’s what I am to you, family?” she asked quietly. 

Latro may have gotten caught up in his emotions, but he wouldn’t show it when Sora stood before him, lending a dose of reality to his words. He swallowed when she finished, mind racing towards almost anything to say in the moment, but it dragged. Almost too long, when he slowly bridged the gap between them with a hand at a cautious pace, a finger hooking around one of hers, “The others, maybe. I...” He trailed off, only meeting her eyes in glances, “I’m fond of you, Sora. I have been since the lute, and it hurt me when you disappeared.”

Despite everything, the Khajiit smiled at that. “I don’t give gifts easily. For me, it was the dashing Breton who whisked me out of danger when we were neck-deep in a Falmer infested cavern, and maybe even a bit before that when I first saw you playing the music. I knew I couldn’t let that stand, the world is poorer without music, and it would be without you.” she chanced reaching out to touch his arm, hoping he wouldn’t recoil, despite the initial physical contact. “Latro, I don’t mean to do the things I do, and I meant what I said. I want to be better, to learn to trust again. Will you help me do that, to be the person who’s actually worthy of those things you said? It’s nice to know that someone who isn’t a greedy treasure hunter’s taken a fancy to me, and I’ve gone so long without anyone I can trust, I’m not sure if I remember how.”

“I would like that very much.” Latro smiled. He spared a thought to sitting back on the hard cobblestone but thought better, “As much as I appreciate the beauty of an ocean sunrise, I would like to sit on something that isn’t rocks. I won’t drag you back to the others. A stroll, then?”

“I’d like that.” She admitted, adding, “And maybe something to eat. I’d like something that wasn’t pulled out of the bush.” 

The two of them continued along the boardwalk, the city starting to wake up around them with the rising sun, which now illuminated the majority of the harbour and brought a bit of warmth. “I really am sorry, you know.” she admitted, looking over to him. “I just need to make my own decisions for a while, not tag along with a group that’s just trying to survive under the guidance of someone I don’t think is qualified for the job. I want to regain some semblance of the life I had, you know?”

“I do.” He said, scratching at his chin, “And I’m sorry for attacking you from the first word. We’re all a bit tense with everything. The Dominion, The Dwemer, the world’s closing in on us and… Well, I’m trying to clutch onto whatever normalcy I had before this too. So much that I lost sight of how this is making even you feel.”

Admittedly, highly emotional outbursts like these left one drained and hungry, Latro was no exception. When they passed by a vendor in the town square just setting up shop, Latro handed over all the coin needed for two meat and vegetable skewers. As he and Sora waited for the meat to cook, all the while stomachs growling ever more intensely from the smell of the seasoned meat, he couldn’t help but appreciate the port city once again after it had been so long since his last visit. It remained to be said that some of the wonder at seeing a city so full of grandeur had dulled after his first visit to the White-Gold City, but after everything, he breathed in this little moment peace and serenity as readily and with as much pleasure as the smell of the food. “It’s been some time since I’ve walked these streets. The last time I was here was with my mentor. He planned to duel the local fencing master in a contest of longswords but it turned out the woman had taken to the road for the same reason, albeit with the fencing master Cheydinhaal.” He smiled, remembering a time when things were so different from this, “We spent our time here instead with one of his many far-flung friends, a graduate of the Bard’s College all the way from Skyrim. These skewers have called my name ever since, I think.” He chuckled. “Did you and Zegol ever visit?”

She managed a quick few bites while Latro spoke, chewing quickly and swallowing before speaking herself. “Mostly me, but I came alone about a half dozen times, a lot of it because I enjoy the climate, but expeditions and research brought me out this way. Port cities are the best place to network and get leads. Zegol and I came here when I first moved in with him, he thought the experience would be a good one for me and he had to pick up supplies from a shipment, it cost him a lot less to go there himself to pick it up than to hire a courier, his shop was just really getting its footing around that time.” She smiled. “It’s always been a good memory for me. You know, I’ve heard about those fencing competitions happening a couple times when I was in town. It’s strange to think if I bothered to watch, I might have recognized you when we met.”

She was quiet for a moment, considering her words. “So, what’s next? For us, I mean.”

“I’m not quite sure. We are in a port town, we could be anyplace in a few days’ time.” Latro shrugged. To be honest, leaving the others would lay a guilt on his shoulders he couldn’t take two steps under.

Stopping in her tracks, she took Latro by the arm. “Look, there’s something I need to say. Roux, the former partner I ran into, offered a job. I don’t trust him at all, but maybe it’s a chance for me to show you my world and get away from all of this insanity for a while. Go to Hammerfell, start fresh.” She sighed, putting her hands behind her head. “On the other hand? I’ve had my fill of ancient elves in my life for some time, and I still want to do something that can make a difference, but I don’t know if I can or not. Part of me wants to go back to Leyawiin to see my family, warn them about the Dominion and the Dwemer, the other part of me feels like I’d never make it. All I know is whatever I do, I want to make sure you’re with me, and if you think something’s wrong, no questions asked. I’m with you.”

“That means a lot to me.” Latro smiled, letting go a small chuckle, “We could go to Stros M’kai and hide for some time. Wait for the world to settle. If you can’t shake the urge to go back south, I’m with you.” Latro nodded.

A not small amount of relief washed over her as she met Latro’s gaze. “I suppose we’ll have to find ourselves a ship, then. I had a chat with my ancestors last night; they seem to think that I still have some role to play in the weeks ahead. I suppose we’ll have to see. We could pretend to accept Roux’s offer and ditch him as soon as we get across?” 

Latro shrugged, “He doesn’t weigh heavy on my conscience. I’ve no qualms with doing that.” He bit his lip and sighed, looking off to nowhere in particular but thinking of the others, “The others do, though. Does our plan accommodate them or…”

As much as he wanted to be by Sora’s side, he couldn’t help but feel guilt slowly tighten its grip on his mind with every word. He didn’t want to seem ensnared by the bonds he’d made with the others, but they were just that- bonds. He looked to his friend, his eyes not telling of anxiousness or eagerness.

Her gaze shifted, the memory of the previous night’s events still fresh. Her mind raced over what they had told her, and a mixture of unfamiliar emotions flooded her. 

[I]These people, these friends of yours, do not turn your back on them and discard them like so many others. Walk the path your heart tells you and you will never make a wrong step; should you choose, and should you learn to trust and embrace those around you again, you could do great things, Daro’Vasora.[/I]

Shani-ko’s words materialized in Daro’Vasora’s mind like a starburst. Maybe it was time to walk a different path, or at least try to find it. “Well, at the very least, we should find them again and hear that they have to say. The goal was to get to safety, and that’s been achieved. Maybe it’s time to part ways, maybe it’s time for something new. I’ve kind of found that life doesn’t want me to do things in a tidy little box, so one step at a time. However,” the impish grin found her way across her features as she winked at Latro. “I’m glad you agree about Roux. There’s something rather poetic about gaining his trust and then stabbing him in the back when he’s most vulnerable. He’s a real piece of work, and no amount of coin or bauble is going to make amends for what he did to me. So how about this; we agree to his conditions to charter the ship and tell him that we’re taking his offer and turn that around and let others know that we’re leaving and they’re welcome to come along if that’s what they want, and part ways amicably with them if that’s what they choose. Everyone wins, everyone’s happy.” She proposed chipperly. 

“I hope that’s how it turns out.” Latro muttered just loud enough. He gripped his own arm and sighed, managing to at least take a bite of his skewered meat and chew with his thoughts, “I’m with you. Let’s go and do just that, soon. It’ll be better for everyone if we propose it sooner rather than later. We both disappeared without warning.”

“It’s part of my charm, really.” Daro’Vasora said, her own attempt at light hearted banter coming up short. She let out a heavy sigh. “I need to work on that, I’m not used to being invested in people.”

“Well, we’ll get there.” Latro chuckled. He took another bite of his skewer, gesturing to a nearby bench, “For now, we can sit. I’m not quite ready to take on the load of this daring escape yet.”

Taking his cue, Daro’Vasora made her way to the bench and took a seat, realizing how much her legs felt like weights. She’d probably walked more the past month than she had in a year, and now she wasn’t constantly in danger, it was beginning to weigh down on her after rest. “Well, tomorrow we can become sick of ships and former partners. It feels like we’ve been doing this for a lifetime now, I never could have imagined that this all would have happened when I took what was going to be an easy and probably boring contract with abnormally high pay. I need to start reading the contracts better.” she remarked dryly, sighing. “I’m sorry I made you worry, like I didn’t care how you felt. It wasn’t it, it’s just a reflex at this point. I’m not used to sticking around when things get heavy, learning how to handle the problems of the living were always so much more tedious than stealing from the long dead. They tended not to come back and murder me in earlier gigs.”

“I know how easy running can be, truth be told. Not everything easy is right.” Latro shrugged with his smile, “But, damn it, easy always sounds better. I never got on well with my father and after some of the deeds I’ve done, my mother lost hope in me. I’m glad I found Francis, and I’m glad I found you. So, if there’s one thing you won’t be able to run away from it’s my companionship.”

“If anything, we can all run together. I mean,” Latro chuckled, “it’s what we’re about to do, anyways. I’ve fought for lost causes before and the Dwemer first, then the Dominion? As much as I hate to say it, the cause seems lost. The Gods rest Kylian’s soul, but I don’t know what hope there is in the Rangers. I only ever joined them to avenge you.” Latro smiled, “By your presence here now, I’d say you don’t need that yet.”

That made her heart skip a beat, wrapping her arms around her waist, she looked away to conceal the bashful expression that surely dominated her face right now. “Well, I don’t think I ever had a dashing hero care enough about me to put his life at stupid risk because he thought I died. That’s definitely a first.” she looked over at him, blinking quickly as if trying to see Latro for the first time. “Do you really mean that? Why? I’m just some sharp-tongued cat with incredibly flexible ethics and a profound love of history. I’m not the kind of lady they write stories about.” she added quietly.

“When you find him, let me meet him. I’m not a hero, I’m just someone who fell in with this outfit. I did everything I did because it’s just the right thing.” Latro laughed, “But, I appreciate the sentiment, Sora. I mean everything I say, lying to you or anyone would be…” he trailed off as the irony of his own words touched him. She or anyone else he traveled with- even Francis- knew nothing of where he really came from, the things he really did. “It would be heartbreaking for me.”

[I]Oh, look at that. My heart still works.[/I] she thought, feeling like a young girl again before letting a sheepish smile break through. “I’ll hold you to that, and I guess since we’re sticking together, we’ll have time to figure each other out along the way, dents and all.” Taking a chance, she leaned over, grabbing Latro by the chin and kissing him softly on the cheek once more. “Not all heroes wear shiny armour or refuse to curse, you know.”

Latro brushed his fingers along the cheek Sora kissed, nervously clearing his throat of nothing and placing his hand under Sora’s, “I suppose that’s true.” Latro nodded, “Do you think the heroes knew they were going to be heroes at the beginning of it all?”

“Gods, no. Anyone who seems to think that ends up becoming a tyrant or a serial killer, or die an early death. There’s a reason we only remember their names after they succeed. How many do you suppose died along the way trying to be better than they were?” She put forth, wrapping her fingers around his own. “I’ve read enough stories and heard enough tales to wonder why there were so few people worth remembering in all those who ever lived; takes quite a miracle to become someone worth committing to paper, it seems. Being uniquely chosen by the Divines also helps, and that certainly rules me out.”

“I wouldn’t doubt that just yet,” Latro shrugged, a small smile upon his lips as Sora’s hand gripped his own, “Someone needs to be their entertainment, and here we are.”

That prompted a rueful laugh. “So, I can win back the others’ affection with the power of music, huh? I burnt the bridges with Rhea more thoroughly than any siege weapon ever could. Besides, what’s really keeping us all together?” she asked. 

Latro chewed his lip for a moment before he spoke, “Camaraderie?” Latro shrugged, “I just never thought to strike out on my own. It’d certainly be more dangerous that way. It helps I like the lot of you.” He smiled.

“What made you join the expedition? I never got around to asking before everything fell apart.” Daro’Vasora asked suddenly. “You always seemed like it was an odd pairing for you to work a job like that.”

“Money.” Latro answered simply, “Easy money. Or I thought. Until we almost drowned, what, twice? And blew up a mountain.”

“Stick with me, and I’ll become a monthly occurrence. It’s never a dull moment.” She replied with a wink.

“Honestly, since meeting you, it hasn’t been a dull moment even when you weren’t around.” Latro chuckled, “But good songs a boring time never makes.”

She leaned over, whispering into his ear, “Find me at the [I]Frisky Dolphin[/I] later tonight and I’ll show you a good time.” She said in a sultry tone. Standing up, she stretched like nothing happened, staring off at the horizon with a grin on her face. “Now, what do you say we find our wayward flock of misfits and see if they feel like swindling my ex?”

“That sounds delightful.” Latro said, before standing with Sora, “Finding our band of merry misfits, I mean.” After a moment of walking, he turned to Sora, “Is the Frisky Dolphin even real?”

“One way to find out,” she purred, flicking her tail in front of his nose before heading back the way they came. “Now, if you were a bunch of well-intentioned idiots with poor life choices, where would you go in a city that isn’t on fire?”