[center][h3]A Matter of Perception[/h3]
[i]by Morty and Greenie[/i][/center]
[hr]
[i]16th of Midyear, Late Morning, the Oasis[/i]

Sirine was sitting with her back against one of the trees in the oasis, a roll of paper unfurled on her upright knees, quill in hand and inkpot to the side on the ground. It had been a couple of days since she had written anything, and she was feeling the itch. Having found some writing supplies in the caravan, the former pirate had no qualms in claiming them as her own. There was so much to note down, so many new faces, temperaments, relationships, and while most were familiar with each other even a little, she was still mostly in the dark. Whatever little she had gathered was simply from observation, but even that was enough to fill a substantial bit of her roll.

She thought to earlier in the morning where she’d had a conversation with the Nord woman who had sat in the wagon. [i]Megana Corvus.[/i]She seemed... nice, foolishly so. Ready to defend her companions no matter their heinous deeds. [i]Well, I guess that is understandable.[/i] This group was so motley, it really was amazing how they had managed to remain together for so long. In that sense, she had to begrudgingly admire Daro'Vasora's success in doing so. Being a leader who kept things together was no easy task, and the fact that they hadn't broken apart even after her kidnapping was a testament to the trust and faith they had in the female khajiit.

A smirk came to her face, remembering their first meeting in the desert. [i]What had I said? Fuck them, yes.[/i] The sentiment was still more or less there, but a little less intense now that she didn't have to worry about her friend being murdered.

“Well, someone seems mighty pleased today.” Echoed a voice a short distance away from Sirine, followed by the sound of muffled footsteps. “So, did I miss something?” Jaraleet asked as he stood in front of Sirine. Despite the Argonian’s casual demeanor, there was a serious look on his face as he regarded the Imperial Redguard. 

"What, did I not seem filled with mirth the last couple of days?" Sirine lifted her eyes away from the paper to look up at the newcomer. As faces went, his was a recognizable one, being one of the only two argonians in the group, as well as the one who had been carrying around the injured Nord woman. "Jaraleet, that is your name, isn't it? I have no doubt you must know mine by now, but allow me to introduce myself anyway. Sirine Al Nahel. To what do I owe this visit?"

“You would be correct, that is my name indeed.” Jaraleet replied, electing to ignore the first comment from the Imperial Redguard. “Hmmm, what reasons could I have to visit you….” The Argonian said, chuckling softly. “Perhaps it’s because you are allies with someone who was our enemy but a few days prior?” He started listing, meeting Sirine’s gaze. “Or maybe it has to do with, how out of everyone in your little trio, you are the one I know the least about.” The Argonian continued on. “Zaveed I know by reputation, and with Sevari I have worked before.” Jaraleet said. “You, Sirine Al Nahel, are an enigma to me. And you will have to forgive me if I don’t easily trust someone whom I know nothing but their name.” 

"That's a fair assessment," Sirine agreed, her gaze returning to the paper on her knees, which she now carefully rolled up since the ink was dry. Once that was done, she set it next to the bottle of ink which she proceeded to close before it had the chance to spill. Now that she was sure her things were safe, she sat up straight, crossing her legs as she returned her full attention to the man who was still standing.

Motioning for him to sit down, she nodded. "There is not much to know about me, I'm afraid. I was a former pirate, a former barmaid, a former whore. Now I'm simply a sister searching for her brother. Zaveed and Sevari have agreed to help me to that end, and so I am here. Frankly, I did not expect to be dragged into... a group quite like this, but sometimes the tides drag you where you least expect it." She smirked a little yet again. “As for trusting me, I would see you a bloody fool if you did. The fact is that aside from the khajiit brothers, I trust none of you here either. It's quite mutual, so I am in no way offended if you find my presence disconcerting.”

“Then I shall rest easy that, at the very least, you won’t see me for a fool in that case.” The Argonian replied, letting out a chuckle before he smirked at the former pirate after he had sat down. “My trust is not something I easily give, after all. I think, on that at least, you and I can agree on.” He continued on. “As for your presence, I find it less disconcerting and more like a mystery to unravel so to speak.” He shrugged, looking into the woman’s eyes. “I’m curious how you will fit into our little group, no matter how long your stay on it is.” Jaraleet continued on. “There are people….well, one person to be precise, who is very dear to me. And I want to know, to put it bluntly, if you’ll be a threat.” 

“I need to know if I can trust you, and I use the term very loosely here, to not stab us in the back.” The Argonian said, his tone serious. “I do not say you have to like us, or befriend us, but we’d make poor allies if we can’t trust the other during combat, or when the time comes for us to reach our objectives, no?” 

Sirine couldn't help but chuckle softly as she listened to the argonian. What a blunt and straightforward man; it was almost refreshing. At least he had the guts to actually seek her out and ask his inquiries rather than simply let his mind cook up different theories about why she was there. "When I stab someone," she started lightly, “it's always from the front, where my victim can see who is the one ending their life." 

She uncrossed her legs and stretched out, crossing them at the ankle as she once more leaned back against the tree, the image of peace and relaxation. "I know of who you speak," she continued, looking in the direction of where she had bumped into Meg. "The Nord woman, yes? You helped her into the wagon." Her dark eyes looked back to Jaraleet. "There's absolutely no benefit for me in hurting her, you, or anyone in this camp. Over and above that, my two companions clearly wish to keep the peace, which is why you all even had that wagon to begin with. My goal is to save my brother, and your group leads to those ends." 

Her eyes narrowed as they stared into Jaraleet's. "I am not going to endanger his rescue, and so I agreed to keep the peace, even though I have no reason or inclination to like you all. However, this means your group should uphold it as well. Especially that necromancer of yours." Perhaps Zaveed had no fear of the man any longer, but Sirine had absolutely zero faith in the Imperial man.

“Good, then I believe we shall have no problems working together if that’s the case. And, yes, you would be correct in your assumptions, I am indeed speaking of Meg.” The Argonian replied to Sirine, his eyes narrowing at the mention of necromancy. “That seems to become more and more of a terribly kept secret.” He said with a sigh, shaking his head slightly. 

"Well, when you're travelling with a man who nearly had his soul trapped, it tends to come up." Sirine couldn't keep the dryness out of her tone. How long did they expect that to remain a secret?

“A bit of advice in regards to that, if I might.” He began, tone serious as he looked at the Imperial Redguard. “That particular bit of information isn’t widely known, so it would be in the best interest of everyone in the group for it to remain that way.” The assassin spoke. “You might not care about Gregor, or anyone in this group, and I don’t fault you for it but consider the following; he is a man governed by his emotions and he doesn’t respond well to threats, implied or overt, whatsoever.” He began, pausing for a second to let out a sigh. “Who is to say how he’d react if his secret was brought into the open, the only certainty if that were to happen is that violence would soon follow. Violence that would be a threat to our common objectives, as it stands.” Jaraleet said gravely, his eyes staring into Sirine’s. “A beast is more dangerous when cornered. And Gregor is a beast you don’t want to corner.” 

Her arms crossed over her chest as she listened to the argonian speak, eyes looking out in the distance to where the tents were. What he said was in no way incorrect, though it did irk her a little how easily most of whom she'd had contact with were ready to mistrust and throw blame yet very protective of their own companions’ misdeeds.

"I met him yesterday," Sirine commented, looking back at Jaraleet. "Early morning. He had quite a few words to say about Zaveed and his terrible deeds. And yet he seemed perfectly happy dehumanizing the dwemer, claiming they are not people. He also seems perfectly happy trapping souls for whatever grand reasons he has." Her eyes narrowed and one of her hands clenched into a fist though her arms remained crossed. How did this group justify that sort of behaviour and yet at the same time happy to throw all sorts of blame on Zaveed? Why wasn't [i]he[/i] more indignant about it? It seemed very unfair-

She took in a breath and let it out slowly, and as she did, her hand unclenched, resting gently on her forearm. No, this was not the place to show emotions or frustrations, not in front of people who would judge even the slightest narrowed glance. "There's absolutely no benefit in my divulging his secret," she replied, smiling once more. "As I mentioned, my goal is rescuing my brother, and I know very well that upsetting this facade of peace will only be detrimental to those goals. And it seems you understand this as well... so perhaps you would do well to speak with your companions too." She raised her hands up in a peaceful fashion. “Perhaps I’ll even try to be a little friendly, who knows?”

“You’ll have to forgive me if I find that hard to believe.” The Argonian said. It hadn’t escaped his notice the way that the Imperial Redguard had tensed at his words nor the way that she had restrained herself almost immediately. “It’s clear to me that my words don’t sit well with you. And with good reason, Gregor is after all the man who nearly killed your ally and friend.” He began, lacing his fingers. “And, as such, it frustrates you that I ask you to be patient, to be understanding to us.” Jaraleet continued on, shaking his head at the one-time pirate. “It must reek of hypocrisy to you, doesn’t it?” He said, smiling mirthlessly. “Hypocrisy, that I must note, you also share. After all, I am sure that part of you expects us to welcome Zaveed as if he had been a long time ally of ours. And, yet, you know that is not the truth.” 

“After all, but a few days prior, all that Zaveed was to us was the man who had captured our leader and tortured one of our friends not once, but twice.” The assassin spoke, his tone calm. “And you might say ‘But that is the nature of war’ and you wouldn’t be incorrect. But, let me ask you this question, if the situation had been inverted, if [i]we[/i] had been the ones to capture Zaveed and brutally torture him, would you be so quick to forgive us? To accept us as allies?” He paused for a second, both to catch breath and to let his words sink in. “I do not know why you think so highly of Zaveed but you also need to understand that, to almost everybody in this camp, Gregor is merely an upstanding man, prone to melancholy maybe but a good man nonetheless. Most of them probably couldn’t fathom to think of him as a necromancer, the same way that most of them probably can’t fathom Zaveed as anything else than the person who kidnapped Daro’Vasora and tortured Raelynn.” He said, letting out a sigh. “It is all a matter of perspective.” 

Sirine was silent, her expression as calm as a lake on a breeze-less day, despite the turmoil that was brewing within her mind and heart. Once again the Argonian spoke the truth, but it wasn't just the way he spoke, but the clarity with which. He wasn't being emotional about it, nor was he trying to convince her like Gregor- he was simply stating the facts. She wasn't one to begrudge a person when they called out her hypocrisy. It was well and true, if Zaveed had been brutally tortured, she would not hesitate to kill the entire camp and toss their corpses without a second thought. Hadn't she done that once before, sneaking into the night on a ship to murder the very men who had raped her and threatened to kill her brother if she said a word?

"You have one thing wrong, Jaraleet." Finally breaking her silence, Sirine sighed softly as she sat up straight, crossing her legs once more as she rested her hands in her lap, fingers loosely interlocked. "I don't expect anyone to welcome him or me, and not even Sevari for that matter, despite him claiming you all were allies. I knew very well from my first impression of Daro'Vasora and Latro that it would be anything but." She raised a shoulder in a shrug before allowing herself a smile. "Like you said, it's all a matter of perspective. All I'm hoping is that mistrust does not end up ruining this opportunity for everyone."

“Ah, if that was the case, then it wouldn’t frustrate you so the way that we treat Zaveed. As for what happened with Sevari, well, that is a complicated story. His first encounter with Latro wasn’t the most pleasant, as I understand it, and recent matters have undone what little trust Latro had in Sevari.” The Argonian said calmly, chuckling mirthlessly at Sirine’s final words. “Oh, believe me, I think that is the one truth we can all agree in this camp.” 

Sirine couldn't help but scoff, shaking her head. "It frustrates me yes, but sometimes things we expect frustrate us. The desert is hot and sticky, and most of us hate it, yet we don't expect it to be any different, right?" She quieted momentarily, feeling a little sorry for the Ohmes-Raht. "From what I've been hearing around the camp, trust for Sevari has been misplaced because he did not aid your group in attacking the palace and rescuing your leader. Perhaps at least that issue can be repaired by knowing he had been taken prisoner and would not have been able to help anyway. From the little I know, he sees some of you as friends, so if not myself and Zaveed… I hope your friends treat him properly. I’m quite certain if he could have, he would have been there."

“I know, I know.” The Argonian replied to Sirine’s words, letting a sigh fall from his lips. “It might take some time...but hopefully the others will regain their trust in him. I know that I will do my part for that to happen.” Jaraleet said, pausing for a second. “And for the rest of the group to be more accepting of you and Zaveed. I said as much to the two brothers that I’d try. Not sure how successful I’ll be, wasn’t exactly the most liked person here before you three came.”  

"Is that so?" Sirine couldn't help but chuckle at the argonian's words. "Hm, you've been involved in your own dastardly affairs as well, I take it?" She gave the man a wink before continuing. "Don’t worry, whether you are successful or not, we're not going to be the ones rocking the boat, as the saying goes. If anything, I wish to leave here soon and simply complete this task of ours." The thought of being so close to her brother, yet him rotting behind bars while she was resting peacefully in an oasis reminded her too much of her night in the Governor's palace.  

“I have.” Replied the Argonian calmly. “I’ve done my own share of dark deeds. I’m not a good man, this I know.” He said, nodding at Sirine’s reassurance that, whether he failed or succeeded, she and her compatriots wouldn’t cause trouble. “Good, good, we have enough enemies outside as it is. There’s no need to be making more of them, eh?” 

[i]Who hasn't committed dark deeds?[/i] But Sirine did not say this aloud, recalling what Gregor had mentioned about the man named Calen. Perhaps there were still some poor, innocent fools left in the world after all. "Enemies seem to make themselves," she stated with a wry smile. "But yes, no need for strife where there needn't be any." 

She smirked a little. [i]It seems at least one classmate will be easy to get along with, Captain Greywake.[/i] "I must say, it's been quite refreshing, having this little chat with you."

“I agree.” Jaraleet said with a nod of his head. “On both accounts, as it stands. It has been good to have this chat with you Sirine. Thank you for your time.” The Argonian said as he stood up and moved away from the spot where the Imperial Redguard had been previously writing before he had interrupted her. 

Sirine waited until he was out of sight before reaching for her roll of paper, unfurling it and laying it on her lap, looking over the words she had written previously. Seeing the Argonian's name, she chuckled once more. It looked as if there were more notes for her to add for him.