[Skyrim, Dawnstar] Do I Have to Keep It?

It took a full day's ride to reach Dawnstar from the cave that they had taken shelter in. It would've taken less time if they had stuck to the roads, but about two hours into their trip, they had come across a patrol of imperial guards and it was in their best interests to split up. While the bandit was forced to go one way, the assassin had taken another path, with the false promise of seeing them in Dawnstar, in hopes of losing both bandit and child.

A pity the child followed him, but he had been determined to take the hardest path that Dwemer could handle. The horse soon tired of it and, after an angry snort, forced his rider to direct them to a better path which would bring them to their destination soon. Again, he failed to lose the child.

Now that they had arrived in the small town, he had one last idea in mind, though he showed no signs of it as he dismounted his horse and walked it towards the closest hitching post to the inn. As he walked, he could tell that many of the people they passed cast mistrustful looks at him; more specifically, the midnight black armour he wore. He shrugged it off as easily as he did those who hated him for being mer and spoke up as he tied his horse. "We'd best stay at the Inn until Eriikka catches up with us. If we wander town, we may miss her arrival." He suggested to the girl.

Kestrel was determined, that much was certain. She was only one or two lengths behind the dewmer at all times. She especially made sure to keep up with him when Errikka got separated from the two of them. Both her and Tuff were tired, but not that much worse for wear than they were before.

I have no idea how to find my way around this area. I need to stick close to Nightshade...

Tying up Tuff next to the elf's horse, Kestrel nodded. "Right. Good idea. We should stick together too. I'd get lost really fast here..."

"Dawnstar isn't a big city."The dunmer muttered absently as he gently rubbed Dwemer's neck. The horse just snorted in response. It was still quite mad at him, it seemed."Not like Vivec or the Imperial City. It's hard to get lost here. But at the very least, we should keep at least one person at the inn." Nightshade reached into a bag on the horse's back, pulling out a heavy bag of coins, which he tucked into his pocket before he started to walk to the inn.

"Come on. We'd best book rooms and maybe get something to drink; it's been a long ride."

Kestrel followed closely behind, giving Ruff, who had found a perch on a nearby building. "It's not just the city. I've never been to this part of Skyrim before..."

She nervously glanced around as she followed Nightshade. "So I think me going out alone would be a bad idea for me..."

"So I guess that means I'm staying in the Inn while you go out and resupply...?" From her tone, it was clear that Kestrel didn't like the idea of being left alone in a strange place very much.

She had only just found companions she could trust after all, and the idea of loosing them both so soon scared her.

"Yes, that would be best." The dunmer stated as he walked up the steps to the door of the Inn. He gave the girl a smile and held out a handful of gold coins, about twenty, more than enough to cover a room and food. "Don't worry, I'll be back soon. Do you want me to bring you back anything in particular?" he asked curiously. Of course, the sooner he could return home, the better.

He could always hope that the girl was smart enough to realize later that she was ditched.

Kestrel looked down at the floor and shifted a little. "N-nothing really comes to mind...well...maybe some proper arrows..."

She looked up at Nightshade, openly desperate. "You're going to come back alright, aren't you? Promise?"

The dunmer looked at the girl with red eyes, then smiled kindly. "Of course I will. I promise I'll be back in two hours, tops." He lied calmly. Really, in his line of work, he had to have an immunity to doe-eyes. Hers wasn't even the most impressive he had seen.

Still, he opened the door to the inn, and gestured for Kestrel to enter the warm building. At least he was kind enough to ditch her in a warm building with good food, rather than a frozen ditch in the ass end of nowhere.

Kestrel nodded and gave Nightshade a small smile. "Thank you. No one's ever been this kind to me in years."

"I'll find a way to repay you someday. I swear on my honor." The look the she was giving one was of absolute trust. Sure, she might figure out if she was abandoned, but she would clearly be hurt by it.

The dunmer just shook his head, returning the girl's smile. "Don't worry about it, child. I did not do much for you compared to the Nord. Now get inside and warm up." He stated as he turned around, making his way down the stairs and down the main road of the town, supposedly to where the closest shop was.

Of course, he would have to wait until the girl was inside before he went for his true destination, but as long as she was watching, he had to keep up his act. If she followed...

Kestrel nodded at him. After watching him for a few more moments, she entered the tavern.

Doing her best to not look as out of place as she felt, Kestrel quietly rented a room for the night and purchased some food for herself to eat.

Setting herself away from the general crowd, but still fairly close to the fire's warmth, Kestrel simply ate her food and waited.

And the girl would just keep waiting. For once he was sure that she had entered the tavern, he made his way back to the hitching posts and untied Dwemer. He kept the horse quiet as he walked it down the streets and out the other side of town.

It only took him about twenty minutes of walking to reach his destination. The black door was avoided by all in town, who feared what it signified. Some believed that it was a daedric shrine, or inhabited by vampires. Other though that it was simply cursed. Very few knew what its true purpose was, for if they did, no doubt they would've attempted to call the guards on it. Hidden nearby was something built for the occupants alone. It was here he left Dwemer, to stay with the other horses used by his family. They would be tended to well enough, and they certainly won't freeze even in this frozen wasteland. As he had approached the black door, a voice echoed in the wind, wisping and chilling.

"What is life's greatest illusion?" the dark voice asked him. Nightshade smiled and spoke softly.

"Innocence, my brother." The door opened for him at those words, and the assassin returned home with joy in his heart.

Welcome home.

Kestrel simply sat and waited for Nightshade to return. Every time the door would open, she would look up at it hopefully, only to be disappointed when someone else entered the tavern.

I hope he comes back soon...

More than half an hour passed by with no sign of the dunmer. The minutes slowly ticked away, and the half hour stretched to one hour. Then one and a half. The sky outside darkened more and more, and soon, only the evening crowd had arrived in the small tavern, enjoying their mead or listening to the bard play his tunes.

Then the door opened again, and an armoured figure stepped into the tavern. As it passed, people grew silent, with anger or perhaps fear in their eyes. The armour was as black as a moonless night, and yet the figure walked silent and light, sleek black tail swishing behind them. As it passed by Kestrel, she could see that it was a female Khajiit, the cat's whiskers twitching slightly as she settled down at the bar. The owner merely looked at her cautiously before she ordered a bottle of mead.

She plucked the cork out with one claw and started to drink. It was clear that whoever it was intended to just enjoy herself for the night. With that thought, the rest of the tavern resumed their merrymaking.

Kestrel tired to not make it obvious that she was staring at the Kajiit curiously. That's an odd reception...

Looking over the rim of her own drink, Kestrel tried to understand why the woman made everyone so nervous. Was it the armor, or was she well known for something in Dawnstar?

Looking back at the fire, Kestrel mused, Best not annoy her.

Soon, the two hour mark had been passed, and yet the dunmer still had not returned. The khajiit who wore similar armour to him merely kept drinking at the bar, and the townsfolk were enjoying a wonderful rendition of the Dragonborn Comes that the bard was playing as they filled their mugs again and again with Nord Mead.

Just an average evening at a tavern, it seemed. Two and a half hours since he promised, and Nightshade was nowhere to be seen.

Kestrel declined getting another drink. She was only down to a few coins, and it looked like she would need them in the morning. I really hope Nighshade is alright...

Kestrel was not an idiot. The possibility of Nightshade not returning had crossed her mind. It was simply a matter of Kestrel not wanting it to be true for a number of reasons. Least of all a betrayal of her trust.

Somewhat dejectedly, Kestrel walked up to the bar and asked the bartender, "You wouldn't happen to know of any work in the area, would you?"

She was in another hold, one she had never been to before. If she was careful to stick to honest work, or at least not get caught steeling, she should be able to stay in the area for a little while. Although she'd have to find a good place to make a camp if she didn't want to spend money staying in the tavern at nights...

The bartender looked to the girl as he cleaned a dusty bottle of mead. "Dawnstar's just full of miners and fishermen, little lady." He replied rather gruffly as he set the bottle down. "No adventures round here...cept a few very dangerous ones. You might fetch a few coins hunting horkers or wild game if you think you can do it. Mind, Horkers are nasty bastards, but that's just about it round here. Nah, your best bet for a living is heading down south to other holds."

Kestrel tried to ignore the tightening in her throat. "I wagered that, but I need to have money to travel there. Do you know the best hunting grounds?"

This is what I get for actually letting myself have hope in someone...

"If you're looking for Horker, you may as well try a little further north. Otherwise, you'd have to go a bit further to the south for something worth hunting." The bartender replied after a few moments of thinking. Beside Kestrel, the Khajiit let out a soft laugh. The bartender cast her a wary look, but she merely resumed drinking.

Kestrel looked at the Khajiit curiously, and when she spoke, her voice was full of confusion. "What's so amusing about our conversation? I think I missed the joke..."

The Khajiit's eyes turned to the little girl, and she smiled a sweet cat smile as she set down her bottle of mead. "K'vera finds the bartender's words funny. Plenty of good things to hunt around Dawnstar. One just has to know where to look." She explained, surprisingly clear for someone who had downed five bottles of mead in less than an hour. The bartender cast a nervous look at the black armoured cat, unconsciously taking a step away.

Kestrel frowned, and she felt her hair start to stand on end. "I...uh...I see..."

The teenager was at a loss for words. There was something about this woman that set her on edge. One of those people you feared talking to, yet scared you too much to walk away for fear of angering them. "Your name is K'vera then? Mine's Kestrel..."

"It is good to meet you, little Kestrel." The cat smiled, before draining the rest of her bottle of mead. "You fancy yourself a hunter, yes? K'vera is a hunter as well. What kind of prey do you chase?" It was strange and chillingly frightening, the way the feline enunciated prey. As if she had her own dark thought of what was fun to hunt.

"Nice to meet you too..."

Little? I'm not that small looking, am I? Pushing that petty thought aside, Kestrel answered truthfully.

"Wild game mostly. Deer, elk, foxes, birds...whatever I can sell meat or skins from. That and gathering ingredients for alchemy is what I've been living off of for two years."

"Ah, a practical hunter. Very good. But you do not hunt...bigger game?" K'vera asked, an odd smile on her hood hidden face, After a few moments, like an afterthought, she added. "Bears, tigers, and the like?" By now the bartender was gone, hastily making some excuse to tend to the rest of the patrons.