l i t t l e d o l l y*

Very reached his hand out and in only a moment a small, sharp dagger formed within his hand. “The usual assassin’s weapon, honestly. It’s hard to beat a dagger for close-up killings.” He opened his grip and just as quickly as it had appeared, the blue energy of the weapon fizzled into nothingness and was gone.

her breath came out as a hiss of surprise and her hand, which had been reaching towards veryn’s own, recoiled quickly. she looked back up at him, eyes big, “show me again?”

“Sorry about that… I was more good at smiting than alchemy. At least fire is expected there. Ironically I could never work destruction magic so I don’t know where it all comes from.” He laughed at himself, rubbing the back of his neck as she moved closer and not sure whether he should be concerned or not. “Not since the last time I checked… but maybe old age is catching up with me.”

“oh, that wasn’t a very good reaction. you’re no fun,” molly’s frown looked more like a pout as she took a step back, regarding him with slightly narrowed eyes, “you’re a mage then? or, no, you can’t be, not without destruction magic... what do you use?”

he couldn’t help but laugh at that, tossing his head back and sliding his wine safely onto the table. “certainly nothing that the divines would say is worth blessing, that’s without question.” but, then again, none of them were quite within the bounds of being blessed by the divines any time soon. “and i jest not, good lady,” he grinned, nodding to the blessed bottle, “expect a full turnaround by the end of that glass. the stuff’s just that good.”

“well, that isn’t very nice, alastair. i’ll have you know that i am absolutely innocent in whatever you’re accusing me of.” molly raised the glass to her lips and tipped it back, lashes fluttering. while it didn’t have the power to really turn her life around, she quite enjoyed the taste of it. no wonder he had hidden it away... any alcohol disappeared quickly in the sanctuary, but wine of that quality would certainly be gone within ten minutes. “ooh,” she waggled her eyebrows at him, “i’m already all tingly with change. how exciting.”

Honestly, he hadn’t expected her to come in. She must have been insanely bored that night, or maybe she just planned to tease him some more. “Yes. Fire, frost, and shock. Rather useful for destruction, though a little too showy for a proper assassination.”

“too showy? but they sound like such fun to play with... what would you use for an assassination then?” 

“It’s not about faith. It’s just that I know my dagger. I don’t even have to see it to know what it should look like. Yours… I don’t know. Which is probably a good thing. I don’t think many people do know it and live to talk about it,” he joked, still looking as serious as ever anyway. “Archery? Have you ever used a bow before? I suppose if you get good at it, it’s probably pretty convenient, but it’s less fun that way.”

“xander! such a compliment! i didn’t expect such kindness from you,” she spread her lips into a wide grin, not caring that he couldn’t even see it, and turned back to her dagger, “much less fun, and i suppose just as many of us are archers... so hard to be original these days.”

       cerulean  hues  peered  up  at  the  ceiling,  only  pretending  as  if  they’re  truly  thinking  over  the  supposed  endless possibilities  that  the  duo  could  find  themselves  in.  ❛  there’s  always  the  option  of  TRAVELING  elsewhere.  supplies  are  low,  but  no  one  said  we  had  to  share  with  anyone.  ❜  it  was  a joke  .  .  .  for  the  most  part.

“they can’t complain. if they want us to stick around here, nazir should work on getting us more contracts.” molly knew that nazir was trying his best, of course, but she couldn’t help but feel frustrated over the lack of work. what else were they supposed to do around the sanctuary? they only had so many books, after all.

“ah, that’s because you haven’t tasted it cooked properly! there is nothing more juicy and tender as well-cooked horker meat. just try this and see if it doesn’t change your mind.”

molly obliged, albeit reluctantly, and tested a spoonful of the stew. it turned out to be much better than she expected, better than any horker stew she had had elsewhere in skyrim, but she hated to give nazir a reason to gloat. “it’s alright,” she settled, attempting to eat more with a healthy amount of nonchalance, “where have you been hiding this recipe? seven years and i’ve never had it until today?”

“Cut me, and I’d bleed Pinot Noir,” he grinned, looking down to his drinking companion once more. He considered, ever theatrical, before reaching to his personal bottle, which lay half-consumed on the table, and sliding it toward her. “You convinced me,” glass raised, brows quirked, “A glass from my personal stash – the best in the entire Sanctuary. You’re welcome.”

taking a page out of alastair’s book, molly brought a hand to her chest and stared, wide-eyed, across the table at him, “your personal stash? i’ve been blessed by the divines, surely--what could i have done to deserve this?” joking as she was, she couldn’t help but snatch the bottle up and pour herself a cup, nervous that alastair might change his mind. “all jest aside, i fully expect this wine to change my life.”

Seeing as he’d only been in the place a few days–and was admittedly a bit creeped out by the choices in decor–Aloys jumped at the voice, looking around to the girl (his new sister he had to remind himself) at the alchemy table. It took him a minute longer to realize she was speaking to him and he ended up laughing almost a little nervously. 

“Oh no, you don’t want me to help you with that. Last time I tried I lit the place on fire,” he admitted, holding up his hands and still chuckling. “I thought my hair was never going to grow back. I haven’t touched it since.”

“a shame, then. i could truly use the help... oh, well,” molly shrugged one shoulder, cast her alchemy ingredients one final glance, and abandoned them in favor of stepping closer to the man. he was a new recruit as well--she recognized his handsome face, but not so much his name. deciding to test him out, she pursed her lips and said, very seriously, “you have a few bald spots. didn’t you know?”

kyr was slowly adjusting to his new surroundings, a process that would likely take him years. as reminiscent as these alchemy labs were to the ones he had spent years around in his youth he couldn’t help but feel both the pang of nostalgia as well as a distinct feeling that there was something wrong. assassin’s used this equipment, how many healing potions were brewed? how many more poisons were concocted. there was definitely something evil about this place.

he was saved from his thoughts by the raised voice adjacent to him. slowly he whirled around, a vial clutched in one slender hand and a snippet of a wild flower in the other. he pocketed both immediately. “I wouldn’t go so far as to say skilled, experienced however…” he replied. “if it’s assistance you require I know a thing or two about beneficial tonics,”.

molly hummed thoughtfully, buying time as she searched for his name, and beckoned him over with a wave of her hand. kyr, she believed it was. relatively new to the brotherhood, she found she didn’t know much at all about the man in front of her, but he seemed to have as good intentions as an assassin could. she had grown skilled in reading others, especially men, in the years since joining the brotherhood herself, and kyr seemed friendly enough.

“experienced is much more favorable than completely inept,” the corners of her lips quirked upwards, “i appreciate the assistance, brother.”

“god’s blood,” she cursed under her breath, lips drawing into a pout. asking for help was just about her least favorite thing, even with her sisters and brothers, but it seemed as if it was time for her to try. she turned away from the lab, raising her voice to draw the attention of a sister or brother facing away from her at the table, “how skilled are you at alchemy?”

“So you say, so you say,” he responded back, rolling his eyes in an instinctual movement as she grabbed onto his shoulders. “You’re trusting me with that task? Not to question your judgement, Molly, but making tings look good isn’t always what I do best. Never has been, even when I could tell what I was doing.”

“you are an odd one indeed, xander. you must have more faith in yourself. yours looks just fine,” molly placed her own onto the table, frowning before abruptly changing the subject, “you know, too many of us use daggers nowadays. i’m thinking of switching to archery. think i’d be any good?”

“Molly, dearest,” he put a theatrically trembling hand over his heart, head tipping back and eyes focusing upon the stone ceiling, “You’ll be the death of me. I need wine to live– didn’t you know?”

“i know that wine certainly must flow through your veins by now,” molly’s head tilted playfully, and then, a beat, and she conceded, “could you bring yourself, dear, to share some with me, then? surely you musn’t need every last drop in the sanctuary to survive, and you know i would appreciate it.”

“What am I always doing, Molly?” he asked, not even bothering to turn his head to look at her. He recognized her well enough by the sound of her voice. “I’m reading. Elemental spells this time. Did you want to have a look?”

“no thanks. i may be a breton, but magic interests you far more than it interests me,” she took this as an invitation inside and wandered in, idly toying with dusty trinkets on the bookshelves, “what are those, though? spells of fire and ice?”

       glowing  hues  glimmered  in  the  peripheral  of  the  candlelight,  gazing  nowhere  in  particular  but  radiating  an  expression  of  apathy.  things  had  been  awfully  quiet  as  the  brotherhood’s  requests  dwindled  in  numbers  .  .  .  the  war  that  raged  on  was  making  it  dangerous  for  the  raven-haired  girl  to  travel  within  the  woods,  and  an  overall  insatiable  boredom  was  accompanying  her  all  times  deeming  her  untrustworthy  in  silence.  the  sight  of  her  pout  was  truly  pitiful.  ❛  it’s  been  awfully  boring  around  here,  you  know.  i  think  i  just  might  DIE.  ❜  ironic.

“tragic, isn’t it?” molly let out a scoff of a laugh, and dragged her fingers, idly, through a small pool of wax melted to the table. as if she wasn’t bored and frustrated enough, fura’s moods were contagious, especially the gloomier ones. “what ever shall we do?”

Veryn wasn’t always very good with people, and he tended to keep himself more often than stay in large groups. So, the way he was being tonight wasn’t anything in particular that anyone would be worried about.

He’d been hiding out in the master bedroom in order to get away, sitting on the bed and reading yet another spell book, studying it furiously. Books made better company than people, anyway. Even if they were his brethren, he still felt apart, like he had most of his life.

Molly found herself in the doorway to the master bedroom when boredom struck, leaning one shoulder against the frame and crossing her arms, “And what could you possibly be doing cooped up all alone in here?”

While she had an instinctive aversion to mages, due to her eldest sister abandoning her to become one, she was loyal and close to any and all of her brethren. Veryn was no exception. In fact, she specifically enjoyed bothering him, always trying to draw him out due to his quiet nature, but how Veryn felt about it remained to be seen.