ooc: The doom of my unruly side-plot draws neigh. I need to learn to control my boredom better..

ic: Ahdanjha followed Vivian inside, trying to look as timid and lost as possible to avoid suspicion; generally, if you looked pathetic and scared, people didn't pay you much mind. So as she trailed behind her former Brother, the Ohmes tucked her tail a little between her legs, brought her hands up to chest-level and fidgeted with them, and made sure to put on her best 'lost puppy' face. It seemed to work, more or less. Nobody tried to accost her on the way to the kitchen at least, even though some of the Blades gave her strange looks, which she avoided.

Once in the kitchen, the Khajiit quickly found a pot of coffee sitting on the stove and helped herself to a cup, black and sugarless, then sat down sipping it. The warmth that flooded her organs with each sip was heavenly after six hours in the mountain cold. "Things have started getting out of hand since you left.." she started out of nowhere after a moment of looking around to see they were alone, her voice a low, growling whisper. She wasn't looking at Vivian, but rather at her beverage. "Khajiit has heard talk.. They are weeding out the dissident and malcontent, the weak, the old. Some blame Marcy, some say one of the higher-ups has gone mad, others call it a necessary purification. Whatever it is.."

Ahdanjha looked up at Vivian and met his eyes, "It does not bode well for Ahdanjha and Va'Rahkshi. You are a smart creature, Marcy. This one is sure you are aware of our reputation of operating.." she seemed to search for the right words a second before tilting her head a little and going on. "..on the edge of regulations. Ahdanjha follows her mate because she loves him and owes him her life, but.. sometimes.." The Khajiit sighed. "Sometimes she wonders if his decisions are the right ones. He thinks that just because he is a Zeterra he can do as he pleases, feeding off his mother's legacy and what she did for them, but.. it will run out someday. And when it does.."

Ahdanjha darkened even further. "It does not even want to think about it. Likewise, if they found out how Tamara died.. how she was murdered.. No, nothing good would come of it. You and Khajiit, we are like-minded. We don't want to be bound by tenets and laws. We want to live our lives as we please, but.. How did you do it? They let you go. Why?"
_______
Zant tried his hardest not to laugh as Iris blasted his summon into pieces, managing to reduce the laughter to a small bout of snickering instead. When he'd gotten himself together, he walked over to Iris and set his hands on her shoulder, leaning over her left one to give her a peck on the cheek. When he spoke, though, she could no doubt hear the mirth in his voice.

"I'm sure he'll love you forever now. Nothing says affection like a fireball in the ribcage, yeah?" He said and grinned behind her. "If you need these two, I'll go find someplace else to be helpful, okay, dear?"

Just as he started to let go of her shoulders and turn to leave, he suddenly recalled why he'd come down here in the first place. Pausing a moment, he dug the sheathed dagger out of his bag and tapped her on the shoulder. "Before I go though, I gotcha somethin'. This way, you can have a weapon and I can have my throwing knife back." Zant chuckled, dangling the blade by the worn leather strap on it, the strap hooked on his index finger.

Paulus had been sparing with the skeleton known as Choppy, and was winning in a way. He had managed to back it into a corner, when he was about to end it with a disarming of the skeletons weapon, but instead it had ran to hug the newest person to come into the armoury, only to be blown to bits by a fireball. Laughing, he sheathed his sword and walked over to where the others where, and listened to Iris's request.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, and sorry for asking such things so suddenly, but if you are decent with stealth and fighting, might you be willing to help me out?"

Paulus was eager to speak up and volunteer.

"Stealth and fighting? I'd be more than willing to come along, if three isnt enough."

He gave a nod and a big grin at the same time. "I can fight as well as be sneaky when needed. " Do'rhadi replied gleefully. Giving off a really cheery disposition to them. "WHat does the young lady require of Combat and stealth? Assasination?" he enquired cheerily.

Iris looked at the dangling dagger held up to her. It was intricate, with lime yellow-green metals comprising the handle and pommel she'd never seen before. It also sported feather designs, birdlike qualities in the forging of the decor. It was a curved dagger as well, the handle seeming meant to fit into a hand at a slant. Smiling, Iris reached up and snatched the dagger from in front of her face, holding it to her chest. Her other hand moved to her thigh and undid the knot holding Zant's dagger there, before handing it back to him.

"Thanks. I might need a good dagger right now." It's sweet of him to do this, it is beautiful, but that skeleton... I'll have to talk to him later. But will there be- Of course there will be! I can handle myself. "You run along and have fun. We'll talk when I'm done with my work." As much as she wanted to kiss him for his gift, she also wanted to make it clear she had a problem. So she kept her tone more even and turned to face the three companion men with a small wave to Zant.

"Oh, right, you're a forester. Nearly forgot that." Iris remarked to Paulus, then smiled. "You should do fine. And Do'Rhadi, we need to mostly keep under cover. But there could be fighting at one point. You three should be enough though. Come with me." Iris motioned for them to follow with the hand not holding the elven dagger, and led them away towards a room down the hall. The room she'd once been briefed in with Jauffre and Martin.
-------------------
"They didn't let me leave." Vivian replied, sitting across from Ahdanjhi calmly, one leg crossed over his knee. His hands rested on his horizontal leg, and he looked unaffected by her news. But inside, he was contemplating every word. Deciding on just how much to say. Just what to say.

He knew there was a current trend for Purification within the Brotherhood throughout, partly because of an incident the recent Listener had been a part of less than a year ago. It would seem to some the Listener was still paranoid from his endeavors. "I am not free from the Brotherhood at all. I am still a member." His words were careful, calculating, and he did not look at her as he spoke, he looked at his boot propped on his knee. "I recently broke a tenet, by ignoring orders and staying with this group. I was attacked by Sithis' Wrath, but survived. I have not returned to the Sanctuary since that incident, so I assume I am a member again. A mute, inactive member. Or maybe they recognized, finally, the importance of what I am trying to do here, the importance it holds for the Brotherhood, and have chosen to allow me to remain in the group."

"I will say this, though. Va'Rhakshi has a bad reputation for a reason. And if not for those tenets of the Dread Father, Va'Rhakshi would only become worse. I do not condone his actions, never have, and as a result I will not assist you two in escaping the Brotherhood. The tenets are all that keeps him in check." Vivian looked up to Ahdanjhi as he stated this, his red eyes stern behind his message.

Mia refrained from mentioning the fact that she could most definately read the book without being affected by the book. After all one could not get any more tainted by daedric magic, than a daedra themselves. "I did my best to prevent any of the others from opening the book.. but im no priest, so i guess it is best that you take the book.. you are probably less likely to be affected by the magics than myself.." Mia said looking down for a moment. The young healer had noticed Martin looking at her before, and wondered if he knew about her.

Looking up at Jauffre her smile vanished."Now 'father', you mentioned that you wished to speak to me earlier about something. Could you please tell me what it is you wihed to tell me, other than the displeasure of my current outfit that i can see on your face.. you could never hide that look" she said and smiled again slightly at the memory of the last time he gave her such a look.

Martin hefted the book under the crook of his arm, his robes rubbing against the skin cover of the unholy tome and sending a slight shudder down his spine. He nodded to Mia, pleased to see that if his theory was indeed true, she made no attempt to show it in front of Jauffre. The healer was a pleasant, youthful air that was sorely needed in this glum temple. She kept up the men's spirits, as it was easier to be determined in the defense of a young woman than of some man. The last thing he wanted was for this source of strength to be dashed by the discovery she was the 'enemy'. He nodded reassuringly to Mia.

"I think you did a good job protecting them, but you can't hold it off for as long as I." He told her reassuringly. "I will begin work on translating the scriptures within, and hopefully have some parts translated within a couple of days." Martin gave Mia a short bow, then nodded to Jauffre before heading past the Grandmaster and out of the room.

"Now 'father', you mentioned that you wished to speak to me earlier about something. Could you please tell me what it is you wished to tell me, other than the displeasure of my current outfit that I can see on your face.. you could never hide that look." Mia told him as the door closed, prompting the old man's face to break out in a smile. There was no one in the room but the priest and his daughter, and the smile seemed so much softer than that he gave most people. He moved forward and embraced Mia, holding her to his coarse clerical robes and resting one hand on the back of her head.

"No, I do not approve of your choice of dress. But what I came to tell you is I did worry, very much so, about your safety." He spoke into the hair on the side of her head, not letting go of the young girl. "But as the Grandmaster of an Elite group of swordsmen and spies, you must realize that in times like this I cannot afford to express such worries. I am their leader, Mia. I have to remain ever calm and strong, to inspire them to be the same. That is why I have aged so much; I am constantly under stress, but must always stoically handle it. Not an easy job." He chuckled at this, retreating his head to look at his daughter's face.

"For a Grandmaster of the Blades, duty is the utmost principle of life. My duty is to the Emperor, to Martin, to his safety and education. That is the duty of all Blades. But it is not the duty of our champions, which is why I had them rescue you. Then, I satisfied both my duty to family, and to the Emperor." Jauffre shook his head slowly. "It's not that I don't care; it's that I must care in a different way."

Adeth took a step to follow Iris, but looked at the armor hanging on the wall and nodded. He had desided to do well. This time. As he walked behind Iris to the other room, he was thinking of asking what their mission was to be exactly. But Adeth was unsure himself even though he now had a chance to actually earn the over ornated armor and possibly the full trust of the three others and hopefully the respect of the others as well.

'So...uh... What is the mission? If we really need to be stealthy that is, Im sure that is the reason but... Why trust me with this mission?' He asked uncertainly.

(blah... we're dead it seems )

bull we are. i think it was because that i was not here now that i finally have the internets back i will be here ALOT more often ^^ Time to jolt this rp back into action, even though i am pretty sure no one will reply until they are free again, with it being so close to christmas.

CLEAR!

Mia was put aback but the grandmaster's change, but was not not entirely surprised. Over the past ten years, the grandmaster was like a father to her, and with her memories of er daedric past buried deep, the way she acted because of how he was to her, probably made Jauffre feel that Mia was like a daughter.

Mia stood there for a moment, not sure what to say. But there was some questions she needed answered, and only the old man would have those answers. "I know.. but i wish that i never went to that place.. then i wouldn't have known what i truely am.." Mia said quietly as if the walls had ears, and that Blade members would come out and mow her down.

"But.. i guess there are some things that will be explained later i'm guessing would be your answer.." the healer said and sighed. Jauffre hadn't been this way around her for sometime, and she just wanted to believe for a short time that she really was just a young Breton girl, who had a loving and caring father figure to take care of her.

"now before you get any more sappy, i need to get ready. I've got a date to prepare for" Mia said smiling broadly as she broke from the embrace, and looked around the room full of clothes for any sign of the shoes she was intending to wear.

OOC: I'll be posting soon. proably latter tonight. But right now, I'm going chirstmas carroling with some friends. and we're playing tubas.

OOC: i'm back, and my back hurts from holding a tuba while standing upright. I wish I had a sousaphone last night. But it was fun.



Paulus nodded, and his heart began to pump a little faster. The chances of combat happening increased when more people went on a recon mission, but he felt that he, along with Iris, could handle it if things got a little out of control. The only thing he was worried about was Adeth and Do'Rhadi, they looked like they had little combat experince. He removed his sword, and the sheild from his arm, left only with his mace and his bow and arrows. Noticing Adeth eyeing the blade armour, he gave a few words of advice.

"If your thinking of wearing that armour out on a recon mission, I think that would be a bad idea. Especially scince your not familir with it."

And he followed them into the breifing room.

(im not much in a mood, even though i almost satisfied my stomach and got the presents, im feeling ill and it's not the excitement.)

Adeth nodded. 'Im not about to wear it any time soon, Paulus.' Adeth said truthfully. 'I've decided that I cant wear it until I have proven myself to the group...and myself.' He continued and raised a bottle, the one and the same he had when he was waiting for his turn on the sparring, to his mouth and gulped. Adeth felt bad about it as he regognised both the taste and the bottle itself.

'Im just a coward, and a drunkard.' Adeth muttered and offered the bottle to Paulus.' Do me a favor and keep it away from me. I don't like it.' He said and avoided looking at the bottle.

OOC: We are never dead, only in a coma. Get it right!

IC: Iris waited for Paulus (OOC: Sibera, for the purpose of saving the rp, I'll assume you follow as well. ) and Do'Rhadi to come in after Adeth before she answered the young man's question. "I'm not trusting you with the mission Adeth." She said this with a sweetness that dissolved any insult the statement may have held as she moved to the desk and leaned on it. She then nodded her head towards Paulus and Do'Rhadi respectively. "I'm entrusting it to these two as well, and myself, because Jauffre put me in charge of this."

Bracing her hands on the desk, she lifted herself and leaned back, before sitting on the top of the desk comfortably and folding her arms over her crossed legs. One hand propped under her chin as she spoke. "I've decided on you three to help me because Jauffre suggested I bring backup. Paulus, you'll be suitable for a heavy warrior, in case any Nords in steel try to tangle with us. Do'Rhadi, you'll be perfect I think for lesser warriors. Myself, I can supplement you two, and Adeth..." She paused, sighed, and removed her hand from under her chin, waving it at him.

"You've got to be good at something. You were a thief, so I imagine you can manage to sneak about well enough. And you have sub par weapons experience. Again, I can supplement you when necessary. I'm running this thing, you three are my backup. Now, I bet you are wondering just what in Vivec's name I'm talking about?" She smiled slyly at this.


Jauffre had indeed been considering saying just that to her in reply, that it would be explained later. But the question had put him off guard. She had found out? So soon?

And it brought many other questions. Did the seal... did the seal the Priests wrought still hold? Or was she truly herself once more, and did Martin know of this, consider it a threat? Would he be torn between emotion and duty once again?

"A date?" Every single one of the previous thoughts vanished when his mind registered these words, and he switched from contemplating grandmaster to intrigued father instantly. His face portrayed this change, as he suddenly looked more inquisitive and distraught. "I... trust this man is aware of the consequences of his actions?" One would barely notice the twitch of his sword hand as he said this with ill-intended smoothness.

'Im just a coward, and a drunkard.' Adeth muttered and offered the bottle to Paulus.' Do me a favor and keep it away from me. I don't like it.' He said and avoided looking at the bottle.

Paulus then examined the man more closely. His posture, his voice, and most notciably, the eyes. It was the eyes that where the most obvious. He could see how low self-esteem the man had, how much lack of confidence in him. The only way to get through to these people, get them to stop being like this, was though neutral reinforcement. Paulus took the bottle of alchool away from Adeth.

"Theirs no such thing as cowardince Adeth. Only lack of confidence. And that vow you made, about not wearing it untill you've proven yourself and everyone else? Your never going to wear it. Your going to find something wrong with yourself. Someone will always find something wrong with you. All you need, is the will to do something, and a little bit of belife in yourself, and if you fail trying, stay confident."

Placing the bottle on a nearby shelf, he caught up with Iris.

"So, what exactly are we going out for?" He said.

ooc: Heya, peoples. ArgonianMageZelric and myself've been talking over MSN and he decided that, due to recent events on his end of things, he wants me to retire Odeen for him for a while. Upon further discussion, we decided on a good way and reason for him to be left behind at Cloud Ruler, something that I was considering doing anyway that seemed to be the best, most logical option. Zel said he hopes to return someday, but until then Odeen's gonna probably stay at the Temple. As for what I'm about to do here, I think Karst really needed this. I couldn't honestly think of another way to get her out of her skittish, half-crazy mode she's in now.

So, with that, I have several things to wrap up here now in one way or another. Sorry for the length, lots needed to be done.


ic: Odeen looked at Karst in mild fear. He wasn't sure what to say to that, especially since he wasn't quite sure of the answer himself. "I.. I don't know, but.. whatever it is.. it's.. really strong."

Karst sighed, a little disappointed at not getting a concise answer. "I see.. Well.."

"I'm sorry.. I don't know exactly myself." Odeen said, sad he'd not been able to give her the information she wanted. Karst just shrugged in the embrace.

"It's fine. I just wanted to know. With both you an' Veyar wanting me, I'm.. a little conflicted."

Odeen recoiled a little. "Wa-want you? I.. no, nothing like that! I mean.. you're lovely and.. but.. I'd never.."

Karst cut him off by putting a finger to his mouth. "I didn't mean like that. I just meant want to be with me."

"Oh.. But I.. I never said.."

"But you do, don't you?" Karst asked, then smiled when he adopted a nervous look and nodded. "It's okay, Odeen. It's nothing to be ashamed of." She let go of him and sat cross-legged on the bed, then looked off at some nondescript point on the floor across the room. "All I'm sayin' is that.. I don't know what I want. All I know is I'm scared and tired.. I've never had a whole group of people that cared about me, and I feel I need to stay and help you guys out, but.. at the same time.." She sighed and closed her eyes. After a couple seconds, Odeen looked down, worried.

"What.. what is it?" He asked. She didn't move, but she spoke.

"There's a lot that I've not told any of you. About my past, about my family.. about me. Some of that stuff.. could hurt you. There are things I can do that I can't control. Dangerous things. And if I keep up like this.. I fear something very bad might happen. I.." Karst looked up at her reptilian companion, then leaned her head over on his robed shoulder. "I need a break. I need to just sit and.. and.. just think and rest. I haven't told anyone yet but.. I'm thinking of leaving the group."

Odeen's purple eyes widened. "But.. but they need you! I.. I need you! You can't just.." He exclaimed rapidly, then sighed and looked at his feet. "You said you weren't going to leave me alone."

Karst's posture drooped at seeing his reaction. "They can live without me. And.. I'll always be where you can find me if you need me. In fact.." Odeen watched in confusion as she stuck her hands down her cuirass for a few seconds. A moment later, she grabbed his hand and put something in it, then closed his fingers around it. It was hard and still warm from being on her. Opening his hand, he gazed at the small, ancient piece of jewelry, a weathered looking emerald entrapped in an intricate little silver sculpture and attached to an equally worn looking silver chain. He looked at it dumbly a for a few seconds, rubbing it with his thumb.

"Isn't this.. but don't you want to keep this?" He asked finally. Karst shook her head a little.

"My mom gave it to me just before she died and I've kept it with me ever since. It's all I have left of her, but.. I want you to take it with you. So you can have something to remind you of me."

The Argonian stared at the necklace in his hand for another few seconds, then took Karst's hand and put it in it. "No. If you go, I go. You.. you're all I have. I told you I'd always stay with you, and I'm going to." He said resolutely. Karst gripped her necklace and sighed.

"Odeen.. They can use you more than I can. I'm not leaving the group forever, either. Just.. taking a break. I'll probably just stay here at the Temple if it's okay with Blades."

"I'm still staying with you." He reiterated, finding courage he'd never known he had, at least for now. "You need support, and.. I'm not going to just leave you here all alone. I'll get to work on making some useful potions for them tonight. I think I can send my pack full of potions with them and that'd help, right?"

"I.. I guess. You're sure you wanna stay here with me, though? I mean.. it'll probably be pretty boring." Karst relented.

"I'm sure. Really. I don't think it'll be too bad. I mean.. we.. we'll have each other, right?"

Karst nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, we will. I.. guess we should go tell the others now, huh?" She said, feeling a little better knowing Odeen would be with her, even if she thought he'd be better off with the group. She put her arms about Odeen's middle and hugged him. "Hopefully I don't need that long. You should go get to making those potions if you're really gonna stay here."

Odeen hugged her back loosely, still not entirely used to the whole business of hugging people, and nodded. "Okay. And I think.. I think that you should get some sleep; you look tired. I think I'll go set up over here.." Getting up, he grabbed his pack and started setting up his alchemy gear on a nearby desk. Karst sat on the bed and started taking off her armor, climbing into bed once she had all of it off. She just hoped the others would understand.
_______

Iris took the gift and held it to her chest, smiling, then gave Zant back his dagger. The Khajiit smiled at this himself, sheathing the blade at his chest where it belonged.

"Thanks. I might need a good dagger right now." Iris said, then paused for an almost intangible moment. The average man might have missed it entirely, but Zant could tell that little hitch was bad. "You run along and have fun. We'll talk when I'm done with my work."

'We'll talk later.' However it's worded, if it comes from a woman's mouth it's never good. Zant thought, ears and tail stirring slightly in uneasiness. Eff..

Before he could ask, though, she was talking to the others, and then she was gone. Zant sighed as they all left and slumped his shoulders, head down and ears flat. Without saying another thing, the warrior cat left and went straight outside into the cold. Walking into the horse corral, he sat down on a hay bale and closed his eyes, thinking.

There was so much noise in his mind recently; doubts, worries, fears.. inadequacies. What if he failed to protect one of them? If Iris or Karst ended up another tombstone, he wasn't sure he could live with the guilt. If Odeen were to be killed, what would become of Karst? She was so fragile lately anyway, and that might be a loss she'd never recover from. The same with Vivian to Iris. And then there was Miranie, a little scholar who had no place on a battlefield but to be a target for a Dremora archer. Could he tell her sister she'd died because he wasn't good enough?

Zant shook his head. "Hell." He muttered to himself, then looked up at one of the horses, "Just gets better every day, huh, horsey?"
_______

Ahdanjha listened intently to everything Vivian said. She had thought him to have exploited some kind of loophole, she'd thought he'd broken free. At being informed that he was as trapped as she was, she drooped visibly, posture slumping and head going down. Even her pointy elf ears seems to sag a little. So, nobody can truly escape the Dread Father.. Dammit, Khajiit was hoping Marcy would be the key to her freedom.

When Vivian spoke of her mate, Ahdanjha stiffened and glared a bit. "Va'Rahkshi is not the criminal they make him out to be. He is cruel, yes, but are not all Brothers and Sisters in their own ways? He has other, less known qualities, Marcy; he is loving and caring to his mate. He would die for Ahdanjha." she barked, her accent coming out even more than in normal speech, each syllable snapped off at the end. She lowered her voice to a hissing whisper. "Khajiit was sent to terminate Marcy -and Karstine if she did not cooperate- but she will not have the blood of another family member on her hands, especially not that of another Zeterra. Do not presume to judge those you do not know, ash-kin. Khajiit heard them demonize you, but she did not listen to their lies. She would appreciate the same courtesy." Crossing her arms over her bosom, the little cat glared at Vivian a moment before a Blade came in and looked at her. She gazed up questioningly.

"Are.. are you Ahdanjha?" the Nord asked. She raised an eyebrow and nodded.

"This one is Ahdanjha, yes. What does the pink-skin wish of her?"

"You have a letter. Some.. weird guy in a black robe gave it to me and said to give it to a black Khajiit named Ahdanjha. I didn't even know you were here; another Blade said you'd gone by him on your way in with Vivian, though, so.. Are you new?"

"One could assume that, yes." she said, unfolding her arms and extending one gauntlet towards the man. He looked at the black claws sticking though the leather, watching as if they'd be used to gore out his eyes if he looked away. Handing her the letter, the Nord watched as she broke the black wax seal on the piece of rolled parchment, then left. Unfurling the letter, she read it to herself.

Dear Sister,

As you may know, with the recent murders that have occurred within the Brotherhood, we have all been asked to submit to questioning to determine where each Brother and Sister's loyalties lie. While nobody can deny the raw skill you and your mate exhibit, it has been called into question on more than one instance whether you serve Sithis or merely your own whims. Va'Rahkshi has agreed to be questioned and we ask you to do the same. Please make haste to home for interrogation. Your lives may depend upon it.

~ J'Ghasta

Ahdanjha dropped it on the table between herself and Vivian and swore, the action sounding almost cute due to her feathery voice. The angry growl in the words following all but killed the cuteness, however.

"This is not good. Not good at all.." Ahdanjha stood and looked down at Vivian with a glare. "If Marcy will not help, then fine. Ahdanjha hoped you would understand love better now that you'd found it, but.." The Khajiit shrugged. "Maybe they were right about you, and you are as selfish as you claim Ahdanjha and Va'Rahkshi to be."

With one final glare of anger and hurt, she strode past to leave.

"Consequence? i believe the only consequence that this man may have would be spending his septims on my meal" Mia said and giggled at the question. "Besides.. this is a chance for me to forget everything that has happened so far.. and have a little break from the crisis that we are all facing at this present moment.. The last thing that this place needs right now is confusion, panic and rage." Mia's face became serious as she saw her back reflected in the mirror, the top of the rune seal seen was dull, and no longer had the slight glow that it used to have.

"I just hope this can last.. I do not want our group or the Blades to fail in our task.." The young healer looked back up at the Grandmaster, and sighed. "I guess all we can do is hope for the best.." At that moment, she found what she was looking for and picked up the pair. "I believe someone is waiting for me in the hall, if he didn't decide to do something else while he waited for me to get ready.. I will let you get back to your duties father" Mia said as she slipped the footwear on and stood up.

"I will be wanting more of an explanation about everything when we have more time to discuss such things." And with that the healer embraced the Grandmaster and awaited him to reply and leave the room, before finding where Vivian had wandered off to.

"I do not judge those I know nothing about." Vivian replied after she'd tossed the letter on the table, reaching over to pick it up and look at it. "I merely make judgments on how I should act based on what I know. I truly do hope Va'Rahkshi to not be as bad as his reputation claims, Ahdanjha. But I cannot know such things until I meet him, and therefore cannot make judgments of my actions based on them. Judging by assumption leads to death."

His eyes scanned the letter as he finished speaking, each movement of his eyes causing them to look more uneasy. He crumpled the letter in his hands just as she would have reached the doorway if she'd not stopped leaving already. "Ahdanjha, hold on for a moment." He rose from the seat and turned to look at her, his eyes smoothly businesslike and stern.

"I said I would not help you be free of the Brotherhood. That doesn't mean I'm going to let them kill you, which is surely your fate if what you say is true. So long as I live, you are slated to die according to this letter." He held up the crumpled parchment. "I don't want that happening. When you are questioned, inform them you did not disobey your orders. You've been sent to kill me because I am viewed as a dissenter. Inform them I am serving Sithis still, but not through contracts. I am saving Tamriel. When the Oblivion Crisis is over, if I still do not return to my contracts, they can send whatever they desire to end my existence."

He stepped up to Ahdanjhi and handed her the letter. "But for now, tell them I am fulfilling my greatest contract yet, given to me by the Blades themselves. I'm assassinating Mankar Cameron. This should prove you still loyal, and save you from death."
---------------------
Jauffre seemed stunned into a stupor, but he managed to nod his head in agreement and return her hug. "Yes... yes of course. Do enjoy yourself... and behave." He added at the end like an afterthought, before turning and promptly leaving the room, heading for his office.
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Iris smiled at Paulus and Adeth, still sitting on the desk as she was. Then she looked over to the Khajiit, who was silent, but figured he was thinking on the matter at hand and would pay attention when she spoke.

"Here's what Jauffre told me. The Blades have been seeing figures near Cloud Ruler in the wilds, looking at the place in a manner that's rather suspicious. he thinks they might be spies, possibly for the Mythic Dawn. I'm a spy myself, so naturally I should be working on this, but he advised I take some backup. They'd been attacked once by wolves, and proven they have weaponry and battle competency. Hence why you two-" She pointed at Paulus and Do'Rahdi with both hands. "-are helping me. Adeth, you're coming along in the hopes we might discover some sort of use for you. That... and I am rather poor with a lockpick. Spelling the doors we run into might not be an option."

"Are you acceptable to doing this?"

Mia waited till the grandmaster left before sitting down roughly on the bed behind her. Even though it seemed that Jauffre knew that the seal may have been broken, he did not seem distressed, which made her wonder what really was going on. Could it be for another reason instead of imprisoning a daedra? Mia just shook her head as she got up and finished getting herself ready. After all Vivian might have started getting bored waiting for her, especially since this would be probably the first time that the Dunmer had actually went on a date.

That thought made the Breton girl smile to herself as she finished doing her hair ad the final touch ups she needed, before slipping on her footwear and exited her room. Along the way back to the main hall, she received a few looks from some of the blades members, some better than others, making her smile wider. Seeing that Vivian wasn't in the main hall when she reached it, she frowned for a moment, and waited there, wondering where he had gotten to.

Adeth Nodded to Paulus as a gesture of gratitude and understanding to what he said. But it wasn't so simple. He also listened carefully to what Iris said but looked away when she said that as a thief he would be good in the appropriate skills. But the truth was, he wasn't all that good in that either. Stealing food when he was away from his parents and some minor things. But Adeth still hoped she was right. He was a petty thief, the pettiest of them all, in his own eyes atleast.

'Well... The truth is, Im just a petty thief and more like no-thief at all. But I uh... am trained in the skill of sneaking and lockpicks. I know how to, but Im only the average or a bit below, of a thief I mean.' He said sounding like making an excuse, but nodded determinently. 'I won't fail. Not now.' He said in a tone that was of pure determination and new found confidence. 'I think though that my specialty is lock picking.' Adeth said and now his voice found more strength, just for slightly patting the small dark leathered lockpick case on his belt. It belonged to Selene, the only thing that would give it out was how neat it looked, no scratches on the surface nor any fading. It was a bit too neat for him. But it wouldn't really be seen from behind his hand. Adeth had a faint and a sad-ish smile for just a second.

'Should we leave now or? Im ready myself.'

(sorry had to fill it up about the case)

Paulus took in the information. Armed people, possibly from the Mythic Dawn cult, near a highly defended place where the heir to the throne is staying?

"I'm ready. If these really are Mythic Dawn spies, then once we have it confirmed, we're going to have to kill them, or at least take them in for questioning, then kill them."

He spoke gravely, standing up to his full height. The man was restless, and ready to go out and do something.

ooc: Let's get this going again, shall we? Two kitties need to say goodbye and we've got spies to poke at.

And once we get to Skingrad, I've got a new friend for y'all to say hi to. A few of you are already acquainted, I think. :hehe:

ic: "I do not judge those I know nothing about." Vivian replied after Ahdanjha'd tossed the letter on the table and gotten up, "I merely make judgments on how I should act based on what I know. I truly do hope Va'Rahkshi to not be as bad as his reputation claims, Ahdanjha. But I cannot know such things until I meet him, and therefore cannot make judgments of my actions based on them. Judging by assumption leads to death."

Ahdanjha stopped for a moment at hearing this, looking down a moment and closing her eyes. She took her gauntlets off and stuffed them into pockets in her greaves, then fidgeted with her hands. She heard the sound of crumpling parchment and opened her eyes, furrowing her brow. "Ahdanjha, hold on for a moment." Vivian called to her. She turned around and met his businesslike gaze with an emotionless one of her own. "I said I would not help you be free of the Brotherhood. That doesn't mean I'm going to let them kill you, which is surely your fate if what you say is true." He continued upon reaching her. "So long as I live, you are slated to die according to this letter." He held up the crumpled parchment. "I don't want that happening. When you are questioned, inform them you did not disobey your orders. You've been sent to kill me because I am viewed as a dissenter. Inform them I am serving Sithis still, but not through contracts. I am saving Tamriel. When the Oblivion Crisis is over, if I still do not return to my contracts, they can send whatever they desire to end my existence."

He stepped up to Ahdanjha and handed her the letter. "But for now, tell them I am fulfilling my greatest contract yet, given to me by the Blades themselves. I'm assassinating Mankar Cameron. This should prove you still loyal, and save you from death." Ahdanjha stared at the letter for a moment, then took it silently. She looked up at him, meeting his eyes and trying to find something, some kind of hitch, some ulterior motive for Vivian's actions. She found nothing, just a cold, serious stare. Another glance at the letter, another one up at him and she made a little step towards him, raising her hand to his chest, resting it there, fingers splayed.

"This one is sorry she misjudged you.." Ahdanjha whispered in her soft Khajiit dialect. There was a sort of longing in her gaze as she looked into his red eyes; not a lustful longing, but something entirely else. "Your sister, she is lucky. Ahdanjha wishes that her own brother had loved her so much. He sold her into slavery as an infant, she is told, to support his skooma habit. But you.."

The assassin sighed and raised the back of hand to touch his face lightly. Her gaze never moved. "You are different than most of us. If.. If she survives, Ahdanjha will try to help your cause however she can. So will her mate. She.. she would kiss you, but.. she knows you would not enjoy it. We hope to see you again, Marcy.. Farewell." Ahdanjha gave him a kind smile and hesitated a moment before turning, scrunching the letter into her pocket and pulling her gloves back out to put on. She looked back over her shoulder at Vivian once as she buckled the last gauntlet on, then opened the door and slipped out into the cold. As she met his gaze that last time, she almost looked like she wanted to cry.

Walking down the steps and out the giant doors of the Temple, Ahdanjha sighed and dabbed her eyes. She envied Vivian and Karst; they had family and friends. All she had was her mate. Shaking her head, Ahdanjha straightened up and squared her shoulders, then set off into towards the Sanctuary to meet whatever fate held for her there.
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ooc: Since they kinda sat doing nothing for a while whilst the others went on, I'll just say Karst was napping during what time there was in there not spent talking to Odeen. Catch the both of them up.

ic: Karst woke up, stretched and yawned, then looked over to see the back of Odeen's robed form napping at his alchemy bench. She got up, put her boots back on and changed out of her sliced up under-armor shirt and into her purple tunic-like shirt, the one of the two she'd bought in the City she'd not worn yet. It was much more modest than the corset one, showing only her collarbone at top and going down halfway to her knees on the bottom. She adjusted it, liking the way it fit snugly on her, then tapped Odeen's shoulder. He woke and snorted.

"Whuah?" Odeen blinked.

"Heya. Done with those potions?" Odeen shook his head and looked ashamed.

"No, I.. I dozed off. I'll get right on them. They should be done in an hour or so. I.. I'll get right to work. So sorry.."

Karst smiled and draqed her arms around his neck from behind, leaning her head on his shoulder. "Calm down. It's fine, okay?" She said sweetly in his ear, "There's no rush. I'm gonna go grab some food and talk with the others for a bit. You just.. do your thing."

Odeen nodded, getting that odd fluttery feeling again he got whenever Karst hugged him. He smiled slightly, then went straight to work as soon as Karst had left the room.

Karst, meanwhile, trotted downstairs, fiddling with her shirt and adjusting her necklace, then walked up to Vivian who was standing near the door. "Heya, Viv." She greeted him, a little happier sounding now that she'd gotten a little nap in.

Seeing a Khajiit she hadn't seen before leave the kitchen, Mia shrugged and headed inside. Maybe Vivian went in there? As she entered, Mia saw Karst standing near Vivian in a shirt she hadn't seen before either. She just stood there for a moment, not knowing what to say or what the other two would think about what she was wearing. Karst didnt know the fact that Vivian and herself were going into Bruma for a date.

If the Khajiit didn't know before, she would almost certainly ask why the healer was in such an outfit. With all the thoughts going through her head she just simply stood there, a little nervous perhaps. She didnt even know what Vivian would say about her current attire. After a while just standing there while the other two seemed to be talking, she decided to make her presence known, quietly of course.

"Um.. So what do you think?" She said in a very quiet voice.

Vivian froze when Ahdanjhi placed her hand upon his chest, every muscle in his body tensing up instantly. With her gloves off all he felt upon his haired chest was her furred fingers, soft like the fur of his own vest. "Your sister... She is lucky."

Vivian's mind jolted into action when he heard this, thoughts rushing. How did she know about his sister? How did she know about Iris? Unless she was referring to a Dark Sister, but then that seemed somehow unlikely. So how did she-?

A furry caress upon his cheek made his thoughts falter, and his eyes darted from her face to her hand and back. "She.. She would kiss you... but she knows you would not like it." It didn't keep that look off her face, though, and it made a tingle of displeasure run down Vivian's spine, twice as powerful as when Mia had first kissed him. And then she left, going out the door and back to the Black Hand.

"Heya Viv." Karst's voice cut into his own little world, knocking Vivian back into reality and making him wonder how long he'd been standing there since Ahdanjhi had left. He gave her a nod of acknowledgment, and turned to leave the kitchen. As if on cue Mia arrived, and in an outfit Vivian was not even aware she owned. It was a raven black dress that hugged her curves greedily, and yet revealed a glimpse of cleavage through the v-neck collar. But not only was it provocative; it was formal and lovely, and Vivian got the very distinct feeling he was under-dressed.

"It... it looks lovely." Vivian managed, still somewhat awestruck by the fact she'd even wear such a thing.
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"Adeth.." Iris sighed, her shoulders dropping as she leaned further on the desk. "I know you're about as useful as a school child, but I'm sure that's only because you don't apply yourself." Her tone was akin to a mother trying to urge her child to do better; a disturbing thought until one took into account Iris was likely old enough to be Adeth's mother. "So you are going to apply yourself, and you are going to do well."

"I'm ready. If these really are Mythic Dawn spies, then once we have it confirmed, we're going to have to kill them, or at least take them in for questioning, then kill them." Paulus said sternly, and caused Iris to groan. One hand rose and covered part of her face as she groaned again.

"I realize that... yes. That's why you three are coming; You guys can do the killing. I'm fine without it." She looked to Paulus as she said this, and lowered her hand. "If you're ready Paulus, go find Captain Steffan. Jauffere told me he's got more information, and we could use all the info we could get. The rest of us, be ready in an hour please."

Karst's ears perked up at hearing the soft voice of her friend and looked over. She had expected a robe, maybe a casual shirt and pants with some sandals, but what she saw stunned her for a moment. Tilting her head to the side, Karst raised her hand up, index finger uncurling a moment as if to point at something, then it retracted to her chest in a ball. "I.. Ah.. Um.." Karst shook her head and broke out in light laughter, smiling. "Wow. Damn, Mia.. You look stunning, that's what I think! What's the occasion?"
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Zant had been sitting on a hay bale for a while now, thinking, sighing and freezing his ass off. And now, at this present moment, he was sleeping, twitching in response to the world in his head. One of the horses watched him curiously as he moved and mumbled to himself. Suddenly, he growled in a very inhuman manner, sat up and yelled all in the span of a second. The horse backed away, snorting and flipping its head a bit.

Now awake, Zant looked at his hands, then balled them into fists and let them uncurl, watching the fur gauntlets on his hands flex. He sighed and shook his head, cracked his neck and stood up. "That was.. weird." He muttered, then left, walking towards the western edge of the wall and staring out. A dark figure caught his eye walking through the snow and trees, what looked like a black tail flicking behind it as it walked. By the sway of its hips as the figure walked, he guessed it was a woman. Suddenly, she stopped and turned as if feeling him looking at her, looking around and drawing some kind of weapon from her hip before vanishing under magickal invisibility. Zant looked over to the Blade next to him that was watching the forest, then back where the figure had vanished. "Did.. did you see anyone.. just now.. about there?" He asked, pointing. The man gave him a queer look and shook his head.

Grunting, Zant spun around and walked off, glancing up at the sky and the moon hanging in it despite the time of day. "Hm. Full moon.." He whispered, recalling the dream and smiling a little. "Awrooo." He added to the whisper, then laughed, shaking his head.

"Weird damn dream." Zant muttered to himself, heading towards the front doors.

Mia looked away for a moment blushing at the responses of both Vivian and Karst. "Oh stop it.. its nothing fancy.. really" Mia said in a squeaky voice, mainly embarrassment because of the reactions. When she heard Karst ask her what the occasion was she looked back over to Vivian. "Well.." She began not knowing how to say it all exactly. The healer was nervous now more than ever, especially that Karst didn't know what had happened between herself and Vivian recently.

"Um.. Vivian and i have a date tonight before we get told where we are going next my my father tomorrow" Mia said quietly. "i didn't know what to wear so i went for this.. i guess it was the right choice by the way both of you reacted to it.." Mia walked slowly up to Vivian and smiled weakly at the Dunmer. "Its not that good is it?"

ooc: So, i've been gone for 2 months and you crazy people still haven't ended the thread? Gawd! You passed Bruma yet? D: My character still needs to join the group.

Also, on the topic of why i've been gone for so long, my internet died on me and I have only just managed to get it up and running! (I moved house too, a reason why it took so freaking long.)