"...Is it really wise to pursue vengeance? They have hurt you. I could see it in your eyes..." Yuki frowned at the thought of further violence, but she was already beginning to learn that these 'Thalmor' were very relentless people. To destroy her home city, and kill everyone - there was simply no reason to have done it, or to have wasted so many of their own people in the battle. Even with the odds against him, the last man took Yuki hostage... They were so irrational, and it was hard to understand with Yuki's mind of serenity.

---

Meanwhile back in Whiterun, Aria had joined Cronic in sitting on the city walls out behind the shop. The farmers were packing up for the day as a thunder storm could be seen rolling in on the mountainous horizon. They could watch the lightning streak down into the mountains from up here... Funny. To Aria, this seemed very much like a representation of recent times. Dragons returning, this conflict between two Dovahkiin, Vampires running amok, and Civil War about to get serious... A storm was coming, all too right.

"...Cronic, we'll lock up tight tonight. I feel like Skyrim just got a thousand percent more dangerous." Aria said as she calmly stroked the stray cat, which slept soundly on her lap. Calm as she seemed, her eyes were fixed on that storm. It was starting to get pretty cold in the black flowered kimono, too... "Startin' tomorrow we should look for that pal of yours. You think so?"

"...Even if I didn't pursue them, they would continue to hunt me. I possess a unique... "gift". My singing allows me to energise people around me. But only people I trust. The Thalmor wished to exploit that ability for their own gain. So much so that they destroyed my home and my village without a second thought. They think only of themselves and not of the people whose lives they destroy!" Serena said, anger becoming more apparent in her voice as she fought back tears.

"That's why I will destroy them with my own hands."

---

"A thousand percent is a pretty accurate estimate." Cronic said, as his gaze was fixed on the storm on the horizon as well.

"Though simply locking up tight won't help us if a dragon comes knocking. We'd need to reinforce the building from ground to roof with things that won't burn easily. Finding that friend of mine, while ideal, would prove problematic if a dragon attacks in our absence and we're suddenly homeless. Push comes to shove, we might just have to dig out a basement level and take refuge down there if things get nasty. Yes we can handle one or two dragons, but if a whole horde of them come to play, that could prove... Problematic." Cronic said, turning to look at Aria.

"...And even then there's the Thalmor, the Stormcloak rebellion... Skyrim's in for a rough time. But if no-one rises to the challenge, we're screwed either way."

"...I... understand. They give you no choice. I can help you if more of them find us - if death is the only way to make them stop, I will help you fight." Yuki said as the lights of Solitude came into view somewhere further down the mountain. She offered a small, freezing hand to the woman, "My name is Yuki Shirohana. I am a priestess of the Akaviri. Or due to recent events, 'was' may be more applicable."

---

"Thalmor ain't a problem yet. Just wait until they start moving around in warbands - then they're gonna be a problem. It might be the Stormcloaks that give them reason to, but we'll see where this all goes."

Aria intently fell back off the wall and flipped to land on her feet, the stray looking confused though still safe in her arms. The rain was here already, and catching a mere cold wasn't something Aria wanted to do! Sneezing in the middle of a battle would be so distracting... And embarrassing, if the enemy didn't use that moment to their advantage. She entered the shop after walking around to the front of the building, and once inside she put the cat on her desk. It'd be easier to sleep in her normal outfit.

Jumping down off the wall after a few minutes to his own thoughts, Cronic walked up to the door as well, then decided against it because Aria might be getting changed. Instead he turned to the bannered mare, and sprinted toward the door. Figured he'd have a mug or two of mead to pass the time.

"...Last time someone walked in on her while she was getting changed, I was up at the hall of the dead at the time, having just cleared out some restless skeletons... Barely made it outside when I heard someone's arm breaking. I'd rather not suffer the same fate.

---

"Serena Marianne Salvatus. Though my forename has lost the meaning it once had." Serena said, taking hold of Yuki's hand.

"...We'll have to hole up in Solitude for the night. But for safety reasons, we're leaving before daybreak. No telling how long it'll be till more Thalmor come to investigate why their allies haven't reached the Embassy yet." Serena said.

"Stay close to me. Skyrim is very dangerous these days, on the account of Thalmor having presence here, civil war taking root, Bandits, thugs, and wild beasts roaming the lands... But the most recent problem would have to be the return of the dragons."

The night soon arrived, with a thunder storm covering the southern half of Skyrim, and a raging blizzard covering the north.

After getting dressed back into her normal rugged outfit, Aria headed up the hill toward the Bannered Mare. Was Cronic avoiding her...? She couldn't imagine why, so the deceptively dangerous young lady stopped thinking about it. As she approached the door she couldn't help but notice a pair of red dots glaring from the steps leading up to the next district. They disappeared when she blinked, confusing her. Perhaps it was nothing...

"Lord Harkon sends his rega-ARGH!" The voice was slow and sinister at first, but it grew into a yelp pretty quickly when the vampire's face was met with the full force of Aria's elbow. She span and drew her katana with a swift reflex, but there was nothing there. "You think you're pretty funny, don't you mortal!?" A furious voice came from the roof of the Bannered Mare. When lightning flashed over Whiterun, Aria caught a glimpse of the pale human holding his face, licking any blood than poured out of his nose.

Aria raised an eyebrow at him as he was enveloped in darkness again, save for those beaming eyes. ",..If you're gonna stab someone in the back, do it! What's wrong with you? Who was your teacher at assassin camp?! You could'a just shoved a dagger in me, but no~! You had to try n' be badass! It's disgusting!" the redhead mocked the vampire. He vanished again, this time appearing in the street. By now the guards were getting concerned about all the shouting, it was probably making the people in their homes nervous. She stepped toward him, holding the blade down at her side, ready for a fight.

The vampire hissed, and vanished again. This wasn't ordinary... Aria knew they were masters in illusion, but there's no way they could move so fast. Perhaps he really was short-warping? A boot plunged into a puddle to Aria's right, and she moved quickly to counter the attempt to skewer her, pushing the thrusted sword out of the way and socking her opponent in the face. That.. was twice now. Before Aria could bring the blade around again, the groaning vampire vanished, re-appearing inside the Bannered Mare off in a shadowed corner...

---

The figure that suddenly started moaning pulled his hood up and scuttled over to the bar, trying not to look at anyone besides the owner. "I'm sorry, I could use some cloth.. I.. broke my nose. On the wall. I'm so clumsy..." he coughed. It occurred to him now that it was raining so heavily, nobody in here could hear the commotion outside. And another thing occurred to him now... he was soaking wet. "I'd like a room too, please. I plan to stay the night!"

Aria then strolled in, looking quite pissed off as she untied her cloak, throwing it aside carelessly. She was mumbling something about smartass guards before taking a seat beside Cronic at the fire. People always left it open in case a moody Aria strolled in. "I got attacked by a vampire and the guards didn't believe me! I had to pay a fine for causing commotion! They even asked if I was drunk! Bastards...!" she huffed and stared at Cronic with the cutest angry-face, as if expecting him to completely agree with her side of the story.

The vampire quickly took his drenched overcoat off and made sure to beat back his vampyric eyes. He was still pale and looked like death, but he'd covered up the tell-tale sign now. How in Oblivion did that kid miss him? He was right here, in the same room! If they were sitting on the other side of the fire they could see him! "Lightning plays tricks on the mind, my dear. Perhaps you should get some rest!" a far more posh-sounding voice offered opinion from the vampire's direction.

Cronic, meanwhile, was eyeing the figure with suspicion. "...Broke his nose on the wall? I'm not buying that one bit." Cronic said in hushed tones to Aria.

"...Vampires attacking in the midst of a populated town? That's a bold move... And slightly concerning too. " Cronic said to himself, as the gears began turning in his head.

"...Though if what you say is true... Then I wager captain cloaked over there is hiding something." Cronic said to Aria, pointing to the cloaked figure.

"...Don't do anything rash however. I'm not paying your bail again." Cronic said to himself, before promptly raising his thumb to his lips and purposely biting down the flesh on the side with the fingerprint hard enough to draw blood. The scent of it would likely catch the nose of any vampires in the room soon enough.

The vampire's head twitched in the direction of the Odd Jobs duo all of a sudden. Blood. It was a lure and he knew it. But that smell... At least he didn't look suspicious anymore. His nose was.. unbroken, repaired - the blood clean from the constant licking under cover of a cloth provided by the innkeep. To regenerate so quickly had him a little exhausted, ...he needed something to quench his thirst. His eyes remained fixated on Cronic's back, until that is, Aria turned to look at him. They stared at each other for a moment, Aria's expression was completely indifferent. She knew...!

"...So clumsy. Hitting your face on a wall," Aria chuckled, and the vampire was relieved. "Oh, Cronic! By the way; the reason they didn't believe me, is because that damn vampire could teleport! As if a city guard's ever fought a vampire, let alone seen one teleport... They were mocking me... I should tell Commander Caius to beat them with a club..."

Dread. The overwhelming feeling of knowing death was so close. The male of the two would make a move any second now! The vampire didn't reach for his sword just in case, but he was as ready as could be. ...What was surprising was the girl being absolutely wrapped up in the illusion. Might she be playing games, like she had done outside? She and her partner, or at least one of them, had to die. That was still the mission, regardless of the dangers present.

Cronic turned to look at Aria with a serious expression on his face, before whispering into her ear.

"I'm going to get up and leave, under the guise that I need some air. If anyone gets up seemingly to follow me, like captain broke nose over there, I want you to follow after them. Play along for now." Cronic said, before getting up to stretch.

"I'm just going to step out for some air. Back in a moment." Cronic said to Aria, his serious expression having suddenly been replaced with a calm one, before walking to the door and heading outside.

"Not one of my finer ideas, but I can't just act on suspicion alone. If someone takes the bait of the scent of my blood though... I'll be counting on Aria to strike them down before they get the chance to sink their fangs into my neck."

The vampire suddenly appeared again, this time on the roof of Belethor's store. His eyes flared red again as his thirst took control, and within no time at all he started channeling the Drain Life spell down towards Cronic. He was almost like some kind of mage-pire, using all these highly costing powers. For one, instant teleportation should be something only a Master-level Mage could pull off.

---

"Hey... Where did our customer go? Aria, child, did you see our newcomer leave?" The innkeeper asked.

Aria blinked a few times and looked back at the innkeeper, shrugging at the lack of the clumsy man who.. broke his nose on a wall. And showed up out of nowhere, and just disappeared without a trace. And Cronic just walked out a moment ago, after drawing blood... And then it hit her like a thu'um.

"That son of a bitch!" Aria blurted out as she sprang from the seat, vaulted over a patron on the opposite side of the fire, and rammed the door to the street open with her shoulder. It didn't take her long to form a fireball in hand, but.. blowing up the vampire would more than likely turn Belethor's General Goods into an inferno. She gritted her teeth and drew the katana instead, rushing over to Cronic.

The instant Cronic felt his strength being depleted, Cronic promptly unleashed a chain lightning spell at the source.

"Hook, line, and fucking sinker." Cronic said, as he began firing off numerous lightning spells to cripple the Vampire's magicka, either by direct hits or by forcing him to teleport, and to generally keep him off balance.

"I don't know who you are, or where you're from, but you are NOT leaving this place in one piece." Cronic said to the Vampire.

"You attack my boss, you earn the ire of her employee!"

The vampire grunted loudly and recoiled at being struck directly by a bolt of lightning, though he recovered and teleported once again. He failed, and appeared on the steps of the Bannered Mare in a confused heap - he'd aimed for the roof. The magicka disruption was working flawlessly... Before he could teleport again, Aria leapt at the bloodsucker and swiped her katana across his chest trying to halve him. He was forced to draw his sword to counter. Her strength was magnificent for her figure... She didn't look a day older than twenty, if even that, and her expression was that of a killers. It was quite surprising to see such innocence and naivety become... this.

"Good going, you just made the worst mistake of your life!" Aria chuckled as she reached past the clashing blades. She grabbed his collar and pulled him out of the clash herself, flinging him back down the few steps towards where she last saw Cronic. The vampire was dazed. If he could still teleport now, Aria would not be a happy bunny!

It didn't take long for Cronic to pick up the slack, unleashing a two-handed sparks spell to deplete the rest of the bastard's Magicka and leave him in such pain he wouldn't be able to do anything.

"Now then. Any last words?" Cronic said, as he kicked the Vampire to the floor, before planting one foot on his chest to keep him there, drawing his sword and taking out a small stone to sharpen it with, keeping his gaze fixed upon the Vampire. Most people typically fear vampires, and rightfully so. However, Cronic and Aria didn't seem afraid at all. If anything, the former seemed as though he was annoyed.

"Uh... Yeah!" The Imperial vampire chuckled as he occasionally flinched with magic electricity surging through his body. "I uh.. you thinking about revenge, by any chance? Because I could point you in the right direction...!" he offered, raising his hands nervously.

Aria then brought her boot down on their new vampyric friend too, planting it in his face with a mellow expression. "Cronic~? Do we keep him for info? You're better with this stuff than I am, usually just shove my katana in their heads instead."

"I might technically be dead, but I like being alive... Nine, that doesn't even make sense." The vampire muffled under the redhead's surprisingly hard-pressed boot. "No tricks, I swear..."

"...I'm not buying it. Odds are he'll just lead us into a trap." Cronic said, before thinking it over for a minute.

"...This guy strikes me as a pawn. Did he say anything in regards to who his boss might be?" Cronic said to Aria, as he folded his arms.

"Because if he did, that gives me a reason to start digging up information."

"He said 'Lord Harkon sends his rega-', then I smashed him in the face before he could finish. Same guy that border guard vampire was on about before we made him die violently, wasn't it?" Aria said as she drummed three fingers along her chin in thought. This vampire's powers were nothing any random city guard could handle - he must have been in a high place with such prowess in magic.

"...This may actually be a good time to take Harkon out of the picture... You two seem strong, in mind, body and spirit. Odd Jobs do killing work, don't they?" The vampire asked, grunting as Aria removed her boot from his face.

"...And why should we trust you? You've given us no reason to do so, and plenty of reasons to ship what's left of you back to this "Harkon" guy." Cronic said, looking down at the Vampire with a piercing gaze.

"You have ten seconds to convince me before you find yourself short an arm."

---

Unbeknownst to both the Odd Jobs and the vampire, however, atop the gateway leading to the gildergreen, a cloaked figure clad in what looked to be armour daedric in origin beneath the cloak was crouched down, a similarly designed mask covering his face. He wrapped some cloth around an arrowhead, doused it in oil and lit it on fire with a small fire spell. Pulling a bow off his back, he held the bow in a right handed grip, using his left hand to hold the arrow in place as he drew back the string, taking aim at Aria, but biding his time before he took the shot.

"What if I told you... You two might have the skill to put a stop to the greater Vampire threat to Skyrim? Believe me, this goes waaaay deeper than a horde of my bloodsucking brethren roaming the land looking for necks to bite," The vampire suggested, losing his smug attitude. He sounded sincere as he continued, "What mortals are looking at is to be rendered as cattle, and thrown into an eternal night."

Aria calmly removed her boot from the vampire's forehead and instead crouched down beside him, poking him in the cheek, "Elaborate or die~... Why are you spillin' this like you're against it?"

The vampire grinned again, ever so tempted to bite on the young woman's finger. But for the sake of not having his arm violently removed, or face imploded, he showed restraint. "There has to be balance, don't you two agree? Harkon is risking our very survival. We remained elusive for centuries, and now he volunteers us all to go to war for him. No one's powerful enough to take him, maybe not even his whole host. In-plain-sight is not the way we operate..."

The vampire turned his gaze to Cronic then, "The guy needs to die, it's the only way..."

"Bored now. Burning him alive." The assassin said to himself, as he let the arrow fly at the Vampire.

Naturally, neither Cronic nor Aria would be able to react in time when the arrow struck the vampire and set him ablaze in seconds.

"What the hell!?" Cronic said, looking around in haste. When his gaze set upon the place where the Assassin had been stood mere moments ago, the Assassin himself was gone as though he'd never been there to begin with.

"...I get the feeling that arrow may have been meant for us."