Yuki waved a tiny hand at Aria as she entered, the girl was full of excitement. She'd had an active day learning about Whiterun, and this would be perfect to top it all off before a heavy sleep. In a new land, with new smells, sights, tastes and peoples, she felt wonderful despite the incidents with the Thalmor and the giants. She'd brushed it off and forgotten already... Young ones always seemed to be full of energy, even in bad times. "It smells so nice, Mr Crystalis!" she exclaimed, taking a seat beside Serena and eyeing up the selection. She looked at the woman's plate with curiosity and would go about trying the same things, slowly shoveling it all onto her own with a fork and spoon.

Aria, needless to say, was in awe once she saw the table! "Gods... This is probably better than what they're dining on in Dragonsreach tonight. I think someone deserves a bonus..." his boss said calmly, grinning as she sat down. She seemed chilled out, with a weak aroma of skooma clinging to her clothes. She untied her belt, hanging it on the corner of the table, the katana's tip just touching the floor. "...I feel like this should be a regular thing."

"Wouldn't mind the chance to flex the old cooking muscles more often." Cronic said, prior to chomping down on a bit of steak, wiping his mouth clean afterwards, while Serena took an entire chicken leg and picked it clean in a matter of seconds.

"When you live a nomadic lifestyle and you have to sleep out in the wilds for the night, whatever's for dinner is whatever you've got to hand at that time. It's a bit dangerous to go wandering in the dark for food after all. I lost count of the nights where it was just me, a campfire, a battered cookpot and some crude skewers fashioned from fallen branches. That being said, you can learn a lot of tricks this way. Even the most simple meals such as a grilled fish can become a treat for your senses if you can find something to use as a seasoning while you're on the go... You've just gotta take care not to use something poisonous by accident." Cronic said, before taking a bite out of a carrot.

"I learned that one the hard way; I was sick for half a week afterwards. It's a welcome change, and a bit more satisfying, to eat cooking in a safe haven you made yourself."

"Almost makes me want to go camping..." Aria mused, "...But the province has seen better days, safety-wise. Still, it'd be nice if we could find our own peaceful little spot."

Yuki nodded along at the suggestion, but then immediately fell back into feasting. She and Serena hadn't had the best trip to Whiterun, after all!

"Yeah... A vacation," Aria chuckled, "That's what we need."

"All things considered, with the Civil War going on between the Empire and the Stormcloaks, the Thalmor being the Thalmor, and freaking DRAGONS attacking, we probably won't be going beyond the borders into warmer climates. I guess we'd just need somewhere so far out of the way no-one else would think to look there. Just some time to kick back and relax by ourselves. Not a lot of people would go out into Skyrim's mountains for the hell of it. Well, some people do, but they're either drunk on mead, they're a 'fearless' explorer or they're up to no good being the most common examples." Cronic said, eating a piece of steak soon after.

"Anyone know any good local retreats?" Serena asked before resuming her onslaught on the food in front of her.

"Actually," Aria muffled with her mouth full. She gulped down the vegetables and exhaled before continuing, "I do know this one place that's really beautiful. I could take us there tomorrow. Master's own retreat..." she explained with a little wonderment in her tone.

The stray cat started to rub against Cronic's leg, purring loudly as its nose twitched, inhaling the aromas wafting off the table above. It glanced at Aria as she mentioned her teacher, but quickly lost interest and kept begging with quiet meows.

"Just can't help yourself can you? Luckily for you I expected this." Cronic said, giving the cat a soft petting before passing it a fish before returning himself to Aria.

"...Well, it sounds like a nice enough place. Though we've literally only just got here." Serena said, gesturing to herself and Yuki.

"And we've essentially already hiked through Skyrim's wilderness to get here... And I'm not exactly keen to have another Giant encounter like the last, no offense." Serena said, looking at Yuki as she finished her sentence.

"We'd probably need to prepare supplies for the trip anyway." Cronic said, looking at Aria.

"Sweet Mother, Sweet Mother... Why must your child take so long to arrive...?"

In a candle lit room in the depths of a forgotten Nordic castle, the tall Altmer paced slowly and methodically, waiting. It'd been two days since the Black Sacrement had been performed in this very room. But, it was stormy and horrible outside. Many of the Thalmor guarding the walls had instead opted to find shelter, build fires and take the odd watch before recovering. The far North of Skyrim was inhospitable tonight. Loren began to wonder if the 'child' would even reach him, but then, they were bound to. It wasn't a matter of if, but when.

Loren gazed around his office, noting the arrangements. Book shelves full to the brim with knowledge, his desk where he'd constantly deal with affairs concerning justice and enforcement. Letters from Jarls, from guards, from the Dominion... He had tabs on everything worth knowing, except the whereabouts of certain rebel elements. And that was why the Brotherhood had been called upon.

----------

Aria nodded as she ate. She and Yuki were visibly slowing down, having had their fill of the feast.

"Its in the Rift so, yeah. And the place is abandoned to my knowledge. If anyone moved in, I kinda need to throw them out. Or kill 'em if they don't comply! Its basically a shrine to a great man."

Yuki began to yawn as Aria spoke, apparently missing the talk of killing people. She was beat, and after a meal like that it'd be easy to doze off.

"I say we give Yuki and Serena a few days to get their bearings before we shove off. Yuki will probably need more suitable travelling clothes anyway, which isn't going to happen overnight." Cronic said, having finished his plate. At this point Serena was the only one still eating... And showed no signs of slowing down.

"Glad I cooked excess..." Cronic said, before noticing Yuki on the verge of dozing off.

"Think someone's ready to call it a night."

------

"The Assassin usually assigned to this area of Skyrim has gone missing ever since that Vampire contract. The kill was confirmed, but he hasn't checked in since." A voice said as a figure clad in the standard Dark Brotherhood garb approached from the shadows.

"Unfortunate..." Loren replied, though he didn't sound that bothered by the revelation. He took his time strolling around his desk, to sit in his chair covered with warm furs, relaxing there as the assassin awaited the contract. He motioned to the chair opposite him, but figured the dark brother was only interested in one thing.

"What I need is to make an arrangement. The man I need killed is the head of a rebel group here in Skyrim. Intelligence hasn't turned up anything so far, and if we haven't uncovered their whereabouts, I wouldn't imagine your people to have turned up anything either. The man has been at this game of hide and seek since he was a child, you see..." Loren explained, pausing and sliding a few sheets of paper the assassin's way. "Haruyoshi Sano is the contract, worth thirty thousand septims. If the Brotherhood is feeling particularly bloodthirsty, every other rebel head is worth an extra five thousand."

He gave the agent of death a calm smile and pointed to the documents he'd provided. "I've set up a dead drop just outside Dawnstar for this contract. Any intelligence gathered will be there to pick up at the start of every standard working week. I require heads for proof when kills are made."

"I provide the who and where, and you deliver results..."

----------

Aria nodded and sighed heavily, "Make that two, I'm stuffed!" she said happily, yawning and heading to her desk to get some sleep. She bumped Cronic on the shoulder as she passed him, "The master impresses again."

Yuki shifted off her chair and turned to Cronic, giving him a short bow and a pleased smile in appreciation. "You cook remarkably well, sir" she complimented before departing to the spare room upstairs.

"The brotherhood will convene a meeting and figure out how best to handle the deed based on the shared intelligence, though if he were still around, the Assassin who usually handles the contracts in this hold would be more than willing to handle the task. It's somewhat concerning he's gone missing. I fear he might've suffered a reprisal at the hands of Vampires." The Assassin said, briefly reading through the documents in front of them before they left just as quickly as they came with the documents in tow.

-------

"If you're feeling tired as well, Serena, you're welcome to use my room. Aria rarely uses her bed and I'm going to be cleaning up for a while down here." Cronic said as he began to gather up the empty plates and cutlery in preparation for washing. Serena just simply nodded in acknowledgement as she continued to devour one item of food after another.

"...And I thought we had huge appetites." Cronic said, watching the display out the corner of his eye with a raised eyebrow.

"...Vampires?" Loren questioned, though the assassin had already disappeared. He paced a little more, thinking the threat over, and then left his office to find the captain of the guard. The Thalmor couldn't be taken by surprise, therefore, the night watch would be staffed just as much as the day's. Even with a hand around the Empire's throat, Skyrim was proving a most difficult beast to tame.

----------

Aria yawned after sitting down, and threw her legs up on the desk as usual. "I'll wash everything in the morning... I need to sleep off all that gorgeous cuisine~" she chuckled. A stretch later, and with a similarly drowsy cat coming to sleep on her, Aria closed her eyes and fell into a deep food coma.

Once Serena had filled her tank, which had taken a sizable chunk out of the food on the table, she retired upstairs... Albeit slowly as to not upset her stomach. Cronic meanwhile, laid out his bedroll once he'd cleared a little space for it. After chasing down his food with some water, he then lay down and proceeded to nod off himself. "Might need to regulate the quantity next time..." Cronic thought to himself as the embrace of sleep welcomed him.

------

The following morning, Aria would awaken to the same state the place had been left the night before... Except for one minor detail; Cronic's bedroll was on the floor as per the previous night, but Cronic himself was nowhere in sight.

"WAAAAAAAAAGH!" An all too familiar voice screamed out before something hit the ground upstairs, and Cronic immediately bolted down the stairs, his face practically red from ear to ear. In truth, Serena was having trouble sleeping last night... And chose to see if the comfort of another person would aid her slumber... So she hauled, albeit carefully, the sleeping Cronic upstairs... And subsequently resulted in the ensuing surprise.

"I was waiting for that... Sure hope it didn't wake the neighbours! Or Yuki, though I doubt that," Aria spoke with a smug grin on her face. Serena was surprisingly quiet and gentle in hauling the man upstairs late at night, but as with most nights, Aria was having trouble sleeping and opened an eye to watch. It was a strange sight to behold, but kind of adorable?

"Mornin', lover." Aria teased, "You're looking flustered!"

Meanwhile upstairs, the young miko had indeed shot awake at the sound of Serena's scream! Fearing the worst, she bravely prepared to face any kind of for that might threaten the woman who'd saved her! Looking downstairs, she noticed an injured Cronic, his face... burned red? Aria was just out of sight. The girl ran into Serena's room then, icy spells ready to cast, "Miss Serena?"

Serena was awake and sat on the edge of the bed... And from the looks of the expression on her face... Was trying her hardest not to burst out laughing.

"You should've seen the look on his face...!" Serena said, a faint smirk plastered onto her face, before she took a deep breath to try and compose herself.

------

Cronic, meanwhile, was doing all the dishes from last night's feast, and rather speedily too; He was trying to do something, anything, to take his mind off of what just transpired.

"Aria. Not. Another. Word." Cronic said, the tone of his voice saying she should drop the subject before Cronic snapped.

"You'd think I'd wake up from being hauled upstairs!"

Yuki seemed mostly confused... 'His'? Mr Crystalis? She spent a moment mulling it over, then began to imagine what might have happened. Her usual calm smile returned, and the magic dispelled. "I worried for a moment, ma'am." she sighed with relief.

-----

Aria shook her head slowly, that grin stayed for the moment. "Not another word~, and I won't tell anyone, either. ...But only because you're doing the dishes for me!" the redhead chirped. A snicker forced its way past her teeth, though she knew he'd get her back for not dropping it. Sliding her feet off the desk and sitting normally, she tried her best to be composed.

"Suppose some work might be a nice distraction... If you're up for it, I wanted to find out a few things. Maybe hit up the Mare, or talk to that Imperial steward the Jarl keeps around. Dragon cultists, vampires... And I need to find out where the Thane is."

"We can't just leave Yuki on her own though; She could easily run afoul of the wrong crowd here, given her childlike innocence. Some people are actually quite considerate, but others, well... The bandit locals will have a field day with her." Cronic said, having snapped back to his usual self, though he was also plotting his vengeance on Aria.

"And her "Borrowed" Thalmor garb is just going to attract unwanted attention. It's a bit of a stretch, but for the time being, I'm going to focus on making some more appropriate clothing for the climate. Otherwise she's just going to freeze to death out here. We can't all be Nords." Cronic said, having finished doing all the dishes now.

"A general idea of her size will suffice for now. I'll fine-tune it later. Probably going to be busy all day at Warmaiden's forge though."

------

"Ah, don't be. I just needed some comfort during the night, and it was either him or you." Serena said as she stretched, before standing up.

"Besides. I can handle myself, even without my sword."

Aria simply nodded along as her business partner planned out his tasks for the day. She'd still make the round for information, but it surely wouldn't take long. Balgruuf's men cooperated with her, as did many of the prominent citizens of Whiterun. Except Nazeem. Nazeem was not useful in the damned slightest, so she'd just avoid him. A Redguard with no weapon or skills to use one was a little sickening...

"I'll leave you do that, then. Might even come back with a bounty, if we're lucky! Imagine that... A job without any cannibal bloodsuckers or fanatic zealots." Aria mused as she turned to walk up the road. The first stop had to be the Bannered Mare.

----------

"I can be comforting, I am told. With magic. You should use me next time!" Yuki exclaimed with a smile. A soft green light whirled around her hands for a moment, then disappeared as she dispelled the magic again.

"What are we doing today? Do you know? Are we exploring? Is there a library in the city?"

"Right. Better get this right first time. As much as I'd like to guess, I'd probably end up just getting the measurements wrong." Cronic said to himself, as he searched downstairs for a spindle of thread.

--------------

"Not the kind of comfort I needed. I just needed something to hold during the night. I get pretty restless otherwise." Serena said as she stood up.

"And I have absolutely no idea. I didn't see any library-like buildings on the way in. We'd need to check in with Cronic and Aria for that."

"I'll be sure to ask Mr. Crystalis! Ms. Aria seems to have left already..." Yuki said, hearing the shop door closing. With that, she took a short bow and walked downstairs. There was Cronic, and the cat was evidently still in a food coma beside the fire.

"Excuse me? Do you have plans today, sir?" she asked politely, hands behind her back as she stepped toward him.

----------

Aria went to check at the Bannered Mare for any postings, jobs or bounties, though it all seemed quiet. Enquiring about vampires and bone-masked cultists didn't get her anywhere, either. People gave her weird looks when she mentioned the groups. Folk in Whiterun were sheltered quite well from the more brutal elements of the world.

With nothing to go on, the redhead sighed, shrugged, and left the Mare. Dragonsreach was next. Irileth would hate the intrusion, but Aria had only ever offered service to the Hold... She hoped she or Farengar might be able to shed light on these strange groups.

"I had a fairly simple objective today; Get you some more appropriate clothing for Skyrim's climate." Cronic said, fumbling around in his pouches until he pulled out a roll of measuring tape.

"Since those robes are going to attract the bad kind of attention. The Thalmor are looking for any excuse they can to assert dominance, after all. Sure they make for a good intermediate measure for keeping warm, but long term, they're going to be a problem." Cronic said as he searched around for a piece of blank parchment, an inkwell and a quill pen.

"But before I can fix that problem, I have to make sure I can get it to fit comfortably first." Once he'd gotten everything set up, he then turned to Yuki.

"So if it's not too much trouble, could you stand still a moment?" Cronic said, waiting for Yuki's permission before he began his measurements.