Chapter Text
It was rare for Bastian and Mirri to be able to go off and explore without Wylarin leading the way for them, not that they minded. So when chances for them to go off and do whatever came up they were quick to take it. However, usually they didn’t end up chasing a Dark Brotherhood assassin on their trips- which is what had been happening for the last several times they had been out together in the various places of Tamriel. Every time they caught sight of the terrible killer they were quick to give chase, chasing through various places but inevitably loosing the quick bane to society within a few moments of chase- they were SO fast! No place was safe, and it seemed that the assassin didn’t care about the war alliances because they killed in places controlled by all three alliances.
The closest they had ever gotten to stopping the Assassin was one time in Mud Tree Village when they expertly snuck up behind an Argonian named Chee-Sakka and slit his neck. The tiny terror had run off to the opposite side of the village before falling to their knees and started weeping and whispering how they were sorry to the man they just killed. If they hadn’t been so caught off guard, the two could have tackled them right there and figured out who the menace was, but when they snapped out of their shock the assassin managed to pick up the sound of Mirri’s arrow leaving it's quiver and was gone in a flash of smoke. Needless to say, they were getting more and more frustrated over never catching the criminal scum.
Finally, after nearly three weeks of chasing and plotting, they caught their break. They had gone to the Gold coast to stay for a bit in Kvatch, at first intending to watch the Arena fighters, but were soon lured to the hedge maze after hearing the tell-tale sound of a person’s throat being slit.
“For Vivec’s sake!” Mirri exclaimed as she began running towards the source of the sound, Bastian hot on her heels with his lightning staff drawn and ready. By the time they reached the source, they only found the dead body of an Imperial man whose neck had been slit cleanly and expertly. Bastian frowned and gripped his staff tighter, “Mirri, stand here in case the fucker comes back, okay? I’ll hunt them down.” he said tightly, hurriedly making his way through the winding hedges. His certain steps soon turned desperate as he suddenly could make out the sound of someone else getting killed, running straight to the center of the maze only to see the Assasin standing over a dead Imperial nobleman, their grubby hands in his pocket before they looked at him with an expression similar to bad guys whenever Wylarin would summon her shadow to fight by their side; pure panic and fear. ‘Good, they should be afraid’ Bastian thought to himself. Once again, before he could get his hands on the piece of shit, the shit had thrown down a smoke bomb and quickly escaped, sprinting through the many twists and turns of the maze; This time, however, Bastian had put up a shield at the last minute to avoid getting the smoke in his face and was hot on their tail, catching glimpses of them every few turns as they hurriedly made their way to the other end of the maze and in front of Bastian’s very own eyes crouched down and killed an Imperial woman. This time, they were trapped between Bastian and a wall of hedge too tall for their small frame to climb.
“That’s it, you’re stuck here with me you scum. You’re not going anywhere.” Bastian declared, certainty making his voice even and sure. The redheaded man took a step forward, staring at the masked face of the murder, watching with mild pride as the other’s blue eyes searched for an exit wildly. One more step let Bastian to glare down at the masked figure, his eyes blazing with hatred before his unoccupied hand shot out and punched the smaller figure in the face, knocking them back. The cry of pain normally would of caused guilt to bloom in his chest but right now he felt nothing but anger and pride as he continued to punch the other. At one point he had made an opening for the other so he quickly cast ‘Crushing Claw’ on them to keep them in place as he continued his beatdown. He continued to beat them until he were unable to stand, their arms trembling as they covered their face in a desperately weak move that made Bastian laugh sardonically at them, “You’re a terrible person, killing others and yet you can’t be bothered to fight back! You’re pathetic.” He scoffed as he put his staff back into it’s holster on his back before kneeling in front of the injured criminal. He was just about to tear off the mask and hood when Mirri came running to where they were, her bow drawn and an arrow nocked.
The Dunmeri woman faltered ever so slightly seeing Bastian kneeling in front of the beaten assassin but she was quick to be by his side, her red eyes briefly searching him for injuries before looking to the pathetic person before them. She raised her bow and aimed between the other’s eyes with hard resolve, “Give us one, ONE, reason why you shouldn’t pay for your crimes,scum.” The coldness in her tone made the monster before them /flinch/ before looking at them with watery blue eyes, one eye already starting to swell from where Bastian hit them.
“I’m so sorry, please, Please forgive me.” The begged, their voice muffled and choked sounding, but oh so familiar to the two standing before them.
Bastian and Mirri both felt like freezing water was dumped on them, dread pooling in their guts as an ugly feeling filled them up. They KNEW that voice, knew it so achingly well, and yet at the moment it felt like the first time they ever properly heard it due to the shock of the situation.
“W-Wylarin? This… This can’t be happening right now…” Bastian whispered, his eyes wide and looking between his bloodied knuckles and the cowering figure in front of him. Mirri slowly lowered her bow before dropping the bow and arrow in shock, shaking her head in disbelief, “No, no no no, this can’t be right, you can’t fool me, n’wah. Wy..Wylarin would never sink so low as to be a scum like you.” She uttered, though her voice was laced with uncertainty at the moment. The assassin slowly stood up, favoring one leg over the other before shakily pulling her hood and mask down, her tan skin marred with fresh bruises and her cheeks damp with tear tracks. Sure enough, Wylarin stood before them, beaten and curling into herself so severely she surely wished to be anywhere BUT there in front of them...Rather be anywhere but faced with their shock and disappointment and hurt filled eyes. Both Bastian and Mirri felt as if they were going to be sick, both because of the terrible things they had just said and called their lover but also because of this new thing they learned about her.
Wylarin choked back a sob, unable to look them in the eyes, “I-I’m so sorry you had to find out like this or at all, I never meant for you to see me like this, I promise.” She croaked, her voice tight with more tears trailing down her face. Before she could continue, Bastian raised a hand, his expression guarded ever so slightly, but his eyes conveyed his guilt and hurt louder than words could, “Just...Just stop. I’m going to heal you and then we’re going somewhere private so you can try and defend yourself, got it?” He ordered, magika already swirling around his fingertips at the ready. When the Bosmeri woman nodded he grunted in acknowledgment and casted a healing spell and began undoing all the damage he had at first been proud of, but now felt sick recalling. ‘It explains why she didn’t fight back, she didn’t want to hurt me’ he thought. Mirri watched them, still unable to truly believe Wylarin but deep down she knew it was true; their lover had lied to them. On one hand, she understood why they weren’t told- they had both bad talked assassins and thieves around the smallest of their trio countless times; but on the other she was deeply hurt and offended that something that was a notable part of Wylarin was kept secret.
Several uncomfortable and tense minutes passed as they recalled to the Gold Coast Wayshrine, the fuzziness of teleporting being replaced with the afternoon heat that came with being in the Gold Coast. Wylarin had started to walk in a seemingly random direction before faltering, turning her head just barely to let them know she was talking to them, “Hey..Um..I’m going to quickly stop by the Sanctuary to report my contract being done and grab my clothes...Um, if you want you can follow, but you won’t be allowed inside.” She said, her voice soft and tired sounding. Both nodded their heads, ignoring the eyes of the merchants that followed them as they followed the Wood Elf through the rocky terrain. The path was uneven and clearly left that way to make everything blend in more, and on one hand both were highly impressed by how Wylarin effortlessly scaled and trekked her way through but on the other hand they were made acutely aware that she probably had a LOT of experience to be so familiar. All too soon they were standing in front of tall black door that was so creepy it made Mirri shudder as she gazed at the haunting visage of a person standing under a skull with several children reaching at their robes. Wylarin slipped inside, not batting her eyes at the disturbing door and they were left waiting outside for her.
“Bastian, what are we going to do?” Mirri murmured, leaning against the Imperial, who simply rubbed a soothing hand along her back. “First, we let her explain herself I guess… We know she’s not a terrible person, but she has some explaining to do nonetheless.” He mused, though it was clear by how his brow was pinched that he was feeling the same way she was; betrayed and hurt. They were only left waiting for a few more short moments before Wylarin came out, dressed in her normal gear with her axe and maul strapped to her hips and her hands nervously fiddling with the hem of her belt. She glanced at them briefly before looking back at the ground, silently leading them back the way they came to the Wayshrine and sent them to Mournhold so they could go to her room at the Inn. The brick walls and thick wooden door would provide them enough privacy that she wasn’t worried about other’s accidentally overhearing their oncoming discussion. Once inside, Bastian and Mirri both sat down on the bed, their eyes focused on Wylarin’s feet because they knew if they looked her in the eyes they were likely to forgive her that instance.
The redheaded Wood Elf shifted her stance before breathing out shakily, “I..I should probably explain myself, huh.”
“Duh.” Mirri retorted, though there was no bite in her words.
Wylarin wrapped her arms around herself before beginning her explanation, starting with the moment she had seen the note in one of the outlaw dens scattered throughout the world and the intrigue that filled her, briefly describing her first experience in getting ‘iniciated’ and then the contract she was given by Speaker Terenus to prove her worth. She described the several months the brotherhood was being hunted down, members being caught and tortured by Akatosh zealots and the Order of the Hour; stating how many members they had lost to them just because of the fact they were in the brotherhood. She told them of the reasons why some of her friends in the family were there to begin with, and about the battle with The Black Dragon and how Green-Venom-Tongue was killed and she had to avenge him despite her grief and ended up witnessing The Black Dragon being dragged down by the Wrath of Sithis. She recalled the final battle with Primate Artorious and how they celebrated finally being safe in their Sanctuary, and how later when she was named the Silencer of the Brotherhood how everyone had thrown her a surprise party.
Finally, when she had told them everything she could remember, she took a moment to catch her breath before finally allowing her eyes to look her lovers in the face. Both had remained silent the entire time she had spoken, doing their best to listen to the story without letting their preconceived thoughts to tarnish the truth Wylarin spoke; They knew it was the truth because she had said it with such certainty that left no room for her to think of candied words to feed them- plus the fact that she had choked up mentioning Mirabelle and Green-Venom-Tongue and their deaths. Once again a heavy atmosphere of unsaid words and a fractured trust hung in the room, weighing on their shoulders and hearts as Bastian and Mirri decided what to think and feel about everything they learned.
“...I’m still upset and hurt that you didn’t tell us this earlier, but this doesn’t change how I feel about you.” Mirri was the first to break the silence, her voice serious. Bastian agreed with her, his expression softening just a hair as he looked at the Bosmer. Wylarin blinked and looked up at her in surprise, her brows furrowed a bit as her arms hugged herself tighter, “Are you sure? I..I lied and had planned on keeping this a secret for...well forever I guess.” She had trailed off after that last bit, her face flushing in shame and once again looked away. The mattress creaking was the only hint she got before both of her lovers were in front of her, Mirri’s hands on her shoulders and one of Bastian’s gently lifting her chin so she would look at them. Despite their hurt, they both were smiling weakly at her, their eyes still filled with love as they looked her in the eyes. “We’re sure, Wy. We may not be happy about this, but you are still /you/, and you’re not a bad person. None of us were innocent in this situation.” Bastian calmly stated. Mirri nodded her head, “Yeah, we created an environment where you thought you /had/ to keep this a secret. If we hadn’t spoken so hurtfully you might have told us much earlier on.” she added, her lips quirking even more into a fond look before gently kissing Wylarin’s forehead. Wylarin was quickly overwhelmed with many emotions as she listened to the two people she loved most forgive her, her eyes once again starting to shine with tears as she tentatively wrapped her arms around both of them, her face finding its way into the crook of her Dunmeri lover’s neck. Neither could say no to a hug so their arms were quickly wrapped around the smallest in a comforting hug. They held onto one another for a long time before they all pulled away, Wylarin wiping her cheeks and rubbing her eyes before smiling weakly up at the other two, feeling a bit better knowing they weren’t going to leave her.
“Come on, let's cuddle for a bit, I think we all need it.” Mirri offered, going back to the bed and laid down on it. Bastian gently nudged Wylarin forward and laid down after the other had done so as well. The Imperial’s thoughts were still full of the stories they had been told earlier, “So wait, that Dunmer we met in Blackwood who called you ‘Sister’-”
“Is Elam Drust, the one who puts the contracts into the black book for us to take. He also pays us for each completed contract. I’ve only seen him in action a few times before Blackwood and I definitely wasn’t expecting him to be there."
"What was he doing there?" Mirri asked, already curling against Wylarin and playing with her hair. Wylarin relaxed into her with a shrug, "The brotherhood was being blamed so I imagine either a Speaker told him to check it out or Astara asked him to figure out what was going on. Probably to also clear the name."
Bastian hummed softly, "That's right, you guys were falsely blamed again." He curled against Wylarin as well, gently playing with one of her hands. He felt her nod her head against him, a hum of confirmation answering him. Mirri hummed as well, her eyes shutting for a few moments- though they opened again when something she was curious about kept echoing around her head, “Hey, did those people we caught you killing...Was there a good reason for their deaths?” Wylarin was silent for a few minutes before nodding, “Yeah, mostly. The only three who didn’t were the ones you caught me with today. Though I did make sure to look into them before I killed them. The two at opposite sides of the maze were husband and wife, I chose them so neither would have to live on without the other. The one in the middle was a well off guy, his business made enough money to continue to provide for his wife and children. Though he was a prominent figure in the slave trade business- though he mainly transported them.” She stated with a shrug.
“As for the other ones you caught me killing… Lendetelmo in Auridon was a threat to the Queen in disguise. Linaanque in the Altmer Embassy was a criminal seeking asylum… I’m pretty sure Kasynac Luric in Marbruk’s Fighter’s guild was stealing things from the guild hall. Nirihill in Tanglehaven watched the client’s young daughter get taken during a raid and didn’t do anything to stop it.” She paused to think a bit more, “Technically, Cylben Nadus wasn’t a bad person, but they desecrated the sacred wood so I couldn’t care less, you don’t mess with a Bosmer’s trees. Tilortil in S’ren-ja was a Daedra worshipper who not only worshipped near town but also left messes everytime they did. I think Satrandra in Sentinel Palace was a spy in the court, Isabeau Jend in Daggerfall castle had been stealing from the castle and the requester didn’t want to let their liege know because it would upset them. Vachel Tanier in Aldcroft Refugee Camp was a spy, Denille Derre in Koeglin Village conspired with the Ember-Eye Slavers to kidnap the Requester’s spouse.” She once again had to pause to think, “ Elmera Llanlu in Mournhold was a bank employee who skimmed on bills and the requester knew that but couldn’t prove it. Idofrid at the Windhelm docks had done some stupid careless joke on the requester’s brother and ended up killing him… And if I’m correct, Tludul was the requester’s ex-lover who cheated on them for a while with someone from the fighter’s guild.”
Bastian was honestly surprised Wylarin remembered why each person was wanted dead, though one person wasn’t mentioned, “What about the argonian who made you cry?”
“Oh gods...Chee-Sakka…. He performed the sacrament on himself because he could no longer take it anymore, specifically bugs, disease and rain. He said he was too sick to leave, too weak to kill himself, and so he requested the brotherhood send someone to do it. He requested that he wouldn’t see it coming…” Wylarin explained, her expression somber, “ I didn’t want to do it, but I understood that it was what he wanted. I still felt terrible, because I felt the same way right after I escaped ColdHarbor, I understood what he was going through.” She admitted before awkwardly trying to sit up, the seriousness of the conversation spurring her onto telling them the other secret she had.
"...I hate to ruin the moment, but I have one more thing to confess…" Wylarin spoke up after several minutes of silence. Bastian and Mirri both tensed a bit, though due to what they just learned they had a feeling they knew.
"I'm part of the thieves guild as well." The tone she had said it in seemed to be humorous because both her lovers found themselves laughing, staying where they were. The smallest was left in mild confusion while she waited four them to calm down, worrying a bit.
Mirri calmed down first and kissed her forehead, "That one is kind of obvious- you are freakishly fast with picking locks, you have a pet jackal, and you know your way around the rooftops of Hew's Bane like you do the graht forests."
Bastian nodded, kissing her cheek, "Plus you already said you have been in many of the Outlaws Dens throughout Tamriel." The Bosmer let out the breath she had been holding before chuckling as well.
"Any notable stories from the thieves guild?" Mirri inquired, despite how she felt about thieves she figured there'd be interesting stories. Wylarin was obviously excited to finally talk about the guilds with someone because she sat up excitedly and began talking about the heists they've done, going undercover to spy on the Iron Wheel, helping Quen find what happened to her father plus meeting her step mother, reconnecting Velsa with her old lover, and how many times she's had to hide in giant baskets to avoid being detected. "There's still stuff we need to do and I gotta work my way up in the guild before I'm allowed to help with any of the big jobs so I'll have more stories eventually." She said, smiling sheepishly from her previous excitement. Both waved off her embarrassment and simply pulled her back between them, curling up against her like they had been.
All three were on the cusp of sleep when eventually the silence was broken once again, "...I wouldn't mind meeting your friends you've mentioned, they sound like good people… well good people with bad morals." Bastian admitted sleepily, the last comment getting an affectionate smack out of Wylarin.