Chapter Text
Morrowind was an...interesting place, though if Al'Akosh wanted to be honest with himself he didn't enjoy the weather. The weather was a lot more humid than he enjoyed and his fur just got more sweaty and fluffier than he enjoyed. Constantly having to brush his hair, and redo his braids purely because the humidity made his hair more frizzy.
He wasn't normally a vain Khajiit, but he did take pride in his appearance.
Though, it wasn't the weather that made him find himself disliking the place. It was mostly the people, and while none were outright openly hostile, that doesn't mean Al'Akosh noticed all the side eyes and whispers as he walked along the streets. He was never kicked out of any place, but that didn't mean he was entirely welcomed.
So he found himself grateful that his travels were taking him back to somewhere far more familiar, and comfortable. He was only staying in Blacklight for one more day, spending the rest of his afternoon collecting supplies such as food, restocking on arrows, and other general necessities before he ordered a carriage to take them as far as he could go before he hiked the rest of the way.
Most of the food he got was super basic, salted frog mostly (even though he despised the taste of frogs). It didn't spoil very easily and still satisfied his hunger. Though, it was only enough to last the carriage ride since he planned on hunting while he hiked. Especially once he crosses the border over to Skyrim, and the land starts changing into more of the forest landscape where deer and elk roam the land.
His mouth was watering at the idea of venison stew or even a venison chop. He was practically purring at the thought. He truly hated the cuisine of Morrowind, and that was just one thing in a long list of things he disliked about the place. He was pretty sure his patron liked messing with him and decided to just send him here for the hell of it. Just to piss him off. He could practically feel his Patron's smirk when he last told him he needed to go here, though he did let out quite an overdramatic groan.
However, it was a gruff voice of a familiar Dumner that brought him out of his musings and cravings for various national delicacies. "Ahh, the strange talking Khajiit! How have you been my friend, needing me to repair your bow...again?"
If it wasn't for his fur, he was sure Turik would be seeing his face flushed red with embarrassment. Thankfully he was born as a Khajiit with fur, so he had nothing to worry about. Well, maybe Turik's ire again as he broke the string of his bow once more. "Not my fault you don't have strong enough strings to withstand my strength"
"You mean your claws?" Turik stated, his eyebrow raised.
"Yea yea, whatever. Anyways, that is not why I am stopping by, no, instead I need arrows. A lot of them"
"Oh? Going hunting again? If you are, I'll pay you handsomely for more Kagouti tusks. Had a few customers really like it on their armor pieces or as jewelry the last time you sold some to me" Turik said, his eyes lighting up with excitement. "I'll even do 100 gold up front, 200 in total, and I'll throw some extra if you can get some gold as well"
Al'Akosh rolled his eyes, practically seeing Turik's brain churning out ideas of stuff that he could be made. It's why he often came to Turik to get any sort of weapons or armory supplies since the guy really was creative when it came to dealing damage. So long as he provided the materials to make it, if he didn't he'd just have to stick with the basics.
"Unfortunately going to have to decline, I'm heading out of Morrowind and probably won't be back for a long time, hopefully never. I hate this place" Al'Akosh responded, his ear giving an annoyed twitch.
"Really? How am I gonna be getting all my supplies now?" the Dumner practically whined, making him seem much more like a kid even though he was almost a decade older than Al'Akosh.
"Don't worry, I made sure to make a list of a few possible options of people who would be happy to replace me, so long as you properly hire them full-time." he said, "Which I know you can afford because I helped you half the time with all your gold so don't give me any of your normal s'wit shit, got it?"
Turik only glared at him, his mouth slightly open as though he was about to say something but closed his mouth when Al'Akosh called him out. "You are an ass" he stated, before giving a tired sigh. "Fine fine, I'll hire some damn employees, now give me the list and tell me what you want"
The Dumner was annoyed, but the Khajiit didn't care. He knew that Turik didn't want to hire a new employee, especially when the last one basically stole half his fortune under his eyes and asked Al'Akosh to hunt him down and kill him. That's why the Khajiit went around town (and other places of Morrowind) to compile a list of potential candidates for Turik to hire.
He knew the Dumner trusted him in having an excellent judge of character since he was the one who told him to be careful with this new employee before he left Morrowind for the first time. He knew for a long time what that guy was planning, and when he returned to say hello, he wasn't surprised to hear that Turik wanted him to hunt that man down. It was an interesting hunt, but he found himself enjoying it. Especially once he had the man cowering in the corner, all of the men he hired to protect himself lying dead at Al'Akosh's feet. Pleading and begging for his life.
It was a thrill, to have the power of a hunt complete.
"I need 60 arrows, iron is fine unless you have steel on hand," he said, handing over the paper that held the list of potential candidates that he felt Turik would enjoy. "By tomorrow at the latest, unless you have them all on hand right now"
"I got about 45 steel right now, but I should be able to make the rest easily by this evening" Turik responded, giving an annoyed look as he stared down at the paper with Al'Akosh's writing.
"Where they are staying is also written, so you should be able just to send a courier to get them. There are also some basic descriptions and some stuff they work with" he said, "So there should be no reason you don't hire at least one of them, got it?"
"Shut it Al'Akosh" Turik huffed, "I'll get you the rest of your arrows, but you will be coming back...won't you?"
"I just go where the wind takes me, my friend" he chuckled, amused. "If it ends with me back in Morrowind, I promise I will come back to say hello. However, you do know how much I dislike it here"
Turik gave a low sigh, "I know you do, it really is unfortunate because you really have the skill to get exactly what I need...I really am losing a good employee" he practically whined. "Say, where are you heading?"
"I am not even properly hired Turik" Al'Akosh stated amused, watching as Turik put down the paper on his desk. "But I am heading to Skyrim, that's where th-"
"Skyrim?" Turik suddenly interrupted him, causing Al'Akosh to look at him in amusement. "Are you sure you're ready to go back?"
This caused Al'Akosh to pause, his ears lowering slightly as Turik directly called him out on emotions and feelings he didn't want to process. If he was being honest with himself, he wasn't entirely sure if he was ready. He hasn't returned in around 6 years, and even still the thought of returning to where he is from pains him. The grief was still there, and it still hurt.
"I am unsure if I am going, to be honest," he said, his eyes moving away from Turik's own. "But, I have to, it's where I am needed"
Turik gave a little scoff, "Yea, it's where Hircine needs you" the Dumner scoffed. "You'd think he wouldn't bring you back to the one place you don't wanna go, but of course, he's one of those princes, of course, he doesn't care about mor-"
"Watch it Turik" Al'Akosh warned, not willing to let anyone talk shit about his patron god. "I get you're not a fan of the Daedra, but I will not allow you to talk down Hircine, understand?"
Turik only rolled his eyes at that, obviously not taking the threat seriously. He knows Al'Akosh will never actually hurt him, just as Turik will never fully disrespect what is basically a god.
"I am being serious though, don't go if you are not ready" Turik stated, crossing his hands over his chest. "From what you told of me about him, he seems like he would uhh...respect your choice, in not being ready to go"
"He has, for years really, I know there are hunts in Skyrim that Hircine actively avoids so I don't have to go there. He respects my choice, which is why I have to go back. There must be something happening" he explained, "But it doesn't help that Hircine was really vague about it. He didn't even give me a name"
Turik frowned in confusion, "Did he at least give you a location or a hint of what this hunt is?"
"Nope, just told me I was needed in Skyrim, that's it"
The Dumner was silent for a moment, his eyes widened slightly before giving a little shudder of fear. "That's not foreboding at all. Something big must be happening"
Al'Akosh only nodded at that, his ears lowering even more. "It's worrying me greatly, and Hircine is being suspiciously silent when I ask him for more details. I am hoping to try and pray one more time tonight, to see if I can get anything more from him"
"Keep me updated okay?" Turik said, an obvious concern in his maroon eyes. "How about you get the rest of the arrows tomorrow? And you can give me the whole rundown if anything happens"
"How early will you be open? I am also planning to leave tomorrow"
"As early as you need my friend if anything we can always meet up at the edge of town if it's much earlier before my shop opens" he responded, giving a slight shrug as Al'Akosh nodded.
"Well I am planning on leaving at first light, or at least that's when Milaadas said were leaving" Al'Akosh grumbled, "And you know how he is with scheduling"
Turik chuckled at that, rolling his eyes as he knew all too well of Milaadas's temper. After all, his carriage rides were some of the best in Blacklight, but his personality was really something left to be desired. "Yeah, I get ya, you'd think at this point his temper would be calming down since you are one of his best customers"
Al'Akosh shrugged, "Yea, well you get used to it after a while...though I will admit, he's always silent on the rides and I really appreciate it. Lets me take naps a lot easier. Anyways, I really got to get going, I need to get a last few items before I head back to the inn. Moyrara says she's making my favorite before I leave tomorrow"
"Is it really your favorite?"
Al'Akosh's nose scrunched up, "Well, not really...nothing beats venison but compared to a lot of other food here, it's much more tolerable"
Turik grinned, "What, don't like frogs?''
"Way too slimy" Al'Akosh practically gagged at the fatal reminder of how much he despised eating frogs. The texture was awful, and the flavor really left something to be desired. He would rather eat Dragur meat than eat another frog again.
Turik gave an amused look at Al'Akosh's look of genuine disgust. "You and your hatred for our cuisine, as if Skyrim's food is that much better"
"Well, at least it's not frogs"
The dark elf just laughed at that, now fed up with Al'Akosh's presence, and decided to shoo out the Khajiit. "Go get the rest of your stuff s'wit, I'll see you tomorrow" he teased, rolling his eyes. Al'Akosh only chuckled as he was practically pushed out of the blacksmith's shop.
"Yea yea, see you tomorrow Turik!" Al'Akosh said, waving off the Dumner before heading through the rest of the shops to get the last few remaining items. Even deciding to spend extra gold to get a much nicer tent that while a bit heavier, will help to properly withstand the weather of Skyrim until Al'Akosh was able to get the fur to upgrade it. He was already thinking of hunting down a Snowy Saber Cat since its fur was some of the best to keep warm against the harsh cold of the Skyrim weather.
And the fact that he will have enough fur for both his tent and a large cloak. Especially since he sold his previous cloak years ago. None of the other continents felt cold enough to where he needed it anymore. He always figured he'd just buy or hunt a new cloak if he needed to, and it's been more than 3 years now since he last sold it. So there were no regrets there.
Otherwise, the rest of the items were easy to collect. Everything is light and transportable, though the tent itself was pretty heavy. He figured it would be fine though, but he did hope that he'd acquire enough funds in Skyrim to get a horse. They were much hardier than most of the other steeds in the other countries, and he could probably take them out of Skyrim and they'd be fine. The only thing he would have to worry about is most likely the heat, but it shouldn't be too hard to keep them cool.
Once he had all of his items, he headed back to the inn he was staying at. A quaint little place he probably spent too much money for, but he really enjoyed the atmosphere and Moyrara does enjoy his presence. So he never minded spending the extra money, especially since it usually includes a free breakfast or well at least a meal to go. Which he was always grateful for, since even to this day after spending as much time in Morrowind as he had, he still struggled to make any of the food at least edible. He wasn't good with the various types of meat here to make them tasteful to him. Though the rare few companions he did have never complained, and often complimented him on it.
So he may have been making it the natural way, and most likely Moryrara was seasoning his food a lot so the taste didn't affect him as much. Despite it all though, he was grateful to finally be leaving Morrowind.
He found himself organizing all of his items, making sure he didn't have to properly pack anything in the morning since he wasn't a morning person. Much prefer staying up through the late hours of the night, while the moons glistened brightly in the night sky. Attaching the tent's materials to the side of the backpack, and his bow on the other side. His waterskin would be attached to his built, which provides easier access. Otherwise, inside his bag wasn't super organized. Just making sure everything fits properly but he didn't really care where it went, most of the stuff in his bag would be grabbed whenever he was taking a break or stopping for a while in an inn.
He had already eaten dinner, deciding to get extra while he was at the shops, and was munching while he was collecting all of his items. So all he really had left to do was sleep and pray to Hircine for some answers. Though, he was skeptical that his patron would give him anything. He was already being vague enough this entire week, he doubted that the prince would be giving him anything more than just 'go to Skyrim'. Much to his annoyance, Skyrim was quite big and he wasn't even sure where to start. Though he figured he'd just stop at Windhelm since that would be the closest city where he entered.
There might be more information there, and if not he'll just travel around and see if he could find anything of note. However, that was future stuff and he didn't really expect to get to Windhelm in at least a week, since it was most likely going to take a day or two to get to the borders of Skyrim, and then 3 or 4 days to get to Windhelm.
No, it wasn't time to worry about the information he could get in Skyrim itself, instead, it was time to try and see if Hircine would be open. He pulled out a small wooden wolf sculpture, something Al'Akosh worked tirelessly to make as there weren't a lot of portable Hircine shrines in the world. He set it gently on the ground, the statue looking as though it was howling to the moon. He then gently set the painted deer skull next to it, his first proper kill on his own that he always keeps attached to his hip. Making sure everything was positioned below an open window, where he could see the moons fairly clearly.
Lastly was a few bits of flowers that he found himself picking up, knowing the god likes the various flora that can be found amongst the various continents. Especially The Black Antler that Al'Akosh found a while back, though the Khajiit was pretty certain he only liked it for the name.
Gently going on his knees, resting against the back of his legs as he bowed his head forward, "Mighty Lord Hircine, I come before you to request further hints of my current hunt. For I do not know the creature I am searching for, nor the dangers of the hunt before me-" he took in a pause to breathe, his eyes opening as he went to stare up at the moons through the open window. "I do invoke your knowledge and wisdom, master of the chase, so I may properly praise you in engaging in the tradition of the hunt"
He bowed his head forward again, his entire body moving to where he rested his head against the cold floors of the inn. "Bless me as I hunt, sacred Hircine, so the prey may be lawful and bountiful"
Then it was done, and Al'Akosh stayed in that position for a moment. Quietly waiting for some sort of answer, but of course, his patron was silent as a deer. It worried him since Hircine would at least respond to tell him had nothing, and at least stop with all the formalities.
The Daedric Prince of the Hunt despised formalities, and much preferred to be on more friendly terms with his champions. After all, he was a beast and what kinda beast has manners? Al'Akosh liked to imagine all the Princes having a dinner party, and Hircine was the only one who didn't know how to act. He cried laughing when Hircine admitted the truth and said Al'Akosh wasn't far off.
He gave a soft sigh of disappointment, really hoping that at least he'd be getting some sort of response. He didn't tell Turik, but Hircine has been silent for about a week now, which was incredibly abnormal. The god at least enjoyed making some sort of sassy comment, or critique. Something really big was going down, and Al'Akosh had no idea the part he was to play in it.
He quickly put his stuff away, keeping the deer skull next to his backpack, deciding he'll just tie it to his backpack tomorrow morning. Doing one final run-through to make sure he had everything, before getting himself comfortable in his bed. Today was a long day, but tomorrow would be much longer and he wasn't looking forward to the carriage ride. He much preferred just walking, or having his own horse but Morrowind didn't have a lot of mounts he enjoyed and could take outside of the country. So, carriage it is. It cuts his entire trip down by more than a day, and lets him sleep for most of it.
After making sure everything was organized, again, Al'Akosh finally found himself sleeping in his bed. The weariness of the day caught up to him, and it didn't take long for him to fall asleep.
Al'Akosh was surrounded by flames, all a bright red as the flames ate against wood and stone. The fire burning hotter than anything the Khajiit has felt before. However, what was even worse was the screams.
So much screaming, nothing was understood in the wails of agony that filtered through his ears.
"You have much before you my champion" a deep voice grumbled, easily heard against the chaos.
"Hircine? Are you there? Help me!"
Yet, he couldn't find his god anywhere. Instead, only met with melting flesh as bodies desperately tried clawing their way to him. Each of them screamed, pleading, begging for help. Yet Al'Akosh didn't know what he could do.
Dragging their melting bodies to him, until there was nothing left but bone.
"Your greatest hunt lies before you, but it is only you who could complete it"
The Khajiit put his hands over his ears, the agonized wails growing louder until it was almost unbearable. He felt like screaming too. "Please make it stop" he begged, unable to hear the sound of his own voice anymore. "Please, please, please"
"Look up, and see your prey"
Through great effort, his entire body straining against the thousands of boney hands gripping and clawing at his fur, still trying to block out the terrifying screams that echoed across the land.
He found himself finally looking up and came face to face with glowing crimson eyes and flames heading straight for him.
Al'Akosh almost screamed awake, bursting out from his bed and falling onto the ground. His claws were outstretched as he widely looked around the room. His heart felt as though it was about to beat out of his chest, panting as though he ran a mile.
This was fear and it was something he hadn't truly felt in a long time. His entire body was coursing with adrenaline, finally trying to take in a few deep breaths now that he was out of that nightmare. Glancing over to the deer skull, swallowing down a big gulp. His eyes gently closed, "What in Nirn's name have you gotten me into Hircine" he whispered, before opening them back up again and moving into a sitting position. Groaning slightly, as though his muscles were sore.
He could still feel the phantom touches of boney hands, and hear the faint echoes of screams.
The Khajiit had no idea what to make of that dream. Hircine rarely ever sent messages through dreams, explaining that was inching close to Vearmina's territory, and Daedric Princes rarely liked to cross over realms. He only did so a couple of times before, back when Al'Akosh wasn't his champion. No, whatever this is, it's much bigger than Al'Akosh had ever faced.
It was something that could affect multiple gods it seemed, because if Naemira allowed Hircine to show visions of a potential future? This wasn't some werewolf pack that he was originally expecting. No, it was big. Really big.
He could even feel Hircine's fear of the red eyes in his dream. He needed to do research but he had no idea where to even start. Fire and red eyes are fairly common in the Oblivion realm after all. Maybe Turik would have an idea or two, but he doubted it.
The Dumner knew little to nothing about Skyrim and made no effort to try and change that. Not that Al'Akosh minded, Turik had no plans of ever leaving Morrowind, so there wasn't much he should be worried about.
The Khajiit rubbed his eyes, finding himself exhausted but when he checked outside, he noticed it was already almost time to go meet Turik. He was grateful he'd be able to sleep on the carriage, that is if Hircine doesn't give him any more dreams. He hoped not, since even still his body was shaking from that dream.
Never had a nightmare felt so vivid.
He gave a very tired yawn, going to start changing out of his more comfy clothes and back into most of his leather armor. Always needing to be geared up soon as you left any of the main towns since there was danger at almost every turn. Plus he told Milaadas he'd help protect the carriage as he rides with it, so better to be prepared than not.
After changing, the sun was just about to start rising, so the Khajiit quickly tied the deer skull to his backpack and threw it on quickly. Deciding he was just going to hold on to his bow until the carriage is done. When he travels, he mostly uses his sword anyway, since having an easily accessible bow and backpack at once isn't possible.
As he walked downstairs he was greeted with the sound of pots and pans, and a very loud voice swearing up a storm. "Moryrara?" Al'Akosh called out, cautiously stepping into the main room of the inn where he noticed the female Dumner holding one of her hands in pain. With the sound of her name, she perked up with a bright smile. "Ako! Darling! I am so happy I could catch you before you left, your food is almost ready...if you're able to stay for a bit?"
The Khajiit chuckled as the small elf wrapped her arms around him, moving to quickly return the hug. Maryrara is the newest owner of Shadowheart Inn. Al'Akosh had helped her a few months ago when he first entered Morrowind for the second time. Her father was in a lot of debt, and after his unfortunate passing, all of it was pushed unto her and she was about to lose the Inn that her grandmother started up from nothing. Al'Akosh was able to help pay the rest of it off by both paying it off and hunting down a few stragglers for the debt collectors.
He tried not to think too hard about what happened to the people he brought back. It was worth it though when he saw Moryrara's teary smile as she realized she wouldn't lose the inn she so dearly loved.
"Of course, I can stay, you know I could never resist your food," he said, which caused the young girl to scoff. Rolling her eyes and giving an almost mother look, which caused the Khajiit to give a little nervous chuckle.
"Everyone knows you are not a fan of our food, however, I worked hard to get this but...wait hold on!" she said, quickly running back to where she was cooking in a large pot. Within a few minutes, and Moryrara yelling at him to sit down, she came out with a large bowl of-
Al'Ajosh's eyes widened, "Hold on? Is this-"
"Venison! Yes!" she said, excitedly. "I was so worried it wouldn't get here in time, but Erenfar got in just last night with it!"
He was surprised at this, first with the fact that Moryrara was able to get Venison in the first place, and two, with the fact that she went so far as to do this for him. "I-I don't know what to say, thank you, you didn't have to do this!"
She rolled her eyes once again, shaking her head in amusement. "Why wouldn't I? I feel like I have barely been able to pay you back for what you have done for me" she said, softly. "Your my friend and you made my life considerably easier by allowing me to be able to make your actual favorite food"
"Still-"
"Nope, I refuse to allow any protest! I spent like 3 hours working on this, so you are going to enjoy it, got it?"
Al'Akosh liked seeing this side of her, thinking that she would be an amazing mother one day. She has gotten the mom's voice down, and Maryrara always talked about having kids one day. "Wait hold on, Erenfar? The Erenfar?" he asked, eyes widened when the name finally settled into his head.
Immediately, the dark elf blushed. Her cheeks turned red against her dark skin as she gave a very loud groan. "Oh shut up! I was hoping you weren't gonna notice" she practically whined, losing all semblance of the mother figure she once held and turned into the whiny little sister.
"Come on! You gotta tell me everything! You finally talked to him?" The Khajiit said, his ears perking forward in excitement as he went to start munching down his food. Which almost made him moan with pleasure as the dish was truly just as delightful as he remembered. Maryrara really was the chef, and he was happy he could truly enjoy her hard work.
He motioned to the seat in front of him, knowing she won't have any customers until a couple more hours. So she didn't have any excuse not to tell him everything.
She gave a sigh, her cheeks were still red and Al'Akosh knew that if her hair wasn't braided, she most likely would be hiding behind it. "Well, you know how Erenfar often does trades between Blacklight and other cities right? Usually traveling food and stuff-" she said, to which Al'Akosh gave a nod.
"Well, you told me that you were leaving and I wanted to make you something you would actually enjoy, so...it took me a lot of courage, but I asked him if he was going near the borders of Skyrim any time soon and see if he could get me ingredients from there"
Al'Akosh was surprised, but very pleased that Maryrara gained the courage to talk to her months-long crush. The Khajiit kept trying to convince her to talk to him, but she always gave some sort of excuse not to do it. No matter how lame it was.
"I'm really happy for you my friend," he said genuinely, brightening up considerably. He didn't realize that Marayra being alone was something that was weighing on him. Now that she finally talked with Erenfar, maybe the dark elf would be more willing to make more friends outside of her inn.
"Yes, and well... what's even better is that-well he asked if he could court me" she practically gasped out, barely even able to get the full words out. Though Al'Akosh was unsure if it was because of excitement or nervousness.Though it was most likely both.
"That's amazing Maryrara! Have you guys decided what you are going to do?"
She shook her head, "No, he wanted it to be a surprise for me," she said, now unable to contain her glowing smile. She looked happy, genuinely happy. So different from the girl he first met all those months ago. She looked like she was really starting to settle and relax into her life, and that's all Al'Akosh truly wanted from her in terms of payment.
He didn't want gold, nor a free stay in her inn (though she fought for it and he wasn't allowed to pay for two months), but rather he wanted this. Seeing her smile, and hopeful for the future. This was really why he helped people because he enjoyed making people's lives a little bit easier.
"You will have to send a courier, telling me all about this date, you got it? If I don't hear from you in the month, I will send a courier for you...got it?'
She laughed slightly, amused at the Khajiit's antics. "Yea yea, don't worry your pretty little head, I know how you hunger for gossip," she said, "I'll send a letter about it, as well as any drama happening in Blacklight or anything on Turik's antics because we all know he's gonna try and do a whole new experiment with metal and alchemy, and it'll blow up in his face once again"
"I am pretty sure he only adds the whole alchemy stuff to it because he's trying to find excuses to speak to the pretty lady that runs that shop... what's her name again?"
"Nalle"
"Yes! Nalle!" he said, "Yea I am pretty sure he's just trying to talk to her"
She rolled her eyes, "Oh please, with the number of times her personal courier is over there giving Turik his orders? I am pretty sure he's actually wanting him or else he'd just be getting the orders himself"
Al'Akosh didn't think about that, "Oh yea, your right! Well hopefully something comes out of that" he said, amused as he found himself finishing up the soup. "Well, this was amazing Maryrara, really, I haven't had this in years now," he said, truly grateful that she went through this much trouble for him. Though he was sure she got much more benefit out of it if her date with Erenfar said anything.
He hoped it would go well.
"I'm really happy you liked it! Actually, wait hold on!" she said, quickly running back to the back with the sound of faint crashing and her rummaging through a few storage bins. About a couple minutes later, she came out carrying something similar to a waterskin.
"Here, this is filled with extra soup so you can have some later today if you'd like, though I'd either throw out this or clean it out a lot if you wanna reuse it. And make sure you eat it today, I don't know how long it will last outside of the pot"
"Thank you," he said, taking the waterskin and tying it to his belt alongside his other ones. It was a little more weight, but at least he had lunch later.
"I also charmed it, so it should stay warm for a little while" she then explained, which explained the faint red glow to it.
"Oh perfect, I might just have to clean this waterskin 'cause this would be really useful later on," he said and she grinned at that.
"Of course! I am happy you like it" she said excitedly, unable to stop herself from smiling. "I really hope you come back soon, I know this isn't your favorite place but all of us are really gonna miss you"
Al'Akosh gave a weak smile, "Of course, I'll do my best but you know how it is, I go where the wind calls me"
"I know, I know, but I hope someday the winds will bring you back here. You will always have a room Ako, I hope you know that"
It felt strange, to be wanted like this. It's been a long time since he settled down, so making friends like this was rare. However, his mission here took a lot longer than planned, his prey escaping and worming his way out of Al'Akosh's traps made him stay here a lot longer than planned. So making friends with the locals wasn't a common thing, beyond just doing a few favors. "Of course, Maryrara, and I promise I'll come back again soon. As soon as I can" he said honestly.
It was then the dark elf suddenly brought him into a tight hug. Her arms wrapped around his chest, despite him being considerably taller than the elf. She didn't care though, and Al'Akosh quickly went to return the hug. "I'll miss you my friend" she whispered quietly. "How can I protect the inn without you?"
He only smiled, "You never need to worry about protecting your inn again remember? I handled it all for you, and well I was hoping this was to be a surprise, but there were a few people who owed me favors and they agreed to guard your inn for me in exchange for my help"
Al'Akosh pulled away from her, seeing her red eyes welling up with tears. "I wish I could've done more for you"
"You are my friend Maryrara, you do not ever need to worry about repayment," he said softly, before moving to gently press his head against Maryrara's own. Something his father taught him, since he didn't quite have the parts to kiss her forehead like he's seen others do. "I promise, you have nothing to worry about anymore. Simply enjoy your life now, and please never worry about the future. I've got it handled"
She gave a weak smile, "You are very kind Al'Akosh, anyone who tells you differently is a liar."
The khajiit chuckled, "Thank you, my friend, now I really must be going. I need to stop by Turik's place, as he said he'd finish the rest of my arrows" he chuckled, "and you know how Milaadas gets if someone is late"
She nodded, giving a wet laugh as she was trying her hardest not to cry. Thus, Al'Akosh couldn't help it. He had to bring her back into his arms for another hug. "Please do not be sad about my parting, we will see each other again someday."
And that was a promise, and Al'Akosh never broke a promise. Not unless he had to.
"Okay, okay, you should get going or else I am just not going to let you leave," she said, wiping her nose slightly as she gave a little sniffle. Al'Akosh felt terrible, he didn't want to leave her like this. However she was right, and the anxiety from the dream he had is starting to catch up to him.
"I promise I'll send you a letter as soon as I can okay? And let you know where you can send letters so we can keep each other" he said softly, "but I really do need to go. I hope your date goes well" he said softly, a little smile on his face as he gave her one more hug before forcing himself to leave the inn. Unable to look behind, just so he didn't stay any longer than he needed to. He knew he would just want to comfort Maryrara, and he simply didn't have the time to and he really needed to get the arrows.
It didn't take long to get to Turik's place, and he could hear the sound of banging inside the building and the faint sounds of coals burning.
"Turik? You in there" Al'Akosh called as he walked inside, seeing the dark elf hard at work with what seemed to be a sword.
"Al'Akosh! You're here! You took your time getting here" Turik teased, but there was a smile on his face and he didn't seem angry at Al'Akosh for arriving so late.
"Maryrara was having a hard time letting me go, and we just got to talking," he said, "I am hoping Milaadas won't be too angry" he sighed, feeling a bit bad that he'll probably be a bit later than he was hoping.
"Well, if your running late, lemme get you those arrows and I can walk you to the carriage!" he said, quickly running to the back of his shop, and coming back out with a large set of steel arrows. Of course, all of them sharpened to perfection, and all of them deadly.
He grabbed the arrows, putting them into his quiver with ease and they all fit in pretty easily. Making sure they wouldn't fall out since the quiver was attached to his side. As uncomfortable as it was, he had a heavy backpack to carry instead. He would just have to make sure none would find themselves falling out of the quiver, but it wasn't too difficult and he was pretty sure he had nothing to worry about.
"The arrows are exactly to your liking, I was going to make some extra but I had a customer shortly after you left wanting a full set of steel plate armor, and well I couldn't waste the steel" he shrugged, as the two of them set forth from the blacksmith shop to the front gates of Blacklight.
"No worries, honestly I probably ordered a bit too much but better be safe than sorry, Skyrim wilds are pretty dangerous if the trolls and wolves are as common as I remember them being"
Turik's nose wrinkled at that, "Ugh, Trolls, heard of them. Nasty buggers, or at least that's what I heard. Aren't they hard to kill?"
"Yea, they have some crazy regeneration abilities but a little bit of fire goes a long way with them, so I am not too worried about them" Al'Akosh responded, giving a little shrug at that.
"Yea, yea...anyways-" Tuirk trailed off, his eyebrows raising as she seemed to be trying to hint at something, which Al'Akosh was very clearly not getting. "Ugh, your gonna make me spell it out? Anything from Hircine?"
Al'Akosh blushed at that, remembering that he promised Turik updates if Hircine gave him anything. "Oh, well yes, a dream" he started, "But something is seriously wrong, it was an awful dream Turik, a truly awful one"
"A dream? Dreams aren't Hircine's thing though, you usually said he just directly talks to you?"
The Khajiit nodded, "He usually does, he doesn't like going into Namira's realm, especially since this was a nightmare" he explained, "The creature I am hunting I am still unsure of, but it's big...I could feel Hircine's fear"
"A prince, scared?" Turik said, his eyes widening. "That's not...what does a Daedric Prince have to be afraid of?"
"I don't know, all I saw in terms of hints of what this thing could be is red eyes and fire" he sighed, "Otherwise I have no idea. There are a lot of creatures with red eyes, and adding fire really doesn't narrow anything down at all," he sighed. His ears lowered, and his heart rate picked up at just the memory of the dream. He hated it. For now, he wasn't even sure if the fear was his own or Hircines. Maybe it was both of their fear.
"I don't know how much help I can be, but I can try and do some research if you want" Turik offered, but Al'Akosh shook his head.
"No, I don't want you to worry about it. It shouldn't be too hard to figure it out, once I get to Skyrim. If I need your help, I'll send a courier okay?"
Turik only gave a very hesitant nod, before giving a sad sigh. "I'm really worried, this has got to be one of your more dangerous hunts Ako, this isn't some werewolf or something, this is big. Really big, especially if you said Namira herself is letting another prince into their realm"
"It should be fine, Hircine would never send me on a hunt he knows for certain I could not handle, whatever it is, I know I have a chance at completing it"
Turik only frowned, as the two of them stopped at the front gates. "I dunno, this feels...I don't know Hircine as you do obviously-" The Dark Elf trailed off, "but, what if it's not Hircine sending you on this hunt? I mean why else would he be so distant from you, or be so vague?"
Al'Akosh didn't really think about that. His ears lowered once more, his eyes narrowing as he tried to think of anything that could give a hint. "I'll be honest, I am not entirely sure. It's very possible, however, but I don't know who else it could be...and Hircine did talk to me, but now that I think about it, there was another presence there"
"Well that's even more worrying Ako," Turik said, genuine concern on his face. "Can you at least reconsider not going? I'd even give back all the gold you paid me for the arrows if you just stay" he said, but the Khajiit shook his head.
"You know I can't Turik, I must follow what Hircine commands of me. No matter the danger or prey" he sighed, before putting a hand on the Dark Elf's shoulder. "I promise you, my friend, I will be fine"
Turik only narrowed his eyes at that, "You can't promise anything Ako, your practically walking into the maw of a beast that you have no information on!" he practically yelled, causing the Khajiit to wince at that. "How are you to kill something with no information on it," he said, his eyes flashing with genuine worry. Al'Akosh was surprised at this, blinking owlishly at the dark elf whose hand wrapped around the Khajiit's arm.
"I know-" Al'Akosh coughed, unsure of how to respond to Turik's concern. "I know you are worried, and I will be honest I am worried too. I'm scared really, but I still have to go. I trust Hircine will not lead me somewhere that I cannot win, in fact, that's one of his many tenets" Al'Akosh started to explain, "Both the prey and the hunter must have a chance to win, or else it's simply not fair"
"I know, I know" he sighed, taking in a deep breath. The dark elf still didn't seem any less concerned though, before he suddenly just grabbed the Khajiit and pulled him into a tight hug. While the Khajiit was bigger, like he was Maryrara, that didn't stop Turik from wrapping his arms tightly around his waist. Al'Akosh only gave a little chuckle, before gently wrapping his own arms around him. The elf felt small in his arms but held him tightly.
However, he couldn't hug him long, he heard Milaadas's shouts telling him to hurry the hell up. The khajiit groaned, before setting down Turik once more as he gave an amused smirk. "Looks like I am going to have to head out" he sighed, taking in a deep breath. "I'll send you a letter, soon as I figure out what my enemy is."
Turik nodded, sniffling slightly before in a deep breath. "You better, if you don't I will personally hunt you down okay, even if I have to grab Hircine by the-"
"Are you really about to say that you're going to grab Hircine by the ear and tell him to lead you to me?" Al'Akosh interrupted, amused. He stared down Turik with an eyebrow raised, whose cheeks turned slightly red.
"Maybe, don't worry about it, get going you s'wit" he huffed, pushing the Khajiit away who snickered in amusement.
"I am, I am, I'll see you around Turik!" he called, as the Khajiit walked off with a wave. Heading to the large carriage that was being pulled by 2 Guars. The two of them gave little grunts as the Khajiit approached, being stared down by the commonly annoyed dark elf. His red eyes narrowed to the Khajiit before motioning for him to just get in the carriage to which he very quickly went to hop into the back.
"Thanks for waiting, I really apologize about being late" Al'Akosh said, embarrassment flowing through him now that he was essentially face to face with Milaadas. He felt bad about forcing the elf to wait, but the goodbyes took longer and were a lot harder than he expected.
Milaadas only grunted, but Ako wasn't really expecting a response from him. He wasn't really one for conversation, tending to just get straight to the point instead of finding themselves lost in conversation. He's seen how uncomfortable the elf gets with small talk, so he didn't even bother trying to start up one.
No, the exhausting night was catching up to him and the emotional roller coaster he felt as he said goodbye to two people he didn't entirely realize were friends, was making him tired. So he found himself getting comfortable. Putting his backpack to the side, and unhooking most of the items on his belt to lay back along the bench of the carriage. A yawn overtaking him, as he found himself staring up at the slowly encroaching daylight.
He really didn't like Morrowind, but he found himself not minding the people all too much. However, he was going somewhere much more familiar to him, and much more comfortable. He was going home.
Skyrim.