Board Thread:Roleplaying/@comment-3293219-20140217201750/@comment-3293219-20140304174515

The Ribbon Shards of Battle
Tabith's recovery was quite slow as she was bed ridden for several days. She had awoke, after a mere few hours but she wasn't able to walk for the best part of a week, relying on Nepht and Lalia to do everything for her.

She hated it.

Tabith loathed being useless. 'Dead weight' was, to her, the ultimate insult. Like her father, Helseth, she saw rest and aid as weakness and anything that would help her was just embracing that weakness.

Tabith was considering disregarding Nepht's advice and forcing herself out of bed and trying to shamble to freedom. She longed to get back to her desk, sit herself down and never leave as she dealt with the mountain of paperwork; she had accumulated over the last week.

However, out of love for Nepht and fear of Veneficus' wrath, the Guard Captain stayed bound to her sick bed for several days.

The dunmer felt, incredibly, stupid for falling for Kaizen's trap. All those men, who had entrusted her with their lives...

She damaged that trust and she nearly got them all killed with her carelessness.

"Should I resign?" She thought aloud. What if I got someone killed with such carelessness?

She gasped as the door opened. For the fraction of a second that she was awaiting the unknown, she imagined a conspiracy. A group of her subordinates had been planning to drive the, currently acting, Captain to confess her incompetence. Ready to use her own words against her, to put herself on the spot, forcing herself to be exiled from her duty.

She sighed with relief as she saw that it was only Nepht, she had returned to her Aunt's bed side, bringing sanity and some cereal with her.

She smiled, upon seeing that Tabith was awake. Her aunt sat, waiting for her to bring her, her breakfast. She looked well, a lot of colour had returned to her face and she was already up and sat up, by herself.

"Good morning!" Nepht managed to be upbeat and cheerful, while her aunt was bored stiff.

Tabith smiled, though it took a lot of effort to fake the smile and put her niece at ease. She appreciated the care and effort that her sister and her niece had provided for her but she was going out of her mind in this bed, it was, slowly, killing her.

The Guard Captain didn't blame Nepht of course but she felt more like she was acting as her jailor, rather than her nurse. Every time she sat up to walk, Nepth would push her back down, pulling the cover over her knees and demanding that she rested a 'little while longer.'

Tabith saw the need for it but Nepht could be incredibly stern on some issues, borderline stubborn...

She'd been raised well.

"Sleep well?" Her niece asked, noticing that she had gone into a trance.

"Y-Yeah..." Tabith muttered, "I feel great, actually."

Tabith took her breakfast and, slowly, began to eat; she noticed that Nepht had sat on the end of her bed, watching her.

Something was wrong...

She knew this, because Nepht was always up and about. Reading, writing or bothering Veneficus but today? She just sat there, staring at her...

"Okay..." Tabith muttered as she lowered her spoon. "What have you done?"

Nepht had been rumbled...

It wasn't what she had done but what she was about to do...

"N-Nothing!" Nepht snapped, protesting her innocence.

"I... wanted to tell you something."

Tabith paused, looking away and trying to guess as to what it could possibly be.

"Go on..."

"I wanted to...

I want to be an adventurer."

Tabith chuckled, pushing her bowl to one side.

"That's no secret Nepht, when you were a kid? You never shut up about it!

Every breakfast, lunch and dinner, the conversation was always the same. Always about adventuring, Daniel Howe and the adventures that you hope to have with him some day." She sounded fond of the memory, back when the only bad things that happened to Nepht was in her story books...

When she was younger, she'd get kidnapped by the evil hagraven queen and fattened up, until she was ripe to be eaten. Back then, Daniel would always save her but as she got older, she'd often die in the breton's arms or become a martyr of some sorts. That was Nepht all over, romanticising every detail...

"Yeah..." Nepht strained, hoping to avoid a nostalgic conversation, she had to get through this and there was no turning back.

"Well, I want to be an adventurer...

Today."

Tabith swallowed, hard. She didn't expect her niece to want to leave... Especially after her, recent, traumatic experience.

"What has your mother said about this?"

Nepht sighed and looked away.

"Well..."

-

"Are you crazy?!" Laliah snapped, dropping everything on the table and pulling Nepht away from the windows, away from the prying eyes of the neighbours.

"But mum!"

"No!" Her mother answered, giving a cold look.

"Azura's sake, Nepht! Last time you went out training, you ended up..."

Nepht scowled and looked away; she had to bring that up.

"Yeah and that wasn't even outside the county!" Nepht countered before her mother could mention the 'Larius incident.'

"Don't you see? There's danger everywhere! I'm no safer here, than I am out there, because if I don't go looking for danger, it's sure as hell going to find me!"

Laliah fell silent.

She... was right. Was she any safer here?

"When I think about...

That night...

Do you know what bothers me the most?"

Her mother shook her head; she hadn't spoken about it before.

"If I had died? I never would have seen the world, like I've always wanted to and I..." Nepht stopped to think about her next words. Did she want to tell the truth? That her existence had been boring, bleak and dismal, up until that moment?

She sighed at the thought of saying it, as true as it was...

"Mum, I want to see the world. I know that I'm ready! I know how to fight now, that scholar didn't stand a chance, not with the stuff that Ma...

Tabith taught me!"

Her mother sighed, her equipment was better than her old sword and shield. Veneficus' sword was a fine quality sword, even she could see that and Tabith knew a good shield when she saw one. Not only that but her skills have improved as well, Tabith had spent the last week praising her skills with a sword, always out of Nepht's earshot of course...

"Nepht..."

"Veneficus thinks that I'm ready!"

Laliah looked confused, had Veneficus put her up to this?

"I'm sure that Tabith will to!" The girl added, feeling like she had put her foot in it.

Laliah sighed, her mind was made up, Tabith would be the mediator.

-

"Yeah..." Nepth muttered, awkwardly.

"She suggested that I ask you..."

The Guard Captain slid under her covers.

What do I do? She tried to think of a reference to base her decision off of... this was her sister's child and her fate was in Tabith's hands.

What would dad do?

Tabith laughed as that was a dumb question...

He'd do what he did when she wanted to join the army as a, rosie cheeked, princess. Mother wouldn't have any of it and she had almost talked her out of it when...

She's going and that's that!

She's going...

And that's that...

Tabith was left in silence, holding the atmosphere hostage, while she made her decision.

"Your mother..." Tabith paused, turning to Nepht and smiling at her. "Is going to kill me..."

Nepth gasped as it hit her, she was unable to contain herself as she lunged forward and wrapped her arms around her aunt's neck and squeezed with joy.

"Thank you!"

Tabith smiled, breathing out as she closed her eyes and enjoyed the moment.

"Promise you'll be careful..."

"Of course!"

"And write home!"

"Yep!"

"And bring back lots of gifts!" Tabith laughed, trying to bring the mood up.

"What would you like?"

Tabith pull away and looked her in the eye.

"You know... Wine, exotic cheeses, the severed heads of your enemies."

Nepht giggled at the thought of having 'enemies' and of her 'vanquishing' them.

Nepht the vanquisher! She thought, giggling inside her head as the thought amused her.

"So... When will you set off on your grand adventure?"

Nepht was considering today, she could head up north and be in Riften in three days.

"Today..."

"So soon?" Tabith gulped. "You sure?"

"Yeah." Nepht nodded, pulling her map from under the bed.

"Going to try and reach Riften, for tomorrow."

"Riften... isn't that far." Tabith agreed, it was a sensible destination. It wasn't too far or too different, being the Cyrodiilic boarder.

"Then, maybe Whiterun." Nepht added, nervously.

"Okay Kiddo." Tabith smiled, handing the map back to her, being incredibly supportive, despite the sudden news. "Then go... Go and see the world, like you've always wanted to!" Tabith cheered as Nepht got up and gave her one last hug before her departure.

She got up and made her way to the door and as she placed her hand on the door knob, she found herself unable to turn it.

Be strong...

With that, Nepht opened the door and let it swing open; it creaked, loudly, as the corridor was revealed.

She took one last breath, drawing it out as she crossed the threshold, into the unknown.

From today...

I will be great.

