Footprints in the Sand

These past few days have been the most quiet days since I arrived in Skyrim. All the bloodshed, the politicking, the dragons... all those seem distant memories for now. Everything is quiet. Everything is--seems, rather--all right in the world. 

Delphine urged us to meet her in Riverwood to find out what she found out. We could have traveled with her the rest of the way, but she spurred her horse ahead of us. All the better, I guess. Kiya and I needed the time alone together before we face even greater challenges than the Civil War. 

I was quiet as we made our way to Windhelm. We drank our potions before we made our way past the city and into the river, and followed its icy path. We endured the cold as we swam across to reach the College of Winterhold, and us being their students once, we spent the night drying our armor and weapons up, as well as sharing the warmth we missed during those months spent apart. We might as well not have stopped in the journey, as we were exhausted as the moment we stepped on the College earlier.

By dawn, our feet were already treading the thick snow from the fall last night. Kiya led the way, and she seemed eager to be in this area. She wanted to show me something, I guessed. She took my hand and started running. I thought about the time when my werewolf form caught up to her--that might be the only time that I'll be as quick as she is. Fortunately, she held her pace so I can keep up, and the Frostflow lighthouse came into view. "It's cold," she said, smiling, "We should go inside." And so we did.

For an abandoned lighthouse, Frostflow was clean and well-maintained. I looked around it as if  it was the first time I saw a civilized home. I gave Kiya a puzzled look, and she looked at me, still smiling. She was the one who takes care of everything here from time to time, she explained. A Redguard family was killed by Chaurus and Falmer, she said, and only the woman's body was not dragged down to the abyss below. She said it reminded her of me, that she did not want such a fate. I kissed her before tears fell from her eyes, and we laid down on the bedroll she had prepared.

Who's who?

It was early morning when Kiya urged me to get up and move. It was the first time I smelled burnt ground and flesh from afar, and Kiya did not seem to notice. We moved, however, closer to the source of the smell, and it was then I realized that she had led me to a grave of some sort. A burnt body knelt at the middle of the ground near the shore, and a few books were scattered. Kiya moved around the place with familiarity, and I sensed that she has been here before. A single body with a lot of books that all burned with such force... could it be Yisra? Kiya read my thoughts. "Yes, this is Yisra, my love. We should pay our respects, for she made it possible for us to be together again. I have only seen this site from the Lighthouse, and now is the perfect time to put her to rest properly." I dug on the ground near the shore so that water will be close to her body. It might mean something in the afterlife, but I would not know. We said a few prayers to the gods, and moved on.

She should have tried her spell on the water.

As we traveled along the coastline, I could feel Kiya's eyes were on me. We've been feeling especially fond of each other this journey back to Riverwood. I decided I was going to lead the way this time, towards my home in Windstad. "We're going to Windstad, Kiya," I said, as we walked. "Your daughter's there. She'll be happy to see you again." She was quiet. She pulled my hand towards the right, and started running. We came upon a tent, and she urged me in. "I want to thank you, Kousei, for doing everything," she said. She kissed me torridly, and I kissed her back.

"It's cold out, we should head back inside."

It was already afternoon when we emerged from the tent. We had to run now, before darkness falls. It was dangerously close to a full moon, too, so we had to find safety in Windstad. 

We avoided Dawnstar altogether, because we had no time to drink our potions and hide ourselves in public. Instead, we swam across the bay to get to the swampy area of Windstad. There, we found Lucia all by herself outside, thinking deeply. Her eyes looked up, and saw Kiya. "MAMA!" she screamed, and came running towards Kiya. She hugged her mommy even if she got wet doing so. Kiya's eyes filled to the brim with tears. She looked at me as droplets hugged the contour of her beautiful face, and whispered a thank you. I nodded, and proceeded to walk inside the mansion to let them share that moment together.

The mother and daughter, reunited.

She might have seen me in the swamp.

And here I am now, thinking to myself atop the Windstad mansion. Days have been quiet, almost as if to say these are the last. The calm before the storm. We should be enjoying what we have here and now. When Delphine tells us what she knows soon, Kiya and I will be certain we will be in the middle of it, and we will look back to these quiet days to remind us of what we aim for in the battle against the dragons.