16 Sun's Dusk, 3E 427
I've never been very good with goodbyes. I spent the entire day in a fugue. Ajira was kind enough to let me work through it myself, and gave me the day off from our studies. I slept in late, then spent the rest of the day wandering around the Commercial District. I avoided the Lucky Lockup - where Dorian and I had dinner last night. We said our goodbyes in the moonlight, both of us knowing that it would be unnecessarily cruel to save them for this morning.
I'm not sure how I should be feeling. I hardly know him, after all. Maybe it's just because he reminds me of who I was when I first set foot in this strange land. This distance is good; I can forget about him again.
17 Sun's Dusk, 3E 427
Balmora, recent events aside, is a lot kinder to outlanders than Sadrith Mora. The Hlaalu welcome Imperial influence, especially Imperial coin, much more openly than the Telvanni mage-lords. The architecture is still strange, being similar to the odd stone/clay material that Vivec was built out of: all muddy gray-browns and curved rooftops. At least the buildings aren't grown out of living mushrooms.
Now that things are finally quieting down, I think I might actually come to enjoy it here. Foreigners of every race intermingle freely (there's no slave market dominating the bazaar), and just about anything can be bought or sold if you take the time to look for it. The Guild Hall itself, tucked just off to the side of the South Gate plaza, is much more spacious than the one in Sadrith Mora was. If I had the desire, I could spend the entirety of every day inside its walls.
The members themselves here are a bit of a mixed bag. The Wizard here, a stern old Dunmer woman named Ranis Athrys, seems to be more focused on making sure the Guild receives turns a profit; a fine fit in a Hlaalu town, I assume, but she seems far less focused on advancing magickal knowledge than Skink-in-Tree's-Shade was. She seems to be taking House Telvanni's intentions to break the Guild's monopoly on public services personally.
I haven't much to say about many of the other members. We speak amiably enough in the dining hall, and they've been willing enough to offer aid when I've approached them for advice or assistance. Most of them still haven't put forth the effort to reach Journeyman, though they all seem skilled enough.
Ajira herself is kind enough, and I have grown to respect her and the way she has kept herself composed through the recent scares. Her skill with alchemy is great, but she isn't half bad with enchanting, either. I'll admit, I've taken advantage of her skills in both to increase my own talents, but she doesn't seem to mind. Getting Journeyman, she says, was the competition worth having. Now that she and Galbedir, the Bosmer who works the enchanting equipment for the public, are both there, she's willing to take it easy for while.
18 Sun's Dusk, 3E 427
Only one event worth noting today:
It was during our mid-morning enchanting rehearsal (Ajira has me working strictly with the theory at the moment, as filled gems are prohibitively expensive). I had just finished reciting Vanto's First and Second Laws when a well-dressed visitor entered the small room at the back of the Guild hall that Ajira calls her lab.
Upon seeing the Khajiit woman, Ajira's eyes lit up and her lips curled into a smile.
"Ashirani? Is that you? Ajira cannot believe it is true!"
I realized then that I'd never seen a Khajiit truly excited. Zenithar forgive me, but I swear her tail started wagging.
Ajira dashed forward to embrace the visitor, who returned the hug with equal joy.
"Ajira, this one has missed you so. This one gives her most sincere apologies she could not visit sooner to let Ajira know that everything is okay."
I'm not entirely sure if Khajiit shed tears the way men and elves do, but I swear I saw some fall from the eyes of these two. The embrace went on for a long time, and I did my best not to stare.
"Oh, cousin, this one cannot express her joy at seeing you alive," Ajira whispered.
It clicked for me, then, and I spoke aloud, "Cousin? Is this the---"
The two separated quickly, and Ajira spun around quickly to face me, the intensity in her eyes startling me into silence.
"No, Seidvala. Is a different cousin," she stressed.
"Oh. Okay then," I stuttered, my face reddening.
"Oh, no, Seidvala, it is okay," Ajira comforted, softening. "Is easy mistake to make," she confided, firmly but this time not unkindly. "Ashirani, let this one introduce Seidvala," she went on, motioning to each of us in turn.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Ashirani," I offered, trying to catch up with the flow of the conversation and putting away the line of thought Ajira had cut off the moment before.
"The pleasure is all Ashirani's," she bowed.
"Seidvala is Ajira's student," Ajira proudly announced. "Ajira teaches her secrets of enchanting. Seidvala good student: not too quick, but very committed."
I decided that the safest response was to just continue to smile.
"Ajira is teaching students now? Oh, Ajira, this one is so happy for you," Ashirani purred.
"And what about Ashirani? Does she have a warm place to stay?" Ajira inquired, concern heavy in her voice.
"Ajira does not need to worry about this one. Ashirani recently became Oathmen of Dunmer Great House Hlaalu. The House and the Twin Lamps both promise Khajiit safe place to stay. Stone-Fire-Men not forgotten by those they help," Ashirani said, muttering the last line as though sharing a great secret, holding her gloved hands out as though they bore some special significance.
"Ajira is proud of her cousin, and knows Ashirani will succeed and get very happy and rich. Will Ashirani stay in Balmora long?"
"This one wishes she could, but it is not safe yet. Khajiit hears that butchers still roam the Ascadian Isles. Many skooma dens and plantations to hide in there," Ashirani announced. "Ashirani just wanted to see cousin Ajira, make sure Ashirani is not mourned. Smile for this one, cousin. Khajiit will keep in touch."
The two embraced one last time. After they separated, the well-dressed Khajiit bid me farewell. Instead of walking out the way she came in, Ashirani removed one of her gloves and turned one of the rings on her fingers a half-turn. When the stone was moved to where it pointed towards the ground, Ashirani vanished in a low pop that was felt more than heard.
"Ajira made that one herself," she told me of the ring, proudly.
That was all she spoke of it for the rest of the day, but I could tell that an invisible weight had been lifted from her shoulders. She was quicker to jest, and more forgiving of the mistakes I made in copying notes from one of the books she kept with her. She ended lessons early that day, and invited me out to celebrate.
Elsewhere on Vvardenfell, the Last Thief still lived, safe from harm.
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