Count Only The Happy Hours

Part 1: VI

"Vivec, hurry ," Sil hissed as the footsteps grew louder, to which he received a " Shit , shit shit shit ," in return. He looked over his shoulder, eyes wide, and Vivec met his gaze with a horrified one.

"I didn't bring anything to secure it with," he whispered. His eyes darted to the footsteps that became ever-louder, keeping time with his thudding heart. He'd been thoughtless, and it'd cost them again.

Sil looked to Vivec, then to the alleyway, then to the parchment. His eyes flicked about, thinking very hard. Finally, as the guards let out a laugh that echoed through the alley, he pulled the knife from its sheath and slammed it into the parchment, fixing it to the wall. Vivec allowed himself one breath to be impressed with Seht's quick thinking, then quickly grabbed Sil and pulled him back into the shadows just as the guards rounded the corner. They paused, and both mer held their breath as one went up to the fake notice. With a wince, Vivec wondered if it perhaps looked too dramatic with the knife.

"Shor's bones, Eirfa really needs to stop giving Stedvar knives," the other guard said. "He thinks he looks like a real hard-ass putting up notices like this. Just a waste of a good weapon if you ask me."

"Huh! Looks like old Vanskyr finally wised up, come look at this." The first one stood up straight. "About damn time we clear out the knife-ears and animals. Get this place civilized. " (Vivec, it had to be said, was quite proud that he knew the Nord voice so well.)

"Wait, really?" The other joined him before letting out a loud, "HA!"

Vivec let out a long, silent breath. There, the Nords were convinced, and that's all they needed. He nudged Sil, urging him to move, and they tried to slip away. But the movement gave them away.

"Hey, you! Halt!" the first guard called.

They both froze. Slowly, Vivec turned around, nudging Sil behind him. He stared at the Nord from beneath his hood, ready to draw his blade. Sil knew where they'd come in; he'd push him toward it if things got ugly. The guard crossed his arms, looking unbearably smug.

"What's got you skulking about at this hour, elf?" he asked.

Vivec swallowed, then put on a demure face. "I-it's my brother, sera," he said, averting his eyes. "He has terrible nightmares. We...walking helps, after he's had one. We were just heading back home."

"Oh, no you're not. New decree just came out: all the elves and cats and lizards are out of Hofstaag." He pointed toward the city gate. "So you'll be having a nice old walk out of the city."

It took every bit of Vehk's acting ability to look panicked. "But...sera, please, let us get back to the house, our mother is..."

"Look at the sign, elf," the other guard drawled. "It's effective immediately ."

The first leaned down, flicking at Sil's hood; he pulled it back down, but luckily, it seemed like the guard was just trying to irritate rather than identify him. "Listen here, little knife-ear. You want to see your big brother here get punished? He's resisting authority, and that's a big crime." Sil shook his head. "There, you already seem smarter than him. Why don't you try and talk some sense in him? Surely whatever you've got at home isn't as valuable as your brother's teeth?"

Sil hesitated, then looked up at Vivec. His face was, as always, unreadable; in this case, it worked to their advantage. "Let's just...go out, V–al'daesohn."

"That's right, Valdayson," the guard mocked, butchering the word thoroughly even without Sil's slip. "Just go out, and there'll be no trouble. Your mother will be right behind you, along with the rest of you yellow-skinned devils!"

Vivec slipped his arm over Sil's shoulders, finally turning away from the Nords and guiding the younger mer out from the city gates. Neither of them breathed until they were through, and Vehk didn't let go of Sil until they came to a bend in the road. Once they were clear, his arm dropped, and he and Sil looked at each other.

"It...it worked ," Seht said, breaking the silence first. "It worked. "

Vivec let out a disbelieving little laugh. "It did. By Oblivion , it did." He gripped Sil's shoulders, giving him a wide smile. "We've done the impossible, Seht. We saved people! By the Three , once the others hear..." He trailed off, glancing overhead. On the horizon, the barest sliver of gray lightened the sky; Azura was entering her domain.

"We'll celebrate later," he said. "We need to get back to camp before anyone realizes we're gone." He picked up his pace, darting off the road for a shortcut back; all the scouting certainly paid off in that respect. Sil followed after, right on his heels.

For quite some time, they walked in silence, a mutual rush of success keeping their steps light and providing more than enough fodder for a pleasant walk. And, even more surprising than their success, it was Sil that finally broke the silence for once.

"What are you going to do when I'm older?" he asked. "You can't call me your little brother forever."

"I wasn't aware that siblings were age-restricted," Vivec said, voice light. "But then, I was born an only child. Not much room in an egg, you know."

Sil was clearly still in a good mood, because he didn't even roll his eyes. "I mean, it's not, but we're not actually brothers."

"No? You know, Seht, it's funny with stories; if you tell them long enough, they start to become fact. And, well...I've told the story now of you being my brother so many times, I'm starting to think it might be true." He looked over his shoulder with a smile. "But then, you were there each time. So in this case, you can tell me if I'm wrong or not, and I'll amend my story."

Sil blinked a few times, until finally he shook his head with a little smile. "You're ridiculous, Vehk," he said as he walked a bit faster, passing him as they approached the camp.

But, Vivec noticed, Seht didn't correct him.

---

Language notes:

al'daesohn - older brother