Dahyun had made it all the way to the Whiterun stables before she started breaking out into a fit of giggles. That was one of her smoothest burglaries to date.

Sneaking into that potions shop from the backdoor proved how much better she’s gotten at lockpicking. To bad Jihyo wasn’t there to hear how that lock just popped right open.

Oh. Jihyo right.

She better get these potions to her partner in crime, literally, before she gets caught. Dahyun wasn’t lying when she told that nice blacksmith lady with the short hair that she needed medicine for her friend.

She and Jihyo ran into a little trouble on the way back from a job in Riverwood. Bandits had set up an ambush site for travelers. Caravans traveling from Solitude to Whiterun, filled with food and gold, would be driving through the mountainside one minute then next thing they know the driver has four arrows sticking out of his chest.

~~~

Dahyun and Jihyo were coming back from a shill job. They had placed a client’s ring as evidence inside a wealthy home and informed the authorities of said item, then skipped town. It couldn’t have gone better. Dahyun was happy to get out of Riften and see the countryside. She even got to go fishing.

Fishing in pockets for gold.

It was smooth sailing back to Riften until an arrow shot out of the hillside and straight into Jihyo’s shoulder.

Dahyun immediately un-sheathed her dagger with her right hand while her left was engulfed in magic flames ready to be thrown at enemies.

The bandits poured down from the hillside in an attempt to overpower the two with sheer numbers. Those that remained on the hill nocked their bows with arrows and began shooting at the two.

Dahyun launched fireballs into groups of bandits and watched as they flew through the air. Even though she was injured, Jihyo had taken out the bandits trying to flank them from the left side.

Another arrow flew past Dahyun’s ear, barely missing her. She responded by launching fireballs at the rock outcroppings along the hillside. Watching as the burning archers were thrown across the hill. No more air attacks.

Jihyo has slashed down more bandits but was struggling with her injured arm. Dahyun fought her way to her, hacking and slashing anything solid that was in reach of her blade. She had finally reached her when a roar silenced the battle cry of the bandits.

A pride of saber-toothed cats had come out of their den; having been awoken by the sounds of clashing swords, fiery explosions, cries of pain and the smell of burning flesh.

The beasts charged the bandits with razor sharp claws ripping and tearing through the armor like butter. Blood stained the hillside as the saber-toothed cats shredded their ranks.

“Dubu! Let’s go!”

Dahyun and Jihyo used the surprise attack as a chance to flee from the wrath of the sabers. Sounds of tearing flesh, screams of pain and primal roars of victory were the only thing the two could hear as they escaped.

The pair continued their trek back to the Rift with a renewed vigilance. But the further they traveled, the worse Jihyo’s shoulder wound became. They had made it to Whiterun when Jihyo decided that the pain was too much to endure the whole way back to Riften.

With the physical help of Dahyun, Jihyo had been placed in an empty stall in the Whiterun Stables. Once Dahyun was sure Jihyo was relatively comfortable in her pile of straw, she went to go look for some medicine.

Dahyun wished she had the time to stick around and see the aftermath of her little escapade in the Whiterun Plaza. It was always fun to watch shopkeepers whining to the guards about how their strongbox was broken into and the 738 gold they had in there was missing.

But Dayhun had to get back to Jihyo, so she made quick work of the potions shop:

Sneaking around the back of the building and picking the backdoor lock. Casting a detect life spell to find out where the shopkeeper was (upstairs writing in her numbers book) and taking all the red tinted bottles from their shelves.

(As well as the green, the blue, the yellow, and the white. And snagging some carnis roots and swamp fungal pods to make some paralysis poisons back when she gets home.)

She entered Jihyo’s stall and began pulling out the health potions and handing three to her. Pulling out a magicka regeneration potion for herself, fireballs take a lot of energy and closes her bag of goodies.

“Thank you Dahyun.” Jihyo drank one of the potions and tosses it into the corner of the stall once the bottle was empty.

“No problem. But we better get going, you know I didn’t pay for these.” Dahyun holds up her sack of stolen potions and gives the older girl a wink before standing.

“Yeah yeah, just give me a moment.” Jihyo groaned as she stood, brushing the straw off herself.

After checking if any guards were around, the pair returned to their journey back home. They were silent as they walked, but it was a comfortable silence that was only broken when Dahyun tripped over a stone and made sure to curse it out. All Jihyo could do was laugh at her partner in crime and continue walking.

~~~

The sun had sunk beneath the mountain range by the time the two had finally reached the city of Riften.

“Hey, Jihyo.” Dahyun finally spoke up as they entered the sewer beneath the city.

“What’s up Dubu?” Jihyo pulled on a hidden lever lowering a wooden drawbridge that the two crossed.

“I was thinking.”

“That’s dangerous.”

“Shut up! I was thinking that I might head out to the college tomorrow morning,” Dahyun told the older girl as they made their way down the stone steps and into their home, the Ragged Flagon. Or otherwise known as the Thieves Guild.

The underground headquarters was buzzing with activity even during the late hours of the day. Kim Namjoon, or RM as he insisted on being called, was the guild's leader and stood behind his desk planning the next big heist.

Kim Yerim and Park Sooyoung, code names Yeri and Joy, could be heard laughing in the practice room.

Chungha was brooding in the corner of one of the tunnels that lead further into the sewers of Riften. She was still upset that her attempt at breaking into the Goldenglow Estate was foiled by the mercenaries that were stationed all around the property as well as inside.

Then there was Moon Byulyi, Moonbyul, who was always trying to impress Kim Yongsun, Solar. At the moment it seemed that Moonbyul was trying to show off her archery skills, but Solar wasn’t having any of it and seemed to be more interested with the dagger in her hands.

This was Dahyun’s family. Thought they were a dysfunctional one, they were hers and she was theirs.

“Planning on visiting your lady?” Jihyo playfully poked Dahyun’s side with her fingers only to be slapped away by a blushing Dayhun.

“Yeah, it’s been a while since I’ve seen her because of all these dang shill jobs that send me halfway across the country to put a ring or a necklace in someone’s drawer as false evidence. Not that I’m complaining about the pay, that’s great, I just wish RM could give me a minute to breathe and visit my girl.” Dahyun and Jihyo waved to their fellow guildmates announcing their arrival back home, then continued to their beds.

Dahyun began to remove her dark leather uniform the guild provides for all its members and sets them next to her bed.

“Well before you leave, make sure to find me because I have a gift for her,” Jihyo told Dayhun from her bed across from Dahyun’s. Jihyo reached down for her coat and fishes around the pockets until she pulls out her last health potion, popping out the cork and downing the bottle.

“Of course.” Dahyun manages through a yawn proving how the travel had taken its toll on the little criminal.

“Goodnight Dubu.”

“Night Jihyo.”