Frost Creek was a quaint village. Just a few streets in size, with a population of a few hundred. Huts and cottages made of wood and stone with straw roofs lined said streets, reminding Madoka a bit of medieval Scandinavia. The climate was definitely right; late summer and it already felt like they were deep into fall. Beyond the town though, was unpleasant. Ugly swamp lands extended in all directions, and even within the town much of the traffic was done by boat, like some sort of miniature Venice.
She'd come out here to the front porch of the house because she couldn't stand being cooped up inside anymore. Sayaka was still unresponsive and the atmosphere was so uncertain and oppressive. At least out here she could catch some evening sunlight and distract herself by watching everyone go about their day. To her left and down the street she could see a wood mill occupied by workers sawing through logs. Elsewhere, a bunch of people were chatting in front of the local inn.
Occasionally they'd watch her too, stealing a glance here and there at the new arrival in town. The… what was it she'd been called, Akaviri? A people from far away land to the east filled with strange creatures and weird legends. Well, she was definitely from far away, so why not.
Not that she'd ever see any of it ever again.
What was she even doing here?
"… I should have just let Homura take me back home," she muttered to herself darkly.
"Wouldn't have worked," Mami said, standing beside her. She gave a smile as she sat down, "Before the battle, the other magical girls told me how the universe was falling apart. Homura was trying to micromanage too many things at once, and using up too much cosmic energy. Eventually something would have had to give."
Madoka couldn't help but smile wistfully at the memory of the other girls who had tried to rescue her. She'd handpicked them alongside Nagisa and Sayaka before leaving with the latter two to try and save Homura. Had her gambit against the Incubators failed, they were to awaken from the Law of Cycles and scout out the situation. Like her mom had once said, always have a contingency plan.
"… I sent them to their deaths," she said, her faint smile fading, "They'd only expected to go up against the Incubators, not…" a shudder escaped her lips.
"They got close to finding you without Homura finding out," Mami said, "Very close. If Sayaka hadn't gotten captured, I think we might have pulled it off."
"I still would have had to fight Homura," said Madoka, "It would have ended the same".
That much was true, and Mami didn't have an answer. Instead she redirected the conversation, "Dinner is soon."
Madoka let out an anxious breath, "I guess I should come, huh? I still haven't talked with our hosts, I feel kind of bad about that."
Mami put a reassuring hand on her shoulder, "Don't force yourself if you don't feel up to it," she smiled a bit, "I am the one cooking, though."
Madoka actually managed a real smile, "Well then I definitely have to come, don't I?"
Mami gave a good-natured chuckle as she got up and went back inside.
It was such a weird dynamic, Mami knew. She'd come to know Madoka once in Homura's false Mitakihara, and then again in Homura's world (at least initially, before Homura began to hide her away), but before that she'd only known her as the Law of Cycles, an ever-present and impersonal force that governed reality. She'd been more of an urban legend than anything else. So really, the thought of comforting and caring for a former goddess seemed… very out of place.
And yet, something about it felt right. Homura may have designed their relationship both times, but it felt like their friendship ran deeper than that, and Madoka even seemed to think so as she was constantly looking to her for stability. Imagine that, god was asking her to be her anchor. The thought was almost laughable.
As soon as she was out of earshot of Madoka, Mami allowed her facade to crack—just for a moment, allowing herself a single stuttering deep breath as the enormity of the situation washed over her. What was she even doing?
No. None of that. She needed work to keep herself busy, to keep certain dark thoughts from creeping in. Just like her life as a magical girl, focusing on the larger picture was a recipe for disaster. She just needed to take it one step at a time and not think about it.
In the end, Madoka had elected to come to dinner after Bren had closed his shop up, and they all took up seats in the living quarters on the building's second floor, where Madoka could see the couples' bed in the corner. The couple seemed fairly well off, judging by the animal throw rug beneath her, or the rustic ornaments that decorated the room—or that weird small table with ornate designs and glass instruments above it in the other corner. That helped her feel less guilty about taking advantage of their hospitality, at least. less guilty anyway; she still felt it a bunch.
It was a quiet affair though, with the former goddess silently stirring her soup aimlessly, her thoughts elsewhere.
"You're letting it get cold," Mami told her.
Madoka woke from her thoughts with a start, "O-oh, sorry. I was just… thinking".
"Are you alright?" Bren asked her, "Do you still feel ill?"
Madoka shook her head, inwardly chastising herself for not paying attention to the situation at hand, "No, I'm fine. Thank you though," she paused, "… Thank you for inviting us in. I know this must be a rather large inconvenience."
Aia laughed, "Not at all. We're happy to have you here." She was middle aged, much like Bren; though she seemed more southern European to Bren's north. Her once jet-black hair was slowly turning gray, though she herself was aging gracefully.
"Mami's been quite the help around the shop," Bren declared, "… And the kitchen it seems. This is very good. Where did you learn to cook?"
"Oh, thank you!" Mami blushed slightly, "I live alone, mostly. And I like doing things for other people".
"… Oh," Aia said falteringly, "So you don't live with your… sisters?" she glanced at Madoka.
"Uh… we're not siblings," Madoka replied, "Just close friends".
"It's a long story." Mami explained.
Aia decided to finally ask the question that had been on the couple's lips since the first day, "… How did you come to Skyrim, anyway? It's a long way from Akavir, especially alone for kids your age."
"And why Drajkmyr Marsh of all places?" Bren asked, "There are far more scenic places in Skyrim".
Mami and Madoka looked at each other as if for confirmation. Madoka answered, "We didn't… exactly come here by choice. We… it…" she trailed off, not sure how to explain this.
Mami covered for her, "Some… bad things happened, and we just sort of… ended up here. We're not exactly sure how."
"Magic, huh," Aia said. The girls squirmed a bit, but she reassured them, "Don't worry, I won't pry if you don't want me to. Though I'd love to know more about Akaviri culture. Especially those magical talismans of yours. I've never seen them before".
"… Talismans?" Madoka squeaked, instinctively reaching for her soul gem ring.
Bren chuckled, "Aia used to work for the University down south in the Imperial City. She's always been interested in far-off places."
"I had my fair share of expeditions around Tamriel in my youth," Aia confirmed gleefully, "Before I got old and settled down, anyway," she shifted the conversation back, "So are those talismans clan-based? Marriage tokens?"
The two girls again locked eyes, hesitant about opening this particular can of worms with near-strangers. Still, they weren't on Earth anymore, these two already seemingly knew about magic, and keeping secrets wouldn't help make friends when they were so short on them already. Madoka gave Mami a reluctant nod.
Mami took a deep breath and then summoned her soul gem, "It's a… contract".
"… A contract?" Aia's interest intensified, "Never heard of that before. A contract for what?"
"We get one wish, and in return we have to fight monsters called Wraiths." Madoka said.
"… What part of Akavir are you from?" Aia asked, "There's nothing in Tsaesci lore about this that I remember".
"… It's not Daedric, is it?" Bren asked, suddenly suspicious.
"Honestly Bren, not everything magical is Daedric in origin," Aia chastised her husband, "Forgive him, Bren's a tried and true Nord".
"Daedric?" asked Madoka.
Bren answered, "Malevolent spirits that trick you into being their slaves. They might grant you a boon, but then they might take your soul as payment".
Mami began to sweat a bit while Madoka choked on her soup, "… No, it's…nothing like that." Mami reassured them, lying through her teeth with a smile. Bren's eyes narrowed in suspicion, but he let it pass.
"What did you wish for?" Aia asked, putting the conversation back on track. The two girls suddenly became very uncomfortable.
"It's… complicated," Madoka said.
Aia put her hands up defensively, "Like I said, I won't pry if you don't want me to."
Now Madoka had something she wanted to ask though, something that had been bugging her and since they WERE talking about magic, "Um… question. That potion you gave us earlier. That one that lets us speak your language…"
Aia perked back up, "Ah, that. Just a little recipe I picked up from my time in the University. It was really helpful when we had to play host to foreign dignitaries. It's only a temporary measure though, it wears off after a few days. Alternatively, we also used to enchant amulets with a spell that the wearer could use, but I don't have any on hand right now".
"… Magic exists here," Mami said almost to herself, looking down at her soul gem in frustration. It was already clear it did, but every time the subject came up it just made their own situation even more perplexing because it seemed so common here, like it was a normal day-to-day thing that the average person knew about.
Aia seemed a bit taken aback, "Why wouldn't it? Magicka exists in all things. Magicka is. It's the raw energy that comprises the universe."
"Yes, of course. Apologies, I was just thinking out loud," Mami replied, a bit flustered.
The conversation trailed off. The meal was just about finished anyway, and the girls soon sequestered themselves to the cellar where Sayaka lay on the spare bed.