A/N: I'm not entirely sure if Valenwood even HAD a Blades branch, but since I wrote it into Silent Steps I figured it might as well be in here too. The facility is entirely made up by me, just so you know.

'I'm still not quite sure why we thought it was a good idea to be riding on the forest floor when we could be taking the trees.' Commented Ulylle. 'There are several types of venomous adder down here.'

Shadow raised an eyebrow.

'Care to tell us what one might be?' She asked.

Ulylle shrugged.

'Black adders are very dangerous.'

Shadow nodded as though agreeing as they continued their ride. Her hand shot out, grasping a black snake and curling it around her shoulders.

'Black adders are the least of your worries down here. They're hardly dangerous, just intimidating in looks and name.'

Ulylle looked away, muttering a few colourful words as the group pushed on.

—

The trio scrutinised the sheer mountain in front of them. The trees surrounding it reached higher than the grey peak, concealing the ancient rock fortress from unwanted eyes. Shadow flicked her tongue over her chapped lips, coming up with different ideas as to how they would breach the hidden Blades base. She urged her stocky horse forward, studying the solid grey rock. It was covered with vines and had scrawny foliage growing here and there. In front of the group, a thin - nigh on invisible - crack blemished the face of the mountain.

Shrugging, Shadow dismounted and started towards the crack.

'Woah! Hang on, where're you off to?' Demanded Brynjolf.

'To investigate the only entrance we might have.'

Ulylle dismounted and joined her best friend. Her nose was healed, but it would always be slightly broken. In Brynjolf's opinion, it gave her a rebellious look. He himself had a slightly broken nose to go with the long scar running from the corner of his right eye, down his cheekbone and ending just below the corner of his mouth. It was pale now, but combined with the crooked nose it gave him a swashbuckling handsomeness that made lasses fall at his feet wherever he went.

Except for the few who weren't interested such as Shadow and Ulylle.

Of course, what Brynjolf didn't know was that his swashbuckling handsomeness had a massive effect on his Khajiit friend.

The trio - if one were given long enough to study them - had little defining features about them that made them attractive in their own ways.

Ulylle had her ever so slightly crooked nose, high cheekbones and a natural slight curve to the corners of her mouth, making her appear happy ninety percent of the time. She was naturally small - even for a wood elf -, though taller than Shadow by a decent amount. Her frame was compact in stark contrast to her frequent companion - Nightstone's. Ulylle's eyes were gold, much like the coin she stole when she was with the Guild. They were highly unnerving to stare into, as the shades of gold seemed to swirl in the right light.

Shadow was shorter than most - even for a Khajiit. Being a half-elf meant she possessed high cheekbones and more leg than torso. She was widely known for her white and black fur, a prominent gene in the Nightshade-Septim family tree. She too was slightly built, though she possessed wide shoulders and a slim waist, making a triangle shape with her short torso. Shadow's eyes were swirling maelstroms of amber, hypnotising and easy to lose yourself in. Unlike her best friends, Shadow's nose was not broken. She instead had three claw scars across it, products of one of her skirmishes many years ago. She was actually very muscular (despite her long fur) from her archery. Shadow's muscles were like steel and could be seen rippling through her fur if one caught her on a good day. Her arms and back muscles were solid because of thousands of hours working with a bow, while her leg and stomach muscles were there due to her constant getaways.

Brynjolf was a roguish figure with his swashbuckling handsomeness. He was thickly built like all Nords with a wide chest and shoulders. He was well muscled - below Nord standard. The redhead's muscles were like steel cables - heavily muscled for any other race but relatively small for the usual Nord. He had enough trouble as it was with his wide shoulders, he didn't need much more arm muscle.
While ladies were all over him due to the thickness of his arms (and from what Shadow had seen over the years, he had a six pack too - his linen undershirt was very tight on him), there was also his smirk.
By the nine that smirk.
It was a trademark thing of his - something that had little record of failure when it came to pickpocketing ladies. Most women (and a few men, for that matter)  found him a mysterious and adventurous figure in a highly attractive way, which attracted them to him like moths to a flame. Of course, there were women like Mjol the Lioness and Uthgerd the Unbroken who much preferred their drinks and brawls over a handsome stranger, not that this stopped Brynjolf - it was a matter of drinking then under the table before he made his move.
So when the tall, mysterious and handsome man entered a room, he was usually flocked without using his charm.
However, no matter how much charm he used, Brynjolf could never tame one woman.

Just one.

And her name was Shadow.