Madoka lifted the bow in her hands, stretching the string out so she could get a feel for it. It was definitely harder to draw than her old bow, which had felt more like an extension of herself, especially when she'd been a goddess. It would take some time to get used to this real, wooden one, but her skill still came naturally as she expertly launched an arrow right into the center of the makeshift target hanging from the tree behind Wulf's house.
"Are you sure about this?" Madoka asked Wulf as she went to retrieve the arrow, "I don't feel right just taking your stuff."
Wulf waved her off, "It's fine. These are all just extra military surplus items I kept from back in the day. We used to hand these out to new recruits. Now then," he pulled out another weapon, a crossbow, from the chest that was resting along the back wall of his house, which he handed to Mami, "Give that a try."
Mami looked over the device in curiosity before Wulf began to advise her on how it worked. She put an arrow in, cranked it up, and after aiming it like a musket fired a perfect shot at the target. The blonde gave a satisfied smile, but that faded a bit as she became a bit puzzled, "… How did you know this would be better for me than a bow?"
Wulf laughed at that, "Enough time in the army and you soon get to tell who's an archer, who's a marksman, and who's neither."
"So…" Madoka said, changing the subject as she stared out towards the distant snowcapped mountains beyond the swamp, "Tomorrow, huh?"
The old man nodded, more serious now, "The longer you wait, the worse the weather is going to get. Summer ends tomorrow. This far north the snow will be starting any day now, and you've got a long trip to Dawnstar."
Madoka's gaze drifted to the ground, "… I can't thank you enough for what you've done for us," she said, turning back to Wulf.
"Agreed," said Mami, "You didn't have to do any of this."
"Ah, I'm an old man who lives alone in a swamp," Wulf grinned as he sat down with a groan, "I get bored. You're quite welcome though."
"There must be something we can do to repay you," Mami insisted.
Wulf seemed to consider it for a moment, "What I want most of all? A good story. The next time we see each other, I want you to tell me the adventures you've had. Make me feel young again."
"… You think we'll see each other again?" Madoka asked hopefully.
Wulf chuckled, "Tamriel is smaller than we like to think. No, I don't believe this will be the last time we see one another," he glanced up at the fading daylight, "However, it is the end for today. You had best get back and rest up for tomorrow."
Together the two girls picked up their new gear: an old imperial bow for Madoka, a small Dawnguard crossbow for Mami, and two pairs of old imperial short swords-one for each of them, and two for Sayaka should she awaken. Wulf had also provided them with traveling boots and wrist guards, as well as a supply of hunting arrows, of course.
When they were ready to go, Wulf stood back up to see them off, leading them around to the front of his house. Mami bowed slightly before heading off, but Madoka stuck around for a moment, unsure of what to do.
Then, she decided. The pinkette gave Wulf a hug, surprising the old man, but he took it in kind.
"Thank you," Madoka said again with as much earnestness as possible while Mami waited.
"Be safe," Wulf replied warmly as the two let go, "I expect great things from both of you." Madoka waved at him with a faint blush on her cheeks as she caught up with Mami. The two were silent for a moment as they walked towards town.
"… Once we get to the College," Mami began, "What is our plan?"
Madoka exhaled as she let her smile go, "… We need to see if they can wake up Sayaka and find the rest of our friends."
"And then?"
"… I want to find out more about the meteor shower," Madoka said, "And my dreams."
Mami looked at her for confirmation, "… You think more of us arrived here."
"I hope more of us have, yeah." Madoka rubbed her elbow. She had to believe. She had to or… or she was going to go insane. There just wasn't any other option for her. The blood on her hands. Trillions upon trillions of… no. No, not right now. She wasn't going to do this right now. Steady breathing.
Mami put a reassuring hand on Madoka's shoulder as they continued to walk, having noticed the other girl was tensing up, "It'll be okay."
Madoka looked over at her with a forlorn expression, "… Will it?" To that, there wasn't much Mami could say. It was never a good sign when the former concept of hope was doubting.
The rest of the trip back was in silence.
The return to Bren and Aia's house was quiet and understated. The older couple knew the girls were leaving soon of course; Madoka and Mami had filled them in two days prior, and even before then their increasing visits to Wulf had tipped them off. They'd been skeptical; going to Winterhold alone? At this time of year? But Madoka and Mami couldn't be dissuaded, and ultimately Aia and Bren found they couldn't disagree with the girls' motives.
"So tomorrow's the big day." Aia said over dinner.
Mami nodded, "We'll be leaving early in the morning. We want to make good time before the weather turns."
"We'll miss having you around." Bren said after swallowing a bite of bread, "You girls were quite the help around the store."
"We were happy to be here," Mami said, "Thank you for taking us in." Truth be told, Mami was going to miss this place. Living with other people, working together… Bren and Aia weren't surrogates for her parents by any means, but it had still been something she'd guiltily indulged in.
"We hope we weren't too much of a bother." Madoka added.
"Nonsense," Aia replied, "Like Bren said, we loved having you. We wish you could have stayed longer. Oh! Speaking of, before I forget." she got up from her seat and grabbed a bag that had been stashed in the corner, "We got something for your trip." She brought the bag back over to the table and pulled out two thick grey fur cloaks—one for each girl, "You'll be needing these, especially if you're headed up to Winterhold. There's another in the bag for Sayaka."
"… They're beautiful," Madoka muttered.
"… We can't possibly take these," Mami said with embarrassment as she looked the over-the-top gift over in her hands.
"Orryn down the street caught a pack of stray wolves trying to get at his chickens a few nights ago," Aia explained, "He asked if I wanted the pelts. I told him you were leaving soon, and he obliged. Also, you're taking them and that's final; I won't have a bunch of kids dying from frostbite out on the tundra."
Madoka let out a soft laugh—Aia reminded her a little bit of her mom, tender yet tough as nails, and Madoka knew better than to cross her. She hugged her new cloak tightly—it was soft, and very comfortable, "… Thank you. I don't know what to say."
"Just be safe," Aia replied. The girls nodded in affirmation.