The cold winds of Skyrim gently caressed the oaken trees, which shook and whispered hollow words amongst each other. The occasional wolf or cave bear would come bounding through the forest in hopes of snagging a nice meal. Luna Moths flitted their glowing wings steadily as the luminous Torchbugs buzzed quietly.

It was an unusually calm day for Sarila and her good friend, Ytri. It would have been calmer if they had been able to survive without struggle. Ytri's bitter face turned to their hastily-constructed tent, and the dimming campfire. She sighed heavily with a frown and began to poke the flames with a large stick.

"This is absolutely pathetic. We'll never be able to cook or stay warm with these flames. At this rate, our meat will barely even be ready to eat for the New Life Festival next month." Ytri bitterly stated.

"You can have my rations today if you like." Sarila replied in an attempt to cheer her friend up.

"Sarila, you need to learn how to tend a fire properly. It's something both of us must be able to do if the other is unable to. You know how this works, but you haven't practiced enough." Ytri resisted Sarila's kindness. "I'm going to find something that will help our fire stay lit, while you tend to the flames." Ytri sourly stormed off further into the woodlands with leaves, twigs, and grass crunching beneath her boots.

Sarila was a Nord who was 17 years of age, and was shorter than most Nords, though still somewhat tall. She had hair the color of a Septim, and gorgeous, startlingly violet eyes unlike any other pair of eyes she'd ever seen. She had a large scar on her right cheek, one she had earned in a life-changing attack as a young girl. Sarila was very kind and was often optimistic, always trying to help others whenever she could. She often found herself getting lost in her thoughts, or 'dozing off' as her late mother had called it. She was easily distracted, but could keenly focus when she needed to. She also had a tendency to analyze things and create theories to explain people's personalities, different animals' behaviors, and so on. In fact, she often over-analyzed things, which was both a blessing and a curse.

Ytri, however, was a hardened woman, and was often very brooding and quiet. She was a woman somewhere in her early to mid thirties, and though Sarila had known her for ten years, she never asked nor was told the woman's age. Ytri's hair was the color of a young oak tree, and usually had to be kept in a messy ponytail. Her eyes were the color of a green apple, and she wore a reddish cloak that perfectly fit her tall, slender physique. Around her neck was the amulet of Talos she eternally cherished, her name carved into the jewelry. Though she didn't often show it, Ytri cared greatly for Sarila. The two were all they had left after everything else was taken from them, and as a result, they fended for themselves in the ominous forest.

Sarila, the curious soul she was, used to wonder why she and Ytri could never go into the cities like Markarth, Whiterun, Falkreath, or even Windhelm. All she remembered was that whenever they went into a city, it was peaceful. Whenever they left, Ytri ushered Sarila to wait at the stables while she stayed behind for an extra half an hour or so. Whenever Ytri emerged from the city, she was running, and her armor and blades were coated with layers of fresh blood.

Sarila got up from her space on the log she sat upon. Several droplets of rain dotted her cheek and face, and began to dim the campfire even more. She tossed a stick into the campfire to keep it going a bit longer. She searched for more stray firewood, but to no avail.

"I might have something I can burn in my backpack." Sarila quietly told herself. She unzipped her large, black backpack and began to root around. She found an old spell tome she had never really used. She flipped to find a page she could tear out and toss into the fire, but instead found a spell for Flames.

Sarila smiled, she had accomplished something today. She quickly memorized the spell and summoned a ball of fire in her hands. "How to do this…hmmm…" Sarila pushed her hands forward and received a jolt of resistance, throwing her to the ground. She immediately stood back up and aimed her hands at the campfire once more, and shoved her hands forward with great force, feeling the glowing embers flow from her veins into the fire. She slightly shuddered at the foreign feeling of magic, but smiled as the campfire roared to life.

She closed her palms and the flames in her hands dissipated. The campfire was now crackling and burning better than she had hoped. The rain could not take this away.

Grrrrrl….

Sarila froze. She had heard a sound, a very unmistakable sound.

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrl….

There it was again. Sarila grew frightened, and retrieved her trusty ebony dagger from her backpack. She put the backpack straps around her shoulders in case she needed to make a quick escape.

Grrrrrrrrrl…..

Sarila slowly approached the site of the sound. It was exactly what she was afraid of; an enormous cave bear right where any unlucky soul could see it. It sounded worked up about something. Sarila looked to where the bear was focused. Up on a very fragile tree branch was Ytri. Ytri had no weapon and no way to defend herself. The tree branch appeared to be extremely unstable, and looked as if it wouldn't last much longer.

Sarila now had a choice. Help Ytri and risk her own life in the process, or leave her only friend to die.

I have to help Ytri. I wouldn't even be here if it weren't for her. I need to act now.

Sarila approached the honey-loving beast and quietly unsheathed her ebony dagger. With a quick thrust, she made a large gash in the creature's leg. The cave bear snarled in pain and turned its attention to Sarila. "Sarila, run!" Ytri yelled out to her companion. Sarila turned and began to run, not turning back, even after she heard a large snapping sound and a thump on the forest floor. Sarila dashed through the forest until she realized the bear was no longer chasing her, and had instead probably moved on to attack Ytri.

Ytri! She could be in trouble! I have to go back and help her!

Sarila sprinted back to their camp, but was stopped halfway there when she bumped into something. She opened her eyes and was face to face with a ravenous wolf. Behind it were four more wolves. A full pack.

Sarila retreated back to where she came, but this time, she had taken a different route. Still being chased by the hungry wolf pack, she turned around to try and fight. She slowly backed up with each strike she made, only to fall into a river. The rampant currents roared as Sarila was swept away in the violent waters of Skyrim. She struggled to stay above the water, gasping for breath whenever she was tossed upwards. She had breathed in water by mistake whenever the unforgiving river had thrown her under again. All the young, helpless woman could muster were calls for help, coughs, and shrieks of terror as she went downstream, unknowing if it was her last day on Skyrim or not. Though the fear of death was agonizingly terrifying on its own, Sarila's heart practically constricted at the thought of losing the closest person she had to family, Ytri.