Chapter 2:
Scream until your lungs give
Fire.
It surrounds her. Smoke chokes her lungs. The screams of townsfolk and soldiers echo in her eardrums; almost deafening her. Aeriette had escaped the block, kept her head, but now she was running for her life. She had fought many in her life; bandits, mercenaries, beasts in the wilds. But this? This... Dragon?
Aeriette had never been so terrified in her life.
And that fact scared her even more.
The beast's voice boomed out over the town, shaking Aeriette to her very core. There was nothing she could do. Never had the young Nord felt so defenseless in the face of danger, not since she was a small girl. All she could was run. As fast as her sore feet could carry her. All she could think about was saving herself; despite everyone around crying out for help. But no matter where she turned... that Dragon was there. There was no escaping the giant beast.
Huge. Intimidating. With teeth bared, ready to strike at a moments-
"Wake up!"
Her eyes snapped open; a cold sweat clinging to her skin as she was faintly aware someone was shouting at her. Aeriette's vision was blurred, darkened, unable to make out the shape before her. "WAKE UP!" That commanding voice called out to her again. Aeriette blinked, quickly controlling her rapid breathing as the pair of strong hands upon her shoulders began to shake her like a ragdoll. Well that was a quick way to wake her up. Even though now Aeriette looked as if she was about to smack Bishop right across the head.
"What are you trying to do? Attract every predator in the area with your damn screaming? Why were you even screaming in the first place?" Before Aeriette could even reply, the young man was quick to shake his head. "Actually, don't bother. I don't want you to mistake this for me actually caring."
Aeriette sighed; quickly smacking those hands of his away. "It was just a nightmare... don't worry, I still think of you as an arrogant, rude little ranger." She wiped a hand across her face, wiping away the sweat - and maybe the odd tear that managed to escape her - as she fully sat up. Bishop was kneeling at her side, eyebrows furrowed as he was clearly not happy with the pet name he was apparently stuck with.
"Well.. whatever. Can't sleep with you screeching out like that."
"Not used to women screaming out are you. Shocker." Aeriette teased as she grabbed for her boots; tugging them on. Probably a good thing Bishop wanted to know nothing about her nightmare. It's not like Aeriette wanted to make it known how much the events in Helgen terrified her. And the thought of running into that Dragon again. Something she hoped she would never have to do.
"As we're both awake.. Might as well get some food in us. Let's see what I have then..." Hands now upon her pack, she began to rummage around. Probably best to eat perishables first. Quickly she fished out a small bread roll - which was wrapped up in a cloth to keep safe - and an apple. Nothing fancy, but it would keep her going until she hunted some game. Though, before she could delve into her breakfast, Aeriette was aware of hungry eyes watching her. Well... more staring at her food then anything else. Slowly she turned her blue eyes to focus on Bishop instead. "Seriously... you're not about to tell me you don't have any food."
Bishop shrugged his shoulders. "I noticed you grabbed some before we left Riverwood. I didn't see the need to waste my coin buying food you already had."
Aeriette bit her lip in frustration. She didn't particularly want to share her rations; they were limited enough as it was. But at the same time, couldn't exactly let Bishop starve. Then again... could just make him go and hutn for his breakfast. With a defeated sigh, she ripped the roll of bread in half, tossing one piece to her companion. "Fine. I'll feed you for now. But you are getting the food next time. I don't have enough for the both of us."
Bishop was too busy tearing into the bread to acknowledge the request. "Got any meat, princess? Bread is pretty bland. A man needs plenty to eat in the mornings."
Her frustration only grew. "You're not content with what I give you?"
"Could do with more. Come on, darling, you must have something else." He peered towards her bag even as Aeriette tried her hardest to hide the contents from him, sniffing the air as a smile cracked onto his lips. "I can smell... cooked meat. Don't be stingy. Sharing is caring after all. And I know for a fact you can't help but assist others. So... help me and my stomach out."
Ok, she did have some grilled goat's meat. That she was going to save for herself. For later. When Bishop wasn't looking. Damn this Ranger and his nose, at this rate she was never going to be able to keep anything from him. Ooooh, she so wanted to say no. To tell him to buzz off and get his own meat. Bastard had a bow and arrows, why didn't he put it to use and hunt something fresh? But alas, Bishop was right. Aeriette was too compassionate for her own good deep down. "Urg fine! Don't say I never do anything nice for you." Pulling the wrapped up meat out - a long with her dagger, she unwrapped the item and cut a generous slice off for Bishop. "There. That's all you're getting from me."
"For now." Bishop pointed out as he helped himself to the meat given to him. Ignoring the glare Aeriette was throwing his way.
"When you said you needed my assistance, I didn't think you also meant I had to feed you too. What next? You'll be expecting pay no doubt."
Bishop flashed her a look. "Oh I'm sure we can find an alternative to that."
A long, drawn out groan escaped Aeriette's lips as she pulled off a lump of bread from her half. "What happened to me not being your type?" The young woman asked; plopping the bread into her mouth as she watched the Ranger beside her. "You seemed quite adamant about that. But now you just can't stop with the flirting. Make up your mind."
Bishop shrugged his shoulders. "Can you blame me? Alone, with a young woman. Gets the blood pumping. Besides, now that I've gotten a good look at yah, ladyship, you're not too bad on the eyes. As for the rest of you.." His eyes were now cast down to her figure; which was still pretty much completely clad in armor.
"Flattery wont get you very far, Bishop. Only thing I'm interested in right now is coin. And there better be some at the end of this journey..."
"A woman who likes her gold? Nothing new there, gold can be the quickest way to a woman's heart. Though agreed. I'm sure these bandits have a coin purse or two we can free them from. It's not like they will need it when they're dead."
"And mead."
"Mead?"
Aeriette looked to him; finishing the last of her food. "Mead. I'm a woman who is also rather fond of drinking. And fighting..." She paused, rubbing her chin lightly. "And hunting. Riding. Gambling... and other things."
"Woman after my own heart." Bishop joked; dusting bread crumbs off his armor before getting up. "With a face like yours, I expected you to be more lady like."
A rather amused snort left Aeriette's lips as she closed her pack up. "My sisters were the ladies. I was more like my brothers." Her bedroll was next to be tidied away. "Granted, from time to time my sisters managed to- but what am I saying, you don't care, right?"
"The lady catches on quick! Such a sharp thing you are."
"I'll show you sharp..." She huffed, causing Bishop to laugh out in response. Seemed she was more capable of making the other laugh rather then feel threatened. Aeriette will have to work on that. "Lets just get going, ok?"
"Over the mountain?"
Aeriette glanced to her map; her mood obviously having not improved even after several hours, before returning her gaze to Bishop. "Well it should cut our journey by a few days. Not afraid of a little cold are yah?"
Bishop scoffed with arms crossed over his chest. "I've been surviving in worse conditions since I was a boy. I just don't want you to end up collapsing due to the cold, and expecting me to take care of you."
"I'm a Nord. A bit of snow isn't going to affect me in the slightest." Aeriette pointed out, carefully folding the map away and sliding it back into her pack. "Though, if there ends up being a blizzard, then we will have to take shelter. And usually all the caves are occupied by hungry bears. Not afraid of fluffy bears I hope?"
"I was going to ask you the same thing, sweet heart. But don't worry, I won't let them hurt you. Not too much anyway."
"Charming..."
Luckily the weather was on their side; the cool wind against their backs and the sky relatively clear. Hopefully it would stay this way. The thought of being trapped up here due to a blizzard with Bishop was not the most appealing thing to Aeriette. Despite the calmness, her eyes would look to the skies. Keeping watch. Just.. in case that creature returned. This new found paranoia of hers was very un-welcomed. She spent the majority of her youth hunting with her brother's, and never had a beast caused this much fear in her. Then again, there was a huge difference between a Dragon and the small fluffy things she was used to hunting...
Tugging her scarf lightly, she peered back towards Bishop. Who always stayed a step or two behind her. Aeriette would rather have him in her sights at all times, but she wasn't about to make a bid deal about it. The man looked on guard, keeping an eye out upon their surroundings and sniffing the air. All Aeriette could smell were the pine trees... though maybe the Ranger had a more acute nose then her. Considering he could smell what she had in her pack, there was no denying that fact. Bishop seemed to remind her more of an animal then a human sometimes...
Aeriette was still in the process of working out if that was a good thing or not.
With snow crunching under foot, only several hours had passed, when the wind got stronger the higher they got. The frigid air biting at their skin. Even with all her armor, she could still feel the freezing wind blowing around her. The lure of a large camp fire nearly caught her attention, but considering it belonged to a Stormcloak group, there was no way she was going to get involved. Aeriette wanted nothing to do with the civil war going on. And so they trudged on.
Rubbing her hands together, Aeriette slowly began to realize that it may have been far colder up here then she had first initially thought. She had been too busy trying to look tough in front of Bishop. Maybe she should have been more attentive to how cold it truly got up in the mountains.
Though Bishop seemed completely unaffected by this.
Of course, this forced Aeriette to push back her discomforts. No way was she going to look weaker then her companion; this would only lead to Bishop taunting her.
"What is that noise?" The Ranger huffed behind her. Aeriette couldn't hear anything. Bishop was probably hearing things. "Is.. is that your teeth chattering?" By the Gods it was; Aeriette hadn't even been aware her teeth were doing that. Was she really that cold? Surely not! She was a Nord, the snow shouldn't be bothering her. Despite the fact it had been many years since she had been in Skyrim... "Come over here so I can warm you up. And stop you making that annoying sound with your teeth."
At this point she swirled around; and nearly smashed right into him. Bishop had been much closer then she initially thought. The young lady was quick to compose herself. "I do not need you to keep me warm, Bishop. So man up and stop whining about the noises I make." Spinning on her heel, she pretty much stomped off, muttering under her breath how irritating men could be.
She tried her hardest to ignore the soft chuckle leaving the other. "You won't be saying that tonight, princess."
A strained noise left Aeriette. That's it! Her hand snapped out; scooping up fresh snow from a rocky ledge beside her. Quickly patting it into a ball, she twisted around; a look of pure dedication upon her face as she hurled the snow ball right at Bishop. The man, who had been occupied with laughing at his companion's discomfort, failed to see it coming. Which splattered right across his face and causing him to nearly stumble back in shock. This earned a roar of laughter from the Nord. Though... her merriment was short lived as Bishop flashed her a very pissed off glare. Those amber eyes of his narrowing with rage.
"Oh dear..."
The young man grabbed a handful of snow himself. But, instead of throwing it at Aeriette, he closed the distance between them with long strides. Aeriette was preparing for the worst, but before she could react, Bishop's free hand grabbed the front of her armor. In which, he proceeded to stuff the snow right down the inside of her chest piece.
"BY THE GODS!"
Aeriette screamed out; the freezing snow causing her skin the flare up with pain. Pulling away from Bishop, the young lady patted her front, trying her damnedest to rid herself of the snow. "Oblivion take you, Bishop! Gods Gods GODS!" Well her teeth were definitely chattering now. Any warmth she did have was gone in an instant. "That's it!"
Well, one way for Aeriette to get her blood pumping hot again would be to beat the living crap out of Bishop. And that was what she was damn well going to do. Like an enraged beast, she threw herself at Bishop; fingers looping into the straps of his armor to keep a tight grip upon him. Now, to Bishop's defense, he had never expected the young Nord to ever throw herself at him like this. So of course the Ranger wasn't quite prepared.
Which led to the pair toppling backwards and down the rather steep slope that made up the mountain pathway. The sounds of equipment smacking into snow, and their bodies slamming into one another as they rolled and slipped down the path echoed around the passageway walls; along with the grunts of the Ranger and the angry yells of the Nord. Finally, then came to a halt; slamming into a pile of rocks. "You stupid wench!" Well, clearly Bishop was pissed off now. Especially with Aeriette trying to strike him. Luckily, he had pretty much landed ontop of her; the Ranger easily pinning her wrists down against the snowy ground to stop the woman from gouging his eyes out with her fingernails. "What in Oblivion are you doing? Trying to get us both killed or-" Bishop suddenly paused.
Aeriette was pretty much shaking like a leaf. Whether that was from anger or the cold - maybe even both - Bishop couldn't tell. Her lips, going blue from the cold, were parted. Taking in shaky breaths. "I'm.. g-g-g-gonna beat the crap out of y-y-you..." She growled, trying to push against Bishop.
"Give it a rest, ladyship. Thanks to your stupid little outburst, you've gone and made a mess of everything." Luckily his own armor kept the snow out. But Aeriette's... not so much. He could see clumps of snow trying to squeeze between the gaps in her armor. No doubt adding to her frozen state. "There's no way we can continue like this. You'll end up freezing to death. Great... I have the right mind to just leave your sorry ass here."
Aeriette didn't look too worried by this. Then again, she was too busy shivering violently beneath him.
A defeated sigh left the Ranger, obviously deciding against leaving Aeriette to her fate. "You owe me one now... I'm gonna do you this favour and save your ass." With that said, he lifted her up with ease. "Come on. Stand on your own two legs, I'm not going to carry you to shelter."
Though Aeriette had her own plans. "Will you let go? I am c-c-capable of walking m-myself."
"No you're not. Now stop wasting my time." Glancing up, he spied a small cave not far from where they stood through the swirling snow around them. "There. We'll stop there while you dry your clothes out. Unless you want to turn into an icicle?"
Luckily he got no more complaints from Aeriette. Seemed she had finally given in; though that annoyed look was still plastered across her reddened face. Pretty much dragging her towards the cave; Bishop allowed her to flop down against the wall once inside. Looked like no one - creature or human - was occupying the cave. Now out of the frigid wind, Bishop cast a look down towards Aeriette. "Haven't passed out on me have you?"
"L-like that, wouldn't you."
"At least you'll be quiet." Grabbing anything he could burn - which consisted of a few branches and twigs from within the cave, he piled them up. Best to get some sort of fire going. Pulling Aeriette's pack off her, Bishop helped himself to the contents; trying to locate anything that could help them. Luckily she was smart enough to keep some kindling and a spark stone. Shame she wasn't smart all the time...
Making a nice small fire, Bishop was about to help himself to the rest of Aeriette's goat meat - payment for saving her - when he heard shuffling. The young Nord was in the process of un-buckling her armor. Anything to rid herself of the freezing snow still stuck against her cooling skin. Obviously stripping in front of another person didn't seem to bother her too much. Even if it was Bishop. Decency be damned, she needed to get warm. With a heavy thunk, she allowed her leather chest piece to fall to the ground, which was quickly joined by her gloves and scarf. Leaving her in her cloth under clothes. Which were soaked through.
"Y-you're a total b-b-bastard, you know." Aeriette hissed; shaking hands unbuckling her belt. "Why the h-hell did you h-have to stick snow inside m-my armor?"
"You were the one boasting about being able to withstand the cold." Bishop replied, keeping those golden orbs of his trained upon Aeriette. He sat himself down next to the fire as Aeriette yanked her belt off. "Besides, you started it. Anyway... you need help taking your clothes off?"
Blue eyes looked to him. "Down, b-b-boy... don't be getting any ideas." Though she extended a trembling leg to him. "Feel free to take my b-b-boots off though."
"Boots? Was hoping for something a little more intimate then that." With a shrug, he scooted closer; hands grasping her boots before tugging. She swore at him for being so rough; her feet obviously sensitive from her boots being full of snow. "Maybe this will be a lesson to you. Don't start fights with me."
The straps for her knives were next to come off. "What? I t-t-thought you've been dying to see me out of my armor." She took in another shivered breath; the cool air against her wet shirt causing uncomfortable shivers up her spine. "Take it in. C-c-cause as soon as I've recovered, I'm going to p-p-punch you right in the mouth."
"No you're not, woman." Bishop warned; placing Aeriette's armor closer to the fire so it could dry off. The quicker Aeriette recovered, the quicker they could be on their way. "Come on... you're not going to get any dryer with that on. Arms up!"
Aeriette grumbled under her breath; realizing her joints hurt too much for her to pull the shirt off herself. Especially with it sticking to her skin. And so - reluctantly - she extended her arms up. Allowing Bishop to tug it up. Though of course, the Ranger being who he was, gave off a low whistle as he pulled enough up to expose her chest. "So you do have breasts hiding under all this clothing, huh? Not too bad either.."
Aeriette's face was covered by the shirt; which Bishop still hadn't fully pulled up off her yet. "D-do you mind, little Ranger? This is not the m-most flattering pose for me."
"Oh.. my apologies, ladyship." The sarcasm was strong in his voice as he finished pulling her shirt off. Draping the wet garment across a rock close to the fire. "Surely you have a spare shirt... oooor not. Why do you have a spare scarf, and not a spare shirt?"
The young Nord extended a hand to him. "At least g-g-give me that to dry myself off..." Bishop didn't hesitate to hand her the ragged blue item, which she began to pat her face and chest down with trembling hands. Though with the small fire, Aeriette could feel herself beginning to warm up. Thank the Gods for that. Her sight was cast down suddenly as rough hands were grabbing at her soaked trousers. "What... really, must these come off as well?"
Bishop flashed her a grin. "Well, they do have to dry out too. Sitting in soaking wet pants can't be very comfortable, can it?" Seemed he had the go ahead to continue, considering Aeriette was no longer complaining. Helping her wiggle out of them, he placed the trousers to the side to join the rest of her armor. "And now for the last-"
"Oh hohoho n-n-no." Aeriette foot was raised to press against Bishop's cheek. Keeping him at bay. "My underwear s-stays on. That isn't life threatening. A lady c-can't get completely naked in front of a man."
Bishop smiled; taking a grip of Aeriette's foot with his hand. "Where's that rule written?"
"In the b-book of 'It's not gonna happen Ranger'. You should r-read it sometime, full of a lot of facts about 'manners' and 'personal space'."
Before Aeriette could react, Bishop was tugging her close. Pressing her body against his own. His armor surprisingly warm; no doubt from sitting so close to the fire. Strong arms circled around her, pretty much trapping the Nord. Which forced a displeased look to appear on her face. "Sounds like a boring book, darling. Now this... far more exciting." He paused, looking down at her with those hungry eyes of his. "What's this? Is the little lady blushing?"
Wait.. was her face red? Aeriette pouted at this, eyebrows furrowing with irritation. "No! I am not blushing. I'm.. getting a cold." Surely that was the reason. Yes, must be. Being close to an irritating man like this would never cause her to blush like some love struck fool. Crossing her arms over her chest, the Nord huffed gently. "I suppose I'll allow you to hold me for a while. You are pretty warm."
"You'll allow me?" Bishop laughed in disbelief at Aeriette's words. "Lady... if I want to do something, I'll do it no matter what. I am my own man, remember?"
"Yes yes. You're a strong, independent little Ranger. I get it. Now please, if you don't mind, I'm trying to warm up here." She quickly held up a finger. "No.. no. None of this 'oh I know what'll warm you up' cause I'm happy with how things are right now. Thank you very much.."
Author's Note
Ok wow, that chapter was longer then planned. Sorry about that. Anyway, hope you all enjoyed it! Chapter 3 will be done soon. also the last part of this chapter was inspired by Frostfall, a fun mod for all your challenging needs xD.
Also I did mention there will be adult content soon. I shall put a warning on the header of the chapter! Though soon there will be a lot of fighting. And I tend to get carried away when writing gory fight scenes, so heads up about that soon! Just in case that's not your cup of tea.
