Oh hey. Finally some action. Review!
...
"Turn away from the sun
It'll take you grace."
~Amarante
...
"No no, it is wrong!" Ra'zhinda shook her head at Amarathine. The Khajiit woman decided it would be fun to train the elf Rawlith Khaj, a form of hand to claw combat, or something like that.
The Altmer currently stood on one leg holding the other in the air in the form of a front kick. Ra'zhinda was helping her work on technique by making her do everything slow motion. "This one's foot is too low for these long legs." The feline woman grabbed her foot and pushed it until it was head height. "This is more effective," she stated before dropping the elf's foot.
Amarathine wined, "but I have no power kicking that high." Returning to her fighting stance she kicked again, before jogging back up to the Khajiit. They practiced as they traveled, so her and Ra'zhinda would stop and catch up to the other two feline men frequently.
Ra'zhinda looked pointedly at her. "That's because this one is wrong!" She moved beside the elf and demonstrated the kick for at least the fiftieth time today. "Knee up first, then kick out." Her kick was higher than her head, even with the steel armor she wore. "Now try again!"
Taking a deep breath, the elf glanced at her instructor before attempting again. This time she brought her knee up all the way up to her chest before kicking out her leg. This time her foot went well above her head before she clumsily brought it down again.
"Yes, yes!" Ra'zhinda praised enthusiastically. Amarathine looked over to the sound of clapping to see Ma'jhad and Ma'dran up ahead of them observing. She turned back to the cat woman with an excited smile.
"Next kick," she said tersely. The she elf's smile vanished. "This one has much to learn in a short time."
It was the afternoon of the second day of traveling with the Khajiit caravan. Tomorrow they would reach Dragon Bridge where the Khajiit would stop to sell wears and Amarathine would continue on. She enjoyed the Khajiit's presence more than any Nords or Imperials. They typically spent their time educating her on their culture, which lead to Rawlith Khaj and in turn, her lessons. Other common topics included Skyrim's awful weather, how to maintain a shiny coat, and moon sugar.
By that evening Amarathine graduated to back kicks, seeing as she could do front, turning, and side now. This kick was the hardest, she was told to bend down low and kick straight back. It sounded easy enough, but her balance didn't agree.
This time it was Ma'jhad that demonstrated the kick, he switched with Ra'zhanda an hour ago because he wanted to see her progress. In one fluid motion he spun on the balls of his feet to face away from her and with speed she had never seen before, he kicked back, his foot stopping an inch from her nose. Amarathine made a small squealing sound while her eyes bulged. She felt the turbulence of his kick blow back the loose strands of her hair.
"Impressive, no?" Ma'jhad said smugly returning to a standing position in front of her.
The Altmer woman put her hands on her hips. "Yes you are amazing Ma'jhad, let me bask in your eternal glow." sarcasm dripping from her words.
The dark furred Khajiit Bowed, "It is Ma'jhad's pleasure."
She must have provoked him, because he went into a a resting stance taking a deep breath.
Amarathine turned to see Ra'zhanda and Ma'dran had stopped, they must have known what Ma'jhad was going to do. Turning her eyes back to him, he began a strange dance of blocks, punches and kicks. The Khajiit warrior would be relaxed when moving, but snapped out the final stance in a lethal way. She could hear the snapping noise of his tunic after every movement. It was genuinely impressive, and beautiful. When he finished Amarathine clapped, joined by the other two Khajiit.
"Beautiful as always, Ma'jhad." Ra'zhinda praised. Ma'dran nodded in agreement.
The latter looked at the elf. "Ma'jhad is a true master of Rawlith Khaj, a prodige since a kitten." Amarathine turned back to the scarred Khajiit as he approached the group. His head held high, reminding her much of an Altmer.
The sun began to set causing the sky to glow with large pink clouds. Amarathine was designated wood gatherer while Ra'zhanda set up the fire pit. Ma'dran set out to catch supper, and Ma'jhad was in charge of setting up the tents.
The Altmer wandered out of sight of the camp in search of fallen branches. She stopped to line herself up with a tree and practiced a kick.
Bad idea, the tree hurt her foot more than she expected. She dropped the few branches she was holding in favor of grabbing her leg and jumping on her other foot for balance. "Ow, that hurt!" Regaining some composure, she looked around to make sure no one witnessed her embarrassing moment. After a three sixty check she determined no one saw, relieved she picked up the wood she dropped and continued her search.
Ma'dran rejoined the camp shortly after Amarathine and Ra'zhinda started the fire, in his clawed hands hung three dead rabbits. Ma'jhad, who was now sitting on a mat beside Amarathine, was the first to acknowledge him. "There are four of us, slowpaw. Ma'dran is short a rabbit."
"Slowpaw?" The Altmer looked between the insulted Khajiit and the one beside her.
Ma'dran ignored her question. "Perhaps Ma'jhad would like to catch his own meals from this day on." His eyes narrowed dangerously at the dark furred Khajiit.
"This one can barely catch his own food, perhaps Ma'jhad will."
Amarathine noticed both Khajiit's pupils contracting to narrow slits. She couldn't help but feel guilty, if it wasn't for her, three rabbits would be plenty. She thought of the three apples slowly going bad in her backpack. Of course, she could eat those!
"It's ok, Ma'jhad, Ma'dran." She interrupted hesitantly. Both snapped their heads to her, eyes still hostile for a moment. She continued, "I have some fruit still, I'll eat that tonight. You three can have the rabbits." Amarathine put on her best smile despite the situation.
"This one does not need to deprive herself for the behalf of these two kittens." It was Ra'zhinda who was just changing out of her armor inside her tent, she wore a simple tunic now.
The she elf shrugged, "they're going bad anyways, I don't want to let them go to waste."
"Suit yourself." Ma'jhad said anger vanishing.
Argument seemingly forgotten, Ma'dran sat down beside Ra'zhanda who was now sitting across from Ma'jhad. The fire blazed, warming the small group. It was a somewhat pleasant night, there was no bone chilling wind for once, a rare occasion for Skyrim. Amarathine didn't even need to wrap herself in her cloak, it was a nice feeling.
After a sweet supper, the caravan travelers chatted amongst each other. Amarathine leaned back on her hands looking up at the starry sky while idly listening to the Khajiits' stories. She missed the room at the Inn, had Corpulus already rented it to guests? Was the fire still burning? She wondered if she would finally be able to afford a house in Helgen. Would she find a husband there, have a family? Her eyes started to feel heavy, all this wondering must have been making her tired.
"Goodnight," she bid to the others, getting up.
"Dream of warm sands," Ra'zhinda responded as she nodded with the other two Khajiit.
Amarathine smiled, "I will."
She climbed into the tent she shared with the female Khajiit and curled up in her bed roll. She put the covers up over her head getting as warm and cozy as possible before drifting off.
...
The afternoon of the next day they made it to Dragon Bridge. It was a dull cloudy day, reflecting how Amarathine felt in her heart. She would have happily traveled with Khajiit caravan all the way down to Helgen. She felt safe with them, not to mention how fast the days went by with their presence distracting her from the constant walking and aching muscles. They taught her their cultures self defense techniques – today was blocking – in hopes of helping her if anything happened in the future.
"I won't forget your generosity," she blinked her blurry eyes. They stood where the Khajiit were planning on setting up just out of town by the giant bridge Amarathine would soon have to cross on her own.
Ra'zhinda grinned, pulling the Altmer into her armor covered arms. "This one is so emotional!" She exclaimed.
"No I'm not!" Amarathine defended, hugging the Khajiit woman in return. She looked up from Ra'zhinda's shoulder at Ma'jhad and Ma'dran who stood just behind the feline woman she was embracing. The former smirking with his hands on his hips, the latter shaking his head at her with a similar expression.
After Ra'zhinda released her, Ma'dran presented her with a dagger. "It is a gift from Ma'dran, this one may need it on her journey."
"Thank you Ma'dran," Amarathine took the dagger, once again blinking back tears. These Khajiit were so kind and generous, the opposite of what she was always told. "May this one walk on warm sands, and our paths cross again." He bid.
It was now Ma'jhad's turn. The silent Khajiit merly put a hand on her shoulder and nodded briskly. She noticed the ghost of a smile on his feline face.
"Thank you for teaching me Rawlith Khaj." Though it was Ra'zhinda's idea, Ma'jhad ended up taking over, apparently Ra'zhinds technique wasn't perfect and therefore he was a better teacher.
"This one was an excellent student. She would make a fine Khajiit." The ebony Khajiit padded her shoulder in emphasis. "Ra'jhin's luck be with you." he returned his furred hand to his side, giving her a final curt nod.
Pushing aside the sinking feeling she took a deep breath and bowed her head back at him. After a final goodbye, she turned towards the great stone bridge and continued her adventure.
...
A few more days past since parting with the Khajiit caravan. She found the journey much more boring now. The days seemed to last longer, and the nights, colder. Often she would practice the techniques the warrior Khajiit taught her. Instead of walking, she went into a fighting stance and simply kicked with her back leg and putting in the front and repeating for a few minutes at a time. She greeted other travelers when she saw them, she met only a few each day, most in carriages. Too bad she didn't have money, it looked so much easier.
The evening sun was bright and warm as she approached a gorge with watchtowers overlooking it. Amarathine assumed it was a guard post, seeing as it was overlooking the main roadway.
As she got closer she saw the building on the berms on either side of the road were connected by a wooden bridge. A man in hide armor stood up from a chair at the side of the road. She grew cautious of the situation, a guard would be wearing proper Imperial armor. Looking back up at the buildings her keen eyes spotted movement, she guessed they caught sight of her too.
She clenched her fists now having a very bad feeling about this place. These people, they must have been bandits, but she was an Imperial soldier. She would just have to act tough and surely they would let her though without trouble. The Altmer tried to calm her breathing as she approached the man on the road, noticing the sword on his hip.
"Well what do we have here?" His voice was loud and raspy, he smirked at her wildly. "The toll is usually 100 septims, but seeing as you're a soldier, its 500." He held out a calloused hand.
Amarathine frowned at the disgusting man. He smelled like he hadn't bathed in weeks. "I don't have any money. Let me pass." She was proud how firm her voice came out, the complete opposite of how she felt.
The bandit let out a laugh, Amarathine cringed at the smell of his breath. "You hear that boys, this woman has no money for us!" He yelled up to the men who now stood on the bridge overlooking the path where she stood. They begun to hoot and laugh along with the man in front of her.
Before the Altmer could react, the large man reached out and pulled off her hood, pulling some of her with it.
"Ah!" She yelped in both pain and shock. She looked back at the man who now held her hood in his hand.
His smile only grew. "Well look at this, a High Elf! And a pretty one at that!" His eyes grew wild.
"I know how she can pay us!" One of the men on the bridge hollered. The others howled and laughed like a pack of hungry wolves.
She knew where this was going and she had to escape before it happened. Amarathine pulled out her sword from its sheath pointing it threateningly at the man before her. "Let me pass!" She yelled, hearing the desperateness in her own voice.
The man swung his hand out and knocked the sword from her shaking hands. Her eyes widened in shock, she was pathetic. How could she call herself a soldier? She looked at the man, fear in her eyes. He looked like a ravenous dog, practically panting behind yellow teeth. The bandit grabbed her wrist and twisted. She fell to her knees crying out in pain.
Out of the corner of her eye she saw the other men run off the bridge. The bandit that held her wrist began to drag her off the main road and towards a dirt path. She screamed now, kicking and punching at the man. It seemed like he was made of stone.
"No!" She cried. She reached into her boot and pulled out the dagger Ma'dran gave her. "Let me go!" She thrust the knife into his thigh as hard as she could.
The bandit yelled in pain. He looked at her, seething, before slapping her across the face so hard her vision went black for a moment. She barely felt her body hit the ground still in a daze.
Suddenly she was surrounded by the men from the bridge, there were so many of them frantic around her. She felt hands grabbing her everywhere. Screaming, she kept trying to get out of their hold to no avail.
Thud.
Everything went quiet, the men grew still. Amarathine followed their eyes to an arrow protruding from the chest of one of the men on her left. A moment later the man gargled blood and fell back, dead.
Her mind was reeling, what just happened. Who shot that man? Was someone...saving her? The men around her got up in a flurry drawing their weapons looking for the source of the arrow. The bandit with Amarathines dagger jutting out of his leg pointed to the other side of the berm. "There!" He screamed, "kill him!"
Another arrow shot out and hit a second bandit. The men burst into action, apparently they too were blinded by the sunlight the arrows came from.
The Altmer managed to sit up and look where the bandit was pointing. She had to put her arm up to shade her eyes from the sun. A silhouette of a man holding a bow stood over on the far berm. He was blotted out by the intense evening sunlight making him look more like it was a divine who was saving her than a man. A sight Amarathine would never forget.
