Sorry for the long wait... My computer decided to be a jerk, so I haven't had any internet for the last week and a half. It randomly decided to start working again today, though~
Enjoy!
Farkas growled angrily as he limped into Jorrvaskar. It had been the better part of an hour before he had been able to move from where the dunmer had knocked him down. By then, he knew she would be long gone. The winds that whipped across the tundra were taking her scent away has he spoke. The drunken laughter of his shield siblings was normally something that he enjoyed being a part of, but tonight, their glee only ground on his nerves. Skjor looked over at him as he passed the table, smirking at the dark look that shadowed Farkas's face . "Rough night, whelp? Looks as if that little mer I heard was snapping at your heels got the best of you."
Farkas let out a lupine snarl and stalked past the chortling nord towards his bed.
It should be him laughing with that little mer on his arm. He was entranced by her. He wondered why she looked different from the other dunmer he had seen around Whiterun. Her skin, instead of a dark ash color, was lighter, more tanned than he had seen on any elf besides a wood elf. Her striking red eyes had flashed a coppery color and seemed to be more rounded. She was so tiny compared to him. Her compact body was sweet and curvy in all the right places. He had slept with his fair share of women, mostly Nords like himself, but just the memory of this little dunmer's curves pressing into his palms were more than likely to arouse him for days to come. Muttering darkly, he slammed the doors to his room, grabbed a bottle of mead, and flopped into a chair. Moodily sipping the powerful brew, he continued to mull over the small elf that had been in his arms. He wondered why she had turned from pliant flesh to a writhing hellion in seconds.
Deep in his thoughts, Farkas did not hear anyone at his door until it swung slowly in. He looked up at the sound of a quiet chuckle coming from the figure standing in the doorway.
"You seem preoccupied, Farkas."
Farkas gave a grunt of acknowledgement and watched as Kodlak made his way into the room, settling into a chair next to him. "I hear that you exchanged some words with a dunmer down at Hulda's. Tell me, was her tongue as wicked as the stories lead say?"
Farkas looked stonily down at his mead as another quiet laugh rumbled from the older nord.
"Well, seeing as how you are such a good mood, do you think you could run a little errand for me?"
Glancing up at the older man, Farkas nodded and quickly drained his mug.
"I need you to get rid of a small troupe of thieves that have settled into the Swindler's Den."
"You want me to do what?"
"Farkas, it's not that difficult. All you have to do is root out the last couple bandits in the cave. There won't be any more than 5 or 6, so you won't be needing a shield sibling on this trip. You should be able to handle them."
"But..."
"Trust me, Farkas, this is something you must do alone. Get some rest. You should head out early tomorrow."
Farkas looked doubtfully down at the old nord sitting before him. Kodlak knew how dangerous it was for a werewolf alone against the Silver Hand. It was normally him who protested the loudest when a member of the Circle went out without a partner. But there was a knowing glimmer in the old man's deep eyes that made Farkas pause.
Stella stuffed the last of her gear into her pony's pack angrily. She couldn't believe that she hadn't remembered the full moon. She had been so caught up in the overwhelming arousal raging through her veins that she had forgotten herself for the first time since she was a cub. She shuddered when she thought what could have happened if she had shifted in Whiterun. Humans just didn't understand. Her pony, Sorcha, nickered affectionately as Stella hugged her. Gazing at the rising moon, she felt the call of her wolf thrumming through her body. Her skin fairly burned with anticipation of the shift. A chill breeze ran over the bare skin on her back as the last bit of sunlight faded from the horizon. The prickly feeling of transformation began to wash over her body, and Stella grunted as she felt bones stretching and resetting under the light of the full moon.
Fully changed into her wolf, Stella stretched languidly in the grass. Eclipse looked at her and yawned, rolling onto his back and stretching his legs lazily into the air. Stella smiled and lightly buffed the hound with her paw. It seemed she would be going alone tonight. Standing, she let out a joyful bark and began to run swiftly over the empty tundra.
Early the next morning, the small dunmer crept quietly into Whiterun. Her body felt too small and stiff in the chill of the early air, and she rolled her shoulders uncomfortably. The scent of werewolf was laying heavier in the city and it was starting to rankle on her nerves. Gritting her teeth, Stella resolutely scanned over the rooftops, searching for where she could find the Jarl. By Hircine, I'll find the Jarl and deliver the message. Then I should find Farkas...maybe try and apologize for kicking out his knee. She grimaced and idly ran her fingers through Eclipse's fur. That will be fun to explain.
Stella cursed under her breath and made her way through the city's busy streets and into the marketplace.
"Stella!"
The mer jumped at the sound of her name. Turning quickly, she saw the owner of the Bannered Mare, Hulda, waving emphatically for her to come over. Hesitantly, Stella walked over the Nord woman who grinned and pushed a handful of parchment at the mer. surprised, Stella stuttered, "Wh-what are th-"
"Well dear, you forgot to take these with you last night. You took just about every bounty poster that we had. You kept muttering about how you needed the gold." The innkeeper winked knowingly at the speechless mer. "That was, of course, before you followed Farkas out of the tavern. By the nine, does that nord fill out a set of armor." She clicked her tongue appreciatively.
Stella watched, dumbfounded as the tavern keeper turned and strode back into the tavern. Hircine help me. I guess I have become a bounty hunter now. Looking down at the small bundle in her hands, she sighed at looked up at the distant towers of Dragonsreach. Well, I'll have to go up there to collect the bounty anyway. Might as well make some gold. It'll give me some time to come up with a story for Farkas, too.
Outside of Halted Stream Camp, Stella wiped the sweat off her brow as she yanked the last arrow out of the dead bandit's chest. These nasty buggers are really starting to get on my nerves. The stench of fear and death that permeated the campsite was making her feel sick to her stomach and she couldn't wait to get the hell away from the place. Patting Eclipse gently on his head, she sighed deeply and slipped silently into the cavern.
As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, Stella could hear someone further ahead in the tunnel. The sound of a pickaxe striking rock shattered the silence, making it easy for Stella to slip quietly down the stone corridor. She heard the bandit curse softly and toss aside a large rock before dropping his tool with a clang. His heavy footsteps echoed through the cavern as Stella and Eclipse crouched, hidden, in the darkness. The elf quietly strung her bow and lined up her shot. The large bandit sat heavily in his chair and reached for a bottle of ale, unaware of the spinning arrow until it buried itself deep in his throat.
Eclipse trotted lightly past the slumped figure, sniffing delightedly at the number of mammoth steaks stored in the area as Stella knelt over the dead bandit. Grinning at the amount of coins she found, she quickly pocketed what she could before turning towards the locked gate barring the way any further into the camp. Poking at the lock gently, Stella snorted at the simplicity of the device. A quick twist with her pocketknife and she was in. Creeping quietly down the dark passageway, Stella strained her ears for any sound of danger. Her nose twitched at the scent of rotting meat that wafted from the chamber ahead. Stella shook her head in disgust. When will they learn not to kill the bigger creatures unless they have enough demand? What a waste of perfectly good mammoth.
Voices echoed from the large room ahead and Stella motioned for Eclipse to keep behind her. The large dog looked up at her faithfully, settling back on his haunches. Creeping towards the lighted area, Stella heard the bandits chatting, obviously unaware of her approach.
Inching her way forward, Stella peeked over the stacked burlap sacks that lined the railing.
So... we have four up front...and the head boyo in the ba-"
She was suddenly distracted by the odd sheen that was coming off of the floor. Raising her eyes to the ceiling, she frowned at the sight of old lanterns hanging by worn-looking lights. Great. More fire. Slinking back towards the tunnel, Stella notched an arrow and aimed for one of the bandits hacking at the mammoth the last possible moment, the bandit moved and the arrow slammed into his shoulder. Secunda's tits! The Imperial fell with a cry of pain, and his allies immediately sprang into action. Stella retreated quickly into the dark of the passageway. She could hear the clanging of armor and the crackle of magic in the air made her hair stand on end.
Eclipse crouched angrily, fangs bared and hackles raised as the bandits ventured into the passageway. Stella tapped his nose gently and placed her hand on his shoulders. They sat together, silently waiting for the bandits to retreat. One of them ventured close to the wooden partition where Stella and Eclipse were hidden, a magic shield crackling dangerously. Stella could feel her dog tense under her hand, but still he obeyed her. They crouched in silence as the bandits finally retreated back into the main chamber to tend to their wounded comrade.
Stella repeated her dangerous pattern of shoot and hide again and again until only the chief and two of his companions remained. She could smell the potent mixture of anger and fear rolling off of the bandits. Creeping forward, Stella patted Eclipse's rump softly. The hound leapt to his feet and followed her down the tunnel. Notching another arrow, she eyed the men standing over their fallen, trying to gauge who would cause her and her friend the most trouble. Deciding on the chief, she scooted closer to the railing of the platform, aiming for his sword-arm. But as she was pulling back her bowstring, the large Nord chef turned, spotting the crouching elf. He bellowed with rage and pain as the arrow buried itself into the large muscles of his arm.
"You bitch! You'll pay for what you've done!"
Stella grimaced as the bandits charged towards her, their large swords thirsty for her blood. Strapping her bow across her chest, she quickly drew her sword. Eclipse barked savagely as he hurled himself at the advancing enemies. The bandit howled in pain as the large dog's teeth ripped into his forearm. Stella delved into the fray, swinging her short sword with deadly accuracy.
The bandit chief watched furiously as another member of his team fell to the elf and her mongrel. This bitch. She needs to die.
Stella snarled in pain as the last bandit sliced through the armor on her arm. Ducking quickly as he swung for her neck, she nimbly sprang around to his side and ran her sword up and through his chest. He gasped in pain and fell gurgling to the ground. Stella inner wolf howled in victory, but it was quickly cut short at a sudden sharp yowl of pain from Eclipse. She spun around, her eyes widening at the bloody gash that covered her friends side. The chief chuckled darkly as the dog staggered to his feet, growling weakly. The large nord swung his steel encased foot at the dog, hitting him squarely on his wounded side. The dog yelped weakly as it collapsed onto the filthy ground. Stella roared in anger, charging at the much larger nord. The nord swung his massive weapon as she lunged towards him, and stars of pain exploded in front of Stella's eyes when his huge war hammer connected solidly with her collarbone. Her body slammed into the ground, and the nord laughed again as he raised his hammer again. Stella scrambled backwards, trying to avoid the heavy weapon. The dull gleam of steel flashed again in front of the elf as she tried to evade another hit, but he was too fast. A dull crunch of breaking ribs met the elf's ears as a wave of extreme pain washed over her at the next impact of the bandits weapon. Stella's body collapsed backwards the dirt, and she watched in horror as the bandit chief lifted his weapon again.
"Skyrim is for the nords you fucked up litt-"
Suddenly, the large nord was knocked forward. Eclipse had struggled to his feet and thrown himself onto the chiefs back. Stella started to pull herself away, but a large hand grabbed onto her ankle, fingers pressing cruelly through her boots. A sudden flash of power thrummed through her body and she stiffened as her wolf spirit rushed to the surface. Looking down, she saw the nord's face contort in confusion as his intended victim's body stiffened and convulsed.
Within seconds, the baffled nord was holding a fully grown werewolf by the back paw. Stella looked down at him and snarled angrily. Bloodlust rose and she reveled in the shriek of terror that echoed through the cavern.