The Khajiit wraps her thick, muscular arms around me and heaves me into the air. The beast of a woman is tall enough that my feet dangle down in front of her knees and the top of my head still isn't even with hers. She could easily kill me here. Enough pressure and I could be crushed to death by her embrace. Thankfully, the Dovahkiin doesn't kill me. Instead, she begins walking over to her tent. I raise my legs upwards, so now she can walk without obstruction. I'm not sure why I helped her, but the woman doesn't acknowledge me anyway. As she trudges along her friend gives her a single warning.
"Dovahkiin...". I feel her chest rumble with a deep power as she grumbles.
"Not eating!". Well, at least she isn't going to start devouring me the second we're out of sight. The woman bends down and begins entering the tent. As we go I notice something. Now that my adrenaline is worn off I realize a rancid, foul smell is coming from her. I cringe a little as I'm smashed against the rotting, filthy pelts that make up her outfit. Finally, the woman releases me once we're in the tent. A ragged sleeping mat made out of furs is in the middle of the structure and a tiny makeshift lantern is in the corner. That's it. I look around the empty space and imagine spending a little over a year living in this. I'm surprised she hasn't gone mad.
The Khajiit points to the entire room and snarls a single word that I'm sure counts as a warning.
"Mine.". The Dovahkiin scoops me up again and carries me outside. This time I hold my breath for as long as I can without it being noticeable. The woman carries me over to her 'working' area. A single wooden table is soaked in blood and guts; pelts of all kinds (some with meat still attached) dangled off of it; and stacks of meat are piled high. The woman stands me down near it and points at the area.
"And mine.". Finally, she carries me to the center of the clearing and points at everything as a whole.
"Also mine.". The Dovahkiin kneels down in the snow and draws a rough circle that's barely big enough for a sleeping role.
"This is yours.". The woman stalks away and begins examining the piles of meat. Odahviing comes over to me and calmly sweeps the circle away.
"Don't mind her. She's shy around new people.". The Dovahkiin screams over her shoulder.
"I'm shy around food that isn't dead yet!". I inwardly groan, but by now her threats have lost a little bit of their sting. If Odahviing is around me, then I'll be safe. The dragon seems to agree with me on that thought.
"I'm about to go hunting for some fresh meat to add to our stockpile. Care to come with me?". I look at the Khajiit and see that she's completely frozen in place.
Probably waiting to see if she can eat me while Odahviing's gone. I nod at the dragon and another smile splits his face. Then, he curls his head around until I'm looking at the base of his neck.
"Come on.". I slowly grab onto the last pearly spike of his neck before heaving myself onto him. Sharp scales dig into my skin as I adjust myself and grab onto the spike between my legs.
"Ready?". I nod against his scaly flesh to show him I'm prepared to take flight. Odahviing stretches out his wings, gathers all of his power in his thighs, and throws himself upwards. Briefly, he grabs onto the top of the mountain and uses it to throw himself higher. The night air slaps against my face while we climb higher and higher. All I can focus on is the strong wind pulling at me and the feel of the night air freezing me.
For a brief second Odahviing stops flapping and allows himself to hang in the air. That's when I look over his neck and view the ground below. Skyrim is a dark map with a few bright lights standing out and the darkness of the lake giving me a general idea of where everything is. However, that's not what gets my attention. Everything is far too tiny for me to comprehend. Falkreath is nothing but a tiny dot of light. I look northward and see a slightly larger point of light that must be Whiterun. He could fly to Whiterun and back within an hour.
I'm still admiring the light when Odahviing begins his descent. My scaly friend gives his wings one last powerful push to propel himself in the direction he wants to go (in this case further into the mountain range to the south of us) and folds in his wings. Our rapid descent forces me to close my eyes and hang on to Odahviing for dear life. Wind cracks by my ears while my entire face goes numb.
It's mildly uncomfortable, but nothing bad enough that I feel the need to stop Odahviing's flight. Besides, we're there within five minutes. The dragon opens his wings and begins flying towards one specific mountain. As we approach I can tell why. A herd of three goats are walking up a thin path higher into the mountains. Odahviing lands in front of them and takes them all out within two bites. The creature slowly begins gathering the dead animals up in his mouth. As he collects the meat I ask him an obvious question.
"Why didn't you use fire?". Odahviing briefly drops the slimy goats to answer me.
"Large blasts of fire tend to draw attention from locals, and the Dovahkiin prefers eating her meat raw.". I grimace at the thought of the Khajiit shoveling fistfuls of dead goat into her mouth, but I don't say anything in order to be polite. Odahviing follows my lead and doesn't say anything as he collects the bounty.
Dovahkiin POV:
I sink my fangs into the meat in my hands, then tear off another chunk. A year or two ago I'd have drank some ale or wine to chase away my troubled thoughts, but now I only have piles of meat to take my mind off my problems. The growing stomach beneath my pelts is enough to testify to how many problems I have. My current problem, however, is the first thing on my mind. Odahviing took that Imperial out hunting! He won't even take me out hunting! All he does is claim it's too dangerous for me to leave the sanctuary we've built.
I'd silently prayed the woman would say 'no' when he asked, but I didn't have any luck. Now they're both out enjoying themselves while I'm stuck in this damned hole. I love having a safe place to be, but looking at the same 'walls' day after day can get boring. I'm still tearing into a haunch of a horse when Odahviing and that damned bitch return. I make sure not to pay them any attention as they return, instead focusing on eating my snack as quickly as I can. Unfortunately, I don't escape notice. Odahviing grabs me by the back of my robes, carries me over to the woman, and sits me down in the snow. Then, he begins giving me orders.
"Ria needs a fire to stay warm at night.". I turn myself away from Odahviing.
"If she needs warmth, then she can sleep by you. You're warm enough.". A deep sigh from Odahviing. My friend hangs his head above me and tries to bring me around to his side.
"I'm warm enough to keep her alive, but not enough to ward off frostbite. She needs a constant source of heat that's warmer than me. I just need you to find some twigs and rocks. I promise you'll be outside the mountain for no more than five minutes.". Instantly, my heart clenches. I could get out of here. Just for a few minutes, but still out of here. I nod and pretend to reconsider.
"Okay. I don't want our guest dying.". I thrust my hands up like an impatient child who wants their parent to pick them up.
"Toss me over. I'll be back in less than ten minutes.". Odahviing and Ria both look shocked at how easily I changed my opinion, but neither of them call me out on it. Odahviing gently picks me up, leaps to the top of the mountain, and leaps down it. I'm barely out of his mouth when he turns and climbs right back up. I watch my friend's scaly tail disappear over the lip of the mountain, then I begin running off into the woods. The feel of dirt on my claws, the smell of the trees filling my nose, and the sense of unbridled freedom all cause me to sprint as hard as I can for as long as I can. I'm only stopped by my breath coming in short gasps and the pain in my gut. I'm still leaning against a tree when a noise causes me to jump.
I twist myself around and see a merchant's caravan idly camping along a beaten path. A growl in my stomach (damn, I just ate) reminds me how hungry I can get at the slightest reminder of food. In fact, a tempting slab of dog is hanging above a crackling fire near the edge of the camp. Only a few people are wandering around the station, and none of them are paying attention to that fire in particular. It'd be smart if I just got the fire materials, went home, and ate some of the dog I'm sure I have somewhere. However, stolen meat taste a thousand times better than meat I've bought or earned.
Besides, what's the worst that could happen? I crouch down and begin stalking towards the fire. However, there's quickly something extremely embarrassing that becomes apparent. I haven't practiced sneaking in a while and the last time I practiced it I was about thirty pounds lighter. My sneaking is obvious and awkward at best. Thankfully, nobody's looking at me as I make my way to the fire. I'm taking the dripping meat off of its stick when something extremely predictable happens.
"HEY!". I snap my head to the side and see a merchant's guard running towards me. Clearly, the best option would be to run before they notice me. The worst option would be to do anything that could get me identified before running away.
"FUS RO DAH!". The man flies backwards like a dead horker, but I keep on him. I abandon the dog and begin charging him. The guard is barely up when I leap on him and shred his chest like paper. I've barely gotten off the man when I hear someone scream in terror. I turn and see the entire caravan looking at me.
"FUS RO DAH!". All of them scatter like bugs trapped in a strong wind. I go from one to one and shred them with my claws, or tear them apart with my fangs. I'm almost done when they finally regain their footing. Two of the remaining three run while the third one (a guard) tries to fight me. I kill the guard, shout at one of the fleeing people, and kill the other. Then, it's just a matter of killing the final survivor. I've just slit his throat when a loud whimpering noise causes me to look underneath one of the wagons. The sight before me makes me feel like absolute shit and my throat to close up. A small child is clutching her stuffed bear and curled up in the fetal position. I'm not actively thinking when I reach for her.
"Shh.". The Nord girl looks up at my shushing and whimpers again. I reach for her again, then see the blood staining my nails. I slaughtered an entire caravan. I slaughtered an entire caravan and I don't even care. I didn't even really think about it or see it while I was doing it. I take back my hand and begin walking away. As I go I snatch up the dog meat. Might as well get what I came for.
