WOW! Thank you to everyone who has been following, reviewing, favoriting, or just popping in for a quick read! This last chapter received a lot more attention than I thought it would. Sorry that this chapter is a little shorter than the others but sometimes a chapter calls its own ending. I will be starting on Chapter 9 pretty much as soon as this is posted, so it should be up tomorrow.
Once again, THANK YOU! And here we go...
Chapter 8
He took a deep breath, tasting the air as the breeze swirled around him. Small sounds off in the distance caused his ears to twitch in response: a snap of a twig, the call of a bird, the snort of a buck. Staring out across the small pool of water, he watched his shadow stretch across the bare earth and lean against the hill before him. It still surprised him that the lands in Skryim could change so drastically in such a short time. The wind picked up in force, rustling the trees and bushes, Or that the weather can change just as quickly. He missed his home, but what was home anymore?
As his mind mulled over the thoughts of his native land, he fidgeted with his moon amulet, turning it over and over in his fingers. Glancing down at the shining metal, he began to think of her again. Lately, he couldn't get her out of his head. He kept thinking back to the day he first saw her; he had barely even given her a second glance.
The caravan was setting up camp outside of Riften, they had just been through a small scrape with a bear but had made it out surprisingly well. Seeing the guards tip their heads a little higher to get a better view (how they saw out of those things he could never tell), he followed their gaze down the road. A woman traveler alone wasn't unheard of, but it was definitely something of note. Seeing her tail sway back and forth behind her caught his attention a little more, a lone Khajiit was rare indeed. As the slim figure approached, he could make out a mediocre bow and quite ordinary arrows on her back and some very terrible daggers strapped to her waist.
He watched her as she drew closer and closer, soon he realized that she was heading straight for him. Grumbling at himself for drawing attention, he decided to stand his ground and wait for her to approach him, Let's see what this one has to say. Crossing his arms, he looked down at her. The top of her head only came to about his chin but with her standing downhill from him, Kharjo towered over her.
She gave him a small, shy smile, "Hello! I was wondering if –"
Kharjo raised his hand, cutting her off, "If you have come to see our wares, speak to the others." He pointed behind him to Ahkari setting up her tent.
The female's piercing green eyes stared up into his own light blue, then looked behind him at the other Khajiit. After giving him a polite nod, he saw her face fall.
"Thank you," she said abruptly and walked past him.
He watched her stride up the hill but instead of stopping at Ahkari, she continued through the gates of Riften. Narrowing his eyes at the guards, he wondered how a Khajiit, fresh on the road by the look of her weapons, had managed to get into the city walls. Giving a slight shrug of his shoulders he returned to help set up the camp.
Returning to the present, Kharjo rubbed his forehead. He had been so sure after their first meeting that she would die along the roads, decaying, forgotten in a ditch. Yet she continued to show up along their route and stops at cities. He had ruined his chance at a good first impression, but still, she came back to speak to him whenever she happened by their camp. Every time she came to him, he would give short answers and push her away; he didn't want to care when another Khajiit fell to the dangers of Skyrim.
It wasn't until the caravan was setting up at Dawnstar that she had earned his respect. A dragon had landed on the outskirts of the city and began eating everything in its path. He saw the columns of flame light up in the distance and the deafening roar that followed. The thing that caught his attention was that the dragon had begun moving away from the city. He watched as more guards rushed over to join the fray, and mustering up his courage, he dashed over to join them.
Reaching their target they found it moving farther and farther away from the city, the resounding snap of its jaws echoing in his ears. Whatever it was chasing, they would certainly find it in pieces, if at all. Confusion washed over him as he saw the lithe form of a Khajiit engaged in battle with the dragon.
He couldn't stop his jaw from dropping as she dispatched the beast. She panted heavily, collapsing on her knees once the dragon fell. Kharjo slowly approached her as the guards fell back to their posts, but she didn't even look up at him, only stared at the creature. What he saw next would be imprinted in his mind for the rest of his life.
Small flames began to ignite along its body, flakes of scales igniting, causing glowing ash to blow in the wind. Soon the body was completely engulfed in flames, yet the female Khajiit never moved, never flinched. He was about to rush forward and pull her away from fiery corpse but what happened next surprised him further. As the fires died down, a glowing white essence swirled out from the dragon and wrapped itself around the Khajiit. Her fur ruffled in the luminescent wind. Soon everything went back to normal and the only evidence that remained of the dragon was its bones and the female kneeling before it, holding her arm.
She pulled her hand away from her wounded arm, inspecting the red that stained her white fur. Pulling her hood off, she reclined her head back breathing in the cool air.
"By the twin moons…" he whispered as he approached her.
Her ear twitched in his direction, causing her to turn her attention to him. She gave him a half smile.
Her smile haunted his dreams now. The first time he saw her kill that dragon that was when he knew that she was no ordinary Khajiit, and not because she was the dragonborn. He knew that he was utterly wrong about her dying forgotten on the road; she was meant for bigger and better things.
They continued to run into each other, though it became less and less frequent. He found himself treasuring the moments when he did see her, and he wished that she wouldn't have to leave. Overtime, he saw something change in her. She wasn't the same fresh faced, unscarred Khajiit female he first saw traveling the roads of Skyrim.
She still had that same stunningly white fur and contrastingly black markings. He had never seen anything like her; it was like she was born to hide in the snows of Skyrim. She never grew her fur out into braids or dreads like most Khajiit; she kept it short, embracing her feline nature. Her eyes were the same emerald green, but there was something harder behind them. She had lost the frailty about her and it was replaced with a deeper strength, but also something colder.
She had told him once about Alduin and what she had to do. It was certainly hard to believe, but he trusted her and knew that there was no reason for her to make it up. As the confrontation drew ever closer, he could see the change in her growing; she became colder, more recluse. This last time that he had seen her however, she seemed to be more relaxed; he could only assume that no longer having to face imminent death allowed her to be at ease a little more. He only hoped he would have the opportunity to learn more about her.
"Kharjo."
Shaking his head, clearing the thoughts of the past, he turned to face the dark furred Khajiit. "Yes, Ahkari?"
"We are prepared to move. A storm is coming. Perhaps we could cover a little more ground before setting up camp."
"Let us move then."
It had been a full day since the storm had passed. Fresh snow drifts covered the landscape and piled up against the buildings and walls. She knew that she should have left as soon as the snow stopped but she didn't want to seem too eager to do Ulfric's bidding. She wanted the Khajiit to be able to enter the cities of Skyrim, but was Ulfric the best route to achieve that? Her chances of getting all the jarls to agree and accept Khajiit into their cities were slim to none; she needed a High King to secure their entry into all cities.
Taking a deep breath she finished sharpening her daggers and made her way to the gates. One of the guards was swaying against the wall, dosing in and out. The other guard stared at his partner, shaking his head. He looked over to her and gave a soft smile; it was the young man from the day before. He seemed like a typical Nord to her: strong, pronounced jaw, longer, dark hair pulled back to the nape of his neck, and fresh stubble along his jaw. Neri nodded to him but stopped before she exited.
"Dovahkiin."
"Guardsman," she looked over at the other guard who was asleep against the wall. "I see your friend is taking his work seriously," she eyed the other man; he was from the other day as well.
"I think he spent too much time at the cornerclub last night." She nodded to him and placed her hands on the gate doors. "May I just say," she paused to face him again, "it is an honor to meet you, Dovahkiin. I apologize for the events the other day."
She couldn't help but smile at him, he didn't belong in Windhelm. "No need for you to apologize. You didn't join the others in their mirth and even stepped in and calmed the situation so I didn't rip their throats out. Why are you in Windhelm? The city doesn't fit you."
"You are right. This city doesn't suit me, but I have nowhere else to be. I was on the run. I had no money in my pocket. But, I would rather be a guard than resort to joining a group of bandits."
She nodded, knowing exactly where he came from. "Your name?"
"Einar."
"Don't let this city change you, Einar."
"I will try, dragonborn."
"Please," she reached her hand out to him, "call me Neri." He eyed her arm in awe, and then clasped it with a smile across his face.
Releasing his arm, she gave him another nod then looked over at his fellow guard. Opening the gate wide enough for her to slip through, she reached over and pushed the man's shoulder. His armor scraped against the stone as he fell towards the ground, landing in the deep snow.
Einar glanced down at his companion then eyed the door as it silently closed.
"You!" the man yelled. "What did you do?"
"You fell asleep and lost your balance."
He grumbled something unintelligent and stood, dusting himself off.
"Ma'dran, how long will you be here in Windhelm?" Neri sat across from him.
"Not long. With our delayed arrival we should leave soon. We try to stay out of the way of other caravans. Not to mention most business has already been taken care of here with their order."
She nodded in understanding, looking at the side of his tent. His words clicked in her head causing her to snap her attention back to him, "Wait, 'other caravans'? Who would be coming this way?"
"Ahkari, of course. She likes to travel frequently and we try to time our caravans so that when one of us passes through Windhelm, they leave before the next of us gets here. Normally there are a few days between our arrivals but she should be here tomorrow if that storm didn't slow her down too much."
"Hmm… that is actually rather beneficial. Do you know how long she stays here?"
"A day? Maybe two? Either way, not long, her main trades are at Dawnstar and Riften."
"That doesn't leave me much time," she quickly got up and nodded to Ma'dran. "Thank you. I must take my leave now if I am to return before while she is still here."
"I thought you just saw Ahkari's caravan. Why would you need to see her again?"
"I need a caravan here to… test Ulfric's word."
