Disclaimer: Skyrim and all its canon content are the property of Bethesda Game Studios. No infringement is intended.
Reksadonviing and any unrecognizable names are characters of my own devising.
Notes: Fav/alert thanks to LadyDragon1316 (as always, kudos for the continued reviews), MiddleDreamer00, and PhoenixVyxen.
Another filler chapter, in which Farengar gets his comeuppence for what he 'did' to Odahviing, so to speak.
Reksadonviing spat blood against the grand balcony's floor, certain she saw the white glimpse of a fractured fang shard hit the splattered stones, and snarled at her adversary again. The sound reverberated off the palace walls like rolling thunder.
A walking hunk of ice wasn't supposed to be so tough. But, as the court wizard had been asked by Aela, it was the strongest opponent he could offer for the dovah to test her mettle against. Either the atronach was to be reduced to frosty splinters, or she was to concede defeat by fleeing from the balcony.
Aela's instructions to her were clear. No thu'ums were to be used. This was a trial of physical prowess.
Balgruuf the Greater was not happy to discover Dragonsreach was being used for such a test, understandably so, without being consulted by his court wizard. But as the fight was already on, talking down an enraged dovah was out of the question by the time he was made awares. Now, as they had the first morning she turned up in Whiterun, a crowd of palace staff and guards had assembled to watch the ensuing skirmish.
In truth, the battle had not been on for very long. Reksadonviing had already borne the pain of several blunt-force strikes to her nose and jaw, but as the atronach stalked back and forth, looking for its next opening to attack, the dovah realized the new urgency behind finishing the trial. She hadn't met up with Aela at Dragonsreach in order to cause property damage.
"Again!" the purple-robed nord goaded from the sidelines.
Head lowered, the atronach charged. Reksadonviing lunged out to meet it, tilting her face down to use the ridged top of her skull like a shield. With a loud thunk the atronach's raised arms thudded against her horns. Following through, she swung her neck sideways, tossing the icen entity aside like a discarded doll.
Three onlooking guards scurried out of the way as the atronach splayed against the stone wall. Chips of stone went flying with the impact. Shouts of alarm rang out as the gray dovah about-faced, spinning her tail like a whip to slam its spaded tip against her opponent. With a crack the atronach's left arm broke off at the elbow, and it staggered down onto its knees.
The dismayed jarl took his chance to intervene. "Reksa, enough!"
Reksadonviing's frenzied drive fizzled and died abruptly at the sight of the blond nord standing between her and the atronach, arms raised. The growl in her throat died and she lowered her head, backing away with a few uneasy steps.
With her compliancy assured, Balgruuf glared over his fur-caped shoulder. "Farengar."
The underlying order need not be said, as the wizard obediently waved his hand to cancel the casted summons. The frost atronach vanished with a flash of spectral white snow.
Aela, for her part, looked torn between shock and embarrassment, like a disobedient child whose breach of the rules had been found out. The moment did not last long before she recomposed the confident mask and stepped forth, into the tentative space between the jarl and the dovah. "Jarl Balgruuf, please forgive the intrusion."
"Explain to me why any apology is needed at all, and I might consider it," the older nord glowered, hands now on his hips, stance askew. The bulk of his ire did not seem directed at her or his city's newest resident. Again, he glared at Farengar. "A third of that explanation includes you." Finally, he looked to the crouching Reksadonviing, pausing at the sight of her bloodied maw. "And you probably have the most explaining to do of all."
"We did not intend to cause such a scene, milord," Aela insisted. "It was the only way Farengar would agree to the terms."
"What terms?"
"A simple stress trial for the dragon to undertake," Farengar explained, stepping closer. He sounded not at all cowed, but the exact opposite - thrilled to have had a chance to participate. "To do so inside an enclosed space brought a more telling result than had this match been conducted beyond the city limits."
Balgruuf scowled at the spider-web cracks adorning the stone wall. "Pretend I understand why. You commence this test, never minding what damage is dealt to Dragonsreach, without informing me?"
Reksadonviing's mouth throbbed, red still dripping from her chin, but she took a half step forward and spoke anyway. "If you must blame anyone, blame me, jun. I should never have gone along with it."
"Why did you feel you had to, Reksa?" Balgruuf's eyes flashed with anger. "You were said to be here on a mission of peace."
"Because I asked her to, milord," Aela blurted.
Silence fell upon the balcony.
"...What?"
"It was a mistake. But as the newest trainee, I had to find something - "
"Trainee?" Balgruuf interrupted, and slowly turned his head to look back at the battered dovah. The anger evaporated, replaced now with abject disbelief. "You, a member of the Companions?"
Her black quills folded. "Not yet, milord. I was told this is the first step toward becoming an honorary bearer of that title, though."
"But for a creature of her standing, I admit, I expected more," Farengar sniffed, arms folding. "The time it took for you to adapt to the atronach's strategy before it had landed several blows, that could have cost you dearly, were the adversary you faced any tougher."
"It was only her first test, Secret-Fire," Aela pointed out, not defensively, but with clear emphasis. "Were her lack of battle sense not in question, we would not have even had need to seek your assistance."
"In question? She successfully dispatched the smugglers as asked in order to claim her den," Balgruuf commented.
"Common criminals, milord. For her, the bar is set considerably higher if she is to be thought of as part of Jorrvaskr."
"Indeed. If there is any further assistance I can provide," Farengar glanced around. Reksadonviing followed the man's gaze until they both spotted the same tooth fragment, glinting ivory white on the bloodied floor. With a stoop, he snatched it up, gingerly wiping away the red with a folded edge of robe. "Ah! Do not hesitate to call on me."
Aela shook her head. "With respect, I don't think there's much else you can help us achieve. Besides conjure stronger targets."
"Outside of Dragonsreach," Balgruuf stressed, hand kneading his brow as if he were suffering a headache.
"Perhaps the dragon might remain on the balcony for a time? I have other experiments that might - "
"Farengar!" Balgruuf barked, and the mage fell meekly silent. Sternly, the jarl pointed upward. "Have you already forgotten what happened last time you thought that a good idea?"
Reksadonviing looked up, noticing for the first time the blackened stones adorning the arcway above their heads. The charring pattern was typical of fire. She felt a little twinge at the reminder of Odahviing, but it was quickly overcome by a sweeping sense of ire. Whatever had transpired here, involving her once-consort and the court wizard, it clearly hadn't been on amiable terms.
Eyes narrowing, she took a full step closer. With a rough nudge of her nose, she pushed Farengar forward, taking some satisfaction in seeing him stumble and splutter. Still, his argument persisted, and he waved the tooth fragment around as though in illustration. "Think of it, though - what a sample of dragon blood could do to bolster alchemic creations? To fortify weaponry and armor? Consider it one of the sacrifices she must make in order to - "
"Fus!"
Reksadonviing might as well have coughed, for it was uttered as gently as she could. The soft gust of wind, borne of a thu'um's root word, ruffled the hair and clothing of the nords assembled before her. Dust kicked from the stones wafted into the air, pelting the unwary guards who still stood too close. Farengar clutched at his robe's hood, startled as though afraid it would be blown off, and turned to look up at the annoyed, quills-flared countenance glaring down at him.
"I advise you drop the subject, odogah. As my... trainer, Aela's word outranks mine. If she says our business is concluded, it is so." Reksadonviing thumped the floor with her tailtip. Blood still leaked down the side of her jaw. "Allow me to choose, for it was the luxury you clearly did not offer Odahviing, and I might be inclined to let you experiment some other day."
The wizard stood with his nose in the air, cheeks reddening. "And if you say no?"
"We will reach another bargain, for I am not unreasonable. You know you can only glean so much from dusty artifacts and old, intranslatable books. Even my limited knowledge of current dov affairs trumps your understanding by centuries. I offer you that, in exchange for your time and efforts whenever Aela may feel we need to call upon them."
The wizard mutely looked to his kinsmen for help.
Balgruuf, arms crossed, shook his head.
Aela stood with a fist propped on one hip, an eyebrow raised to match.
Faced with this impasse, Farengar took a final look at the fragment in his hand and stalked off.
"Hmph. Make sure you don't forget what you claim to know in the meantime."
Unceremoniously, the tooth fragment was dropped to the floor, counterpointing the slam of the closing balcony doors.
Aela knelt to retrieve it, and walked back, balancing the fragment on her palm.
But her next most-pressing question was oddly irrelevant.
"What was that word you called him... oh-dooh-gah?"
Reksadonviing smirked, revealing her chipped fang. "Snowberry."
Author's Notes: Put in his place, he is.
I know not why Farengar has such a sense of self-importance, besides the fact he's the most experienced magic user in all of Whiterun. Dunno if I like or dislike him for it, but I always get a smile out of seeing how his 'experiment' on Odahviing startles him into sprinting away.
Dov terms/phrases:
fus - force (recognize this one?)
jun - jarl
odogah - snowberry