"It's been ages already, when is Vilkas coming back?" Aurora sighed as she descended from the rear of the cave.
Spurius was fully occupied reading a book in the middle of the gathering area. He had made himself comfortable amongst the pelts long before the woman entered the cave and began to endlessly wander around in circles.
"You can expect him any day now," the man spoke without any particular interest.
He returned to his book, but the woman sat down opposite him, observing the man. He had been back for nearly two fortnights, but had not found time to pay her any more attention. It was almost as if he avoided her, for as soon as she approached, he found work to do. Aurora did not know why it got to her as much as it did, for there was something she liked about Spurius and she enjoyed his company. The man was cheeky, a nice change to the serious ones she was surrounded with for over two years.
The others had not been too interested in her either, making her rather lonely amongst a group of three dozen people. Therefore, Aurora had spent her days hunting landcrab and making her useful to the gang. Using her left arm felt very strange and awkward, but she had managed. Her only problem was that it did not have the same strength and accuracy in the swings as her right one, but it was still manageable. Pinarus had promised her that it would heal within four fortnights, but warned her against using it excessively as it could potentially cause long-term damage.
Aurora had not dared to stray too far either, as she was afraid of Vilkas returning whilst she was out. She would not dare that, not after everything she went through to find him. Besides, she was not familiar with the surroundings and the forest, and she did not wish to get lost in the middle of nowhere.
Aurora had no real clue of what Spurius did inside of his tent during the days, but when he went outside, he read a lot. At times, he rode away towards an unknown destination with a small bag. That was everything the woman observed him doing. In all fairness though, neither one in the gang appeared to do much but relax in the sunshine and hunt once in a while. Since her second day with them, no new nobleman had been seen, and the pelt stack had only grown a few inches. The man who had treated her wrist used to gather some ingredients in the forest and return late at night and did not have time to merely talk to her. Augustine, the blonde woman was always available to talk to though, but Aurora did not find her interesting enough. In fact, during the last days, she had discovered how boring the blonde really was.
Suddenly, Spurius raised his gaze and looked straight into Aurora's eyes, smiling as he put the book next to him with a hasty move.
"Wish to take a ride?"
He sounded very enthusiastic, as always, but Aurora did not share his excitement. She usually preferred to walk rather than be carried by an animal, which she felt that she could not control. There was also the question of providing food for it, which used to be a headache. Only when traveling far did she opt for taking the four-legged sprinter with her, and Morrowind covered huge areas, but she was where she belonged at the moment and felt no need to ride just for the sake of having fun.
"I don't ride unless I have to," she stated but held her gaze.
Spurius's eyes widened in even hungrier exhilaration and a smile stretched out across his face as he heard the woman speak.
"Is there something the almighty warrior can't handle?" he asked and winked at her.
"I have never claimed to be a rider," the woman spoke calmly.
"Come on, I'll teach you."
He got up and held out a hand, dragging Aurora towards him. As she stood next to him, he placed a hand on the lower part of her back and steered her towards the entrance. He walked with confident, long leaps and a childish grin that made the woman laugh.
"It should not be too difficult for you. There are a few simple commands, the main thing is to know your own body and calm down. When the rider is tranquil, so is the animal."
Aurora crossed her arms and gave Spurius a semi-warning look as he indicated that he wished to take her hand. Unsuccessful in his attempts, he slapped her arm and continued towards the area where the group had stationed the horses. It was situated a minute away from the camp, further into the forest and consisted of a small enclosure that could be seen from the cave. Next to it, there was another tent belonging to the man who was responsible for the four-legged creatures. Aurora did not know his name, but he was one of the only Dunmer in the group.
Spurius raised his hand to greet the man and opened the gate to the enclosure, leaving Aurora a few steps away. He took the equipment necessary to ride a horse (the woman did not know what it was called) and a saddle, placed it on Aurora's horse and on what appeared to be his, before taking them outside. The animals seemed rather untroubled by his presence and way of leading them, and it became obvious that he was a good rider. He had to have other qualities, Aurora thought, as he was a useless fighter.
As man gestured for Aurora to do something, she immediately became very aware of the fact that she had no real clue what to do other than try to get up. Some men said something to their horses, others petted them on the neck, but the woman did nothing of that sort, something Spurius noted. He also objected to the way she put one foot in the stirrup and dragged her up on the horseback.
"No, you don't get up like that," he complained.
"This was the way I was instructed," Aurora defended herself.
"You are young and fit, crawling up on the horse is undignified for a soldier."
Aurora casted an irritated gaze on the man on the ground as he turned around and stepped up on his horse as if to show off. As he was positioned on top of his dark-brown stallion, he gestured for her to follow him and immediately began bashing her.
"You don't crawl up on the horse like that."
"With a 60-pound armour, yes I do," Aurora answered.
"How come you use heavy armour when you are that good with the sword?" he asked, this time without the same level of judgement.
"Because I'm tall and strong enough to carry it," the woman answered confidently.
"Then you should learn how to ride. A heavy armour is best accompanied by a horse."
The woman knew that the man was right, but she had never found the time or energy to learn how to control a horse properly. Neither had she had access to a good tutor, so she appreciated that Spurius was there to give her a few tips on how to improve. A good soldier had to be a decent rider too, even if she did not have a horse with her at all times. There could come a moment where it could mean the difference between life and death, even if the risk was rather small.
The man took them closer to the road, so Aurora assumed that would be the place of practise. They went there in silence, but the woman observed the man carefully. She did not fully understand yet whether if he liked her or not. At first, he had been rather flirtatious, to an annoying degree even, but after that came a month of nothing. Now he seemed to have found a new interest in her.
He was a peculiar character, that man. Mysterious was the wrong word considering how open and impulsive he seemed; yet there were many unanswered questions about him. She barely new anything, the woman realised. He was some sort of leader for a group that usually hunted in the forests between Morrowind and Cyrodiil, but whose main income came from kidnapping rich people's children. He was not a fighter, but obviously knew how to handle a horse. Spurius read a lot, yet she did not understand where he got all the books from as he did not appear to visit the towns that often. In fact, he was probably wanted, and that was the reason to why he sent the others there to do the work for him. If he was wanted, that must have meant that he had done something criminal before becoming the leader of this bunch.
Was he a murderer? Probably not. He did not appear to be the type who could do something like that. Perhaps he had stolen something expensive – that would explain all the gold he had. The more Aurora thought about it, the more did she believe that theory to be accurate. He was not with the Thieves Guild, though, for they would have protected him if that was the case.
"May I ask you one thing?" the woman spoke after a while.
"If you must," the man answered shortly but rather... regally.
"Spurius can't be your real name. Who names their child Bastard?"
The man chuckled, but did not tear his gaze from the road in front of them. By the time, they had already passed the place where they met at first. The road looked the same, though, and only a local could tell exactly where they were. It was about six o'clock in the afternoon, and the sun was already golden as they continued west.
"It's convenient to use it instead of my birth name."
"So what is your name?"
This time, the man looked at the woman next to him. He observed her from top to toe for half a minute before turning his gaze forwards again. He appeared to be balancing, not knowing whether to tell her or not. Meanwhile, Aurora awaited his reply with impatience. The man did not hurry, though, but continued to look straight ahead for a few minutes. The sun reflected beautifully in his dark hair, which he had put up the way it was when they first met. It fell softly onto his shoulders, which were pushed forwards to retain a majestic posture. Aurora could not understand where he got the grace from, who had formed him into being the way he was, with the manners but slight arrogance.
"Vecheslav," he said after a while.
"That's Colovian!" Aurora exclaimed before realising that it would have been better to restrict herself from such remarks.
"You know your geography."
"How can I not?" Aurora asked, hinting about her race. "Which town do you hail from?"
"Anvil," the man said, almost sighing.
Oh, the Gold Coast! It's beautiful there, Aurora thought. She had passed it on her way to Hammerfell and seen truly mesmerising nature. The sun had a golden shine to it every evening, just like the current day in Morrowind. There were beaches with sand as fine and soft as the King of Skyrim's bed, and trees high and downy. Life seemed so slow and calm there, not at all like in the Imperial city.
"Why does no one call you Vecheslav?" she asked after a short while.
"Because most people here don't know it," he muttered.
"Oh..." the woman exclaimed.
She felt favoured for a second or two before she noticed that the man had broken out in laughter. He rode two or three steps ahead of her, and the woman noticed how he bent backwards as he giggled. A few moments later, he looked back at her with a grin that reached from ear to ear.
"You are easily manipulated, womenfolk. Felt charmed, did you?"
The woman tried to lean forward to hit him on the shoulder, but did not quite reach. Instead, she straightened her back and shoulders, mimicking the man in front of her and loudly proclaimed:
"I love Vilkas."
"Oh, there's no doubt about it," Vecheslav quickly answered.
"Are you being sarcastic?" she laughed.
"That, milady..." he said as he stopped his horse and reached for her broken hand and kissed it gracefully. "... is for you to figure out." A mere second later, he added "Now catch up."
He set away before Aurora had time to properly realise what had happened. All she could do was to see him disappear behind what could only be described as a corner in the forest. The woman leaned forwards to make her horse go faster, but it took her a while, and the man had probably gone too far for her to catch up. Nevertheless, Aurora did not give up, but managed to get the horse galloping within a minute or two. She was absolutely terrified about the speed, but she would prove herself to be a warrior in all aspects, not just the ones she was comfortable about.
She clung onto it as it followed the road towards an unknown destination and hoped that she would not fall off. The medicine man had told her to be careful with her wrist, and this certainly did not count as gentle exercise.
As she was taken forwards, it felt almost as if she rode a dragon. At least that was what she imagined it would be like. The power and strength the horse possessed was truly amazing. For the first time did she begin to respect the animal. It was absolutely frightening to let it use its potential, but it tickled her nerves in an astonishing way.
As she came out of a semi-sharp corner, she only managed to see that there was something of considerate size blocking her path, frightening the horse into staggering. Aurora's heart jumped, and she held on even tighter around the animal's neck, desperately clinging onto it.
"Let go!" she heard Spurius's familiar voice shout at her. "Let it throw you off!"
Aurora felt that she would come to regret it, yet she let go. The woman fell hard to the ground and landed on her backside in the mud. The man hurried towards the horse and began to calm it down as the woman gripped her broken wrist. She had not made it worse – it was just an instinctive act. Her clothes, on the other hand, were completely covered in the disgusting sludge that smelled horribly of rotten roots.
"Now you know how it is to fall off. Wasn't too bad, was it? You won't be as afraid the next time," he said with his back against her.
She got up and began to inspect the damage done to her clothes. She had mud all over her trousers and the back of her tunic, but she was in a good mood. The man was right – it had not been too bad, and there was really nothing to be afraid of, except for a few bruises.
The woman approached the man from behind and hugged him as he was tying the horses together. Laughing, she span around to rub her back against his to do as much damage to his clothing as possible. He remained calm for a while before turning around, screaming intensely and whole-heartedly with his arms out to the sides. He leaped forwards and picked up the woman, swinging her up on his shoulder and spinning around in circles. She laughed, and for a short moment, everything felt right about her life. In this particular instant in time – everything was as good as it could be and her heart was light and cheerful.
"Damn it, you're heavy," he complained as he pushed her legs upwards, making her fall into his arms.
"You didn't complain when you carried me to camp that day," she stated as she looked into his eyes, smiling.
"That was in front of the others," he said and wrinkled his eyebrows. "Didn't wish to embarrass you."
"Would you've embarrassed me or yourself?" she giggled.
"You, as no man can possibly find it comfortable to carry you around," he said, arrogantly.
"Yet you're still holding me."
"You are right – why am I carrying you again?" he winked at her before dropping the woman on the ground.
"Oh gods! What a relief, I almost lost my arms to numbness," he loudly complained.
Smiling cheekily, he gave her his hand and pulled her up. She landed on her feet, barely an inch away from him. She realised by then that he was the kind of man who enjoyed flirting with women, regardless of whom they were. Therefore, she was up for the challenge by the time he intensively looked into her eyes. He laughed again once he realised that he was busted.
"Do you have any other clothes?"
"I travel lightly."
He led the horses back towards the camp with the woman walking next to him. His gaze went from the road to the woman and back again for a few moments as he appeared to ponder on a myriad of different thoughts. Aurora felt very calm. The silence with Spuri... Vecheslav was not awkward, but meant that they were both inside of their own minds.
"A dress would suit you better than what you wear now," he stated.
"I can't fight as well in a dress, you icebrain."
"Such a shame that fighting is all you seem to think of."
"What do you suggest is a more proper subject...?"
"The eternal."
"The eternal?"
"Yes. In us and in nature. In the written word and in the unspoken thought."
"And your naivety," Aurora added, making herself deserving of a hit on the shoulder.