Lenor walked casually beside Serana and listened to the sound of the night sounds. Birds, insects, wolves and other animals. "It's beautiful, isn't it?" he laughed and Serana scowled. "Hey," he threw his hands up, "you're the one who wanted to join me. Besides, it's getting cold out," he shrugged and Serana squinted at him.
"What does it being cold have to do with anything?" she asked and he laughed at her, which made her nervous. Everything about Lenor made her nervous. His speed, strength and attitude. He touched his ring finger again, something which seemed to be a habit and Serana sighed. "What's up with the ring?" she questioned and he smirked.
"Jealous?" he asked and she chuckled. "I was married however many years ago," he replied and she blinked.
"Was?" she asked nervously. Lenor was quiet. Serana had never seen him like this, then again she had never really seen him that much. They only had been travelling for about two nights. "Did she die?" He stared at the ring for another couple of seconds before nodding.
"First she forgot about me, thought I was her son by the time she reached ninety," he whispered and Serana looked away.
"I'm sorry," she apologized and he stared into the distance with a sad look on his face.
"About what?" he asked and his voice was far away.
XXX
Chapter 10: Travelling Partners
XXX
"Judging by your battling styles, I want to make the teams. We are looking for a moth priest, rumour has it that he is somewhere around Skyrim," Isran said to them all and Graysling groaned.
"BY THE NINE…for…ugh!" he lowered his head down and moaned. A loud slap echoed through the room. Snow was glaring at him and Malik shook his head. Raven leaned against the wall and laughed to herself.
"You mind not slamming your head into my breasts?" she growled and Graysling wiggled his fingers that glowed a soft yellow.
"All part of the healing process," he replied and Raven laughed again. She never used to hang out with people. In fact, she used to only team up with her sister, before she got mixed into all this dragon shit. Raven ran her fingers through her sword-cut hair and blew out a breath of air. Knowing this bone head, she would be put up with someone she really didn't like. Knowing him, he'd make sure that she wouldn't be partnered with Snow.
"Somewhere in Skyrim?!" Graysling shouted and raised his head and let out a dramatic wail. "By the nine! You don't even have a pinpoint?" his voice cracked in the end.
"That's why I'm sending teams, dimwit," Isran countered and Raven sat down on a bench and folded her arms.
"Who are the teams, then?" she asked and Isran leaned against the railing.
"Since you are all new, I can spare enough teams to look around. First team will be covering Markarth and Solitude. That team will be Malik and Graysling and Raven," he said and Raven raised an eyebrow at him.
"May I ask why?" Malik said and Isran nodded.
"The forsworn are tough opponents and the Reach is very dangerous without them. Judging by your tactics, I think you'd make a strong enough team. Raven can be classified as a marksman or a swordsman. You seem rather skilled and you seem to be very strong in battle. If anyone could check the Reach, it'd be you two." Malik looked over at Raven and she waved. He gave her a swift nod and then returned to his straight posture.
"Understood," he replied and the familiar ringing sound of a healing spell filled the air. Raven noted Graysling concentrated look and laughed to herself. He really cared for her, even if he showed it to her like he thought of her as some random girl. By the way Snow acted, she didn't think he liked her. Young love, she smirked. Maybe not for Graysling though.
XXX
Was I ever tired and Graysling sticking his face into a more protected area was not helping. Although, his healing spell was really helping. My wounds were nearly gone and my eyes slowly could see again. It was disappointing that Raven was teamed up with someone else, mainly because she was somewhat fun to be around. Yes she was slightly crazy and scary, but everyone had their quirks. The only thing she hoped was that she would be partnered with Jora. She was strong and seemed to know what she was doing. Also, she looked like she could be fun to talk to.
Graysling finally finished and I felt much better. "So, will I be able to kill stuff still?" I asked and he smirked.
"Don't worry, you can still do that," he stood and stretched. As he extended his hand, Isran began to talk again.
"The next team that will be covering Falkreath, Morthal and Whiterun will be Graysling," he started and I crossed my fingers. Please, please don't say, "and Snow," he shouted and I hung my head. Graysling's mouth opened wide and he looked at me. He grabbed my hand and threw it up in the air.
"Team Graysling will find this moth priest, don't you worry!" he shouted and dragged me out. I gaped at Isran and he watched Graysling with slight curiosity. As I passed Malik, he gave me my dagger and smiled.
"I'd wish you luck, but it hasn't seemed to pass your way yet," he said and I glared at him. He smiled thinly and I continued to be dragged by the pushy elf. We exited through the doors and I finally managed to break free from his iron grip. He placed his hands on his hips and looked at the sky.
"Hmm, looks like it's midnight," he said and I nodded. He was scratching his head and turned to me. His smile was making me nervous. I couldn't read him either. He could be smiling happily, aggressively, or with evil and I wouldn't be able to tell. "I have an idea," he said mischievously. I furrowed my brow and was nervous to ask what it was. "So, we need to get to Morthal before day break, since we are both rather used to working at night, if I can presume," he stated and I froze. What did he mean by that? Did he know about my problem or was just noticing we all came here by night.
"How do you know?" I stammered and he shrugged.
"Besides the fact that you and I both came here by night. That and we are both obviously not tired and are both vampires." He stated and I gawked at him. He was straight faced and I shook. How could he possibly know that? And he was a vampire? My hand slowly went to my side and he burst out laughing. "I'm joking, sheesh. I'm just screwing with you," he laughed and I blew out a shaky breath.
"Don't do that," I muttered and he began laughing again.
"You should have seen your face, like you were realizing that your dog died or something. Priceless," he chuckled and I punched him in the side of his head. "Ow! What was that for?!" he shouted and I glared.
"What's your stupid plan anyway?" I asked, "And shouldn't we go to Whiterun first? It is the closest." He placed his hands behind his head and grinned, something he did a lot.
"We are going from Morthal to Whiterun and then Falkreath." He said and fiddled with his goggles. "Then round back here. And I have the best idea, too," he said and his hands began to glow purple. He began to circle them in some sort of pattern and I backed up. What was he going to do? His arms were smoking with the purple magic and he clenched his fists and stretched them to either side. I wasn't a mage and I could feel the energy circling around each of us.
His hands opened and the sound of hooves slamming into the ground filled the quiet air. I looked around and as I made a full turn around, I noticed he was pointing up. My eyes slowly raised and saw what looked like a glowing green dot approach us from the clouds. "What is that?" I shouted and the dot began to take shape as a horse. It was riding the air and my mouth was hanging open. I heard doors open over the sound of the hooves and Jora walked out with Banning.
"Is he showing off again?" she shouted and I shrugged. Graysling was smiling like a maniac and he ran his hand through his jet black hair. Banning seemed put out and he sat down on a rock and picked at his hammer. The horse flew straight at me and I screamed. Graysling wrapped his hands around my waist and pulled me out of the way as the horse's hooves slammed the dirt which I was previously standing on. It heaved a huge breath and stomped towards Graysling.
"Snow, meet Fren, Fren-Snow," he introduced me and I blinked. Fren was a huge skeletal horse who was steaming green mist and breathing it out too. "Now, we need to get to a miserable town called Morthal," he ordered and the horse whinnied.
Something seemed to finally dawn on me as I slowly mounted the horse. Morthal wasn't all too happy with me. How was I supposed to get there and stay alive without the people remembering me as some creepy vampire? Not only that, how was I supposed to explain this to Graysling.
"Graysling, I don't think I can GOOOOOOOO!" I screamed as the horse ran at unnatural speeds. Graysling, whom I hadn't noticed, was in front of me holding the reins like a mad man. He slapped the horse and I caught him telling Fren to go faster. "Are you crazy!?" I shouted into his ear and he turned around and smirked at me. A wall was coming closer to us and I screamed at him to turn around. He lifted his hand to his ear and I grabbed his waist and shut my eyes. We are so dead!
The wall closed in faster and faster and I grabbed his waist tighter while burrowing my head into his jacket. The horse turned on its own and slammed his heavy feet into the cobble stone path. I shut my eyes, tears forming from the speed. We passed by Riften and my mouth hung open. We were already by Riften. The horse snorted and continued its unnatural speed with ease. I watched as Graysling removed his goggles and laughed.
I looked over his shoulder nervously and felt my stomach lurch as I watched everything blur. Was he insane?! He flew by a tower and I saw a woman shout in protest. As I looked closer, her eyes widened and she jumped out of the way. A crunch echoed in my ears and I gasped. "Bandit!" Graysling shouted and I shook my head. This was terrifying. Graysling slapped the reins and the horse sped up even more than I could picture. Rain began to pour down and I frowned at the grey clouds that passed over the moon.
The horse took a right turn, as my stomach did too, and trotted over to a cave. Graysling shook his hair and ran his fingers through it. "You mind letting go now, lovely?" he asked and I felt my face turn bright red. I let go and he slid off and brushed at his shoulder, water dripping off at his shoulders. He extended his hand to let me get off and I stared at his eyes. What I expected was the eyes of a dark elf; red and wrinkly. His eyes were of a Nord's. They were bright green and wide.
It was then that I realized how old Graysling really was. He was maybe two to three years older than me at the most. He raised an eyebrow and shook his hand for me to grab it. "Thanks," I said and he grinned. As I slid off the horse, Fren shook the water that was dripping from his rib cage and slowly walked over to corner in the cage. Graysling slipped his jacket off and shook it out. I loosened my hood and flicked it off, feeling the water drip down my back.
"How come you wear that?" Graysling asked and hung his coat on a branch.
I shrugged, "Didn't occur to me that it was a big deal," I replied and he laughed.
Graysling continued running his fingers through his hair to dry it and rubbed his eyes. "I have an idea," he told me and I blinked.
"Is this the same idea of using Fren," I motioned my head in the direction of the fast horse, "to get to Morthal?" He smirked.
"Nope, but we will use Fren," he replied and I furrowed my eyebrows. What was he thinking? "We'll rest here until morning and then we'll go to Whiterun and buy you some lovely armor. Actually," he raised a finger, "I'll make you some armor and enchant it too!" he smirked and nodded. "We'll leave in the morning," he nodded and I smiled and nodded.
"Got it!" I replied enthusiastically. As he smirked I looked away and bit my lip. I can't go out in the sun. I had already realized that how many days ago. How was I supposed to explain or make up an excuse that I can't go out in the sun?
"Snow?" Graysling called and I looked at him. His hands lit up with fire and he burned wood and his face brightened from the red flames.
"What is it?" I asked and he scratched the back of his head and frowned.
"What happened to that eye of yours?" he asked and I felt sweat form on my back.
"Oh, um. It was a vampire," she said, technically not lying. Graysling walked up to me and was standing inches away. I licked my lips and his hand glowed yellow, the restoration magic.
"I can heal it for you," he offered and I shook my head. I raised my hands and laughed nervously.
"Oh, no that's alright. You don't have to-," his hand gently grabbed the cloth and I flinched and threw my head back. He held on as I flicked my head back and the cloth ripped. On instinct I shut my eye and he stared at the cloth.
"Sorry! I didn't-," he stopped and grabbed my shoulder. He saw, oh gods he saw. My head began to race with ways that Graysling could kill me and I tried to rip my shoulder from his grasp. "Open your eye," he ordered and I lowered my head. He saw.
My red eye slowly opened and I winced at the bright light of the fire. His eyebrows raised and he leaned in close. I could feel his warm breath on my cheek as he stared at the eye intently. "A vampire's eye with a vampire hunter," he smiled and threw his head back and laughed. "The irony," he smirked and rubbed his hands together. "I'd like an explanation," he said and sat down on a stump. I looked away and leaned against the tree behind me.
"So would I," I whispered and he me with questioning eyes. "I was bitten by a vampire," I explained and he clenched his fists and nodded. "But I was following Agmaer to a cave that was full of vampires. He wouldn't have made it if it wasn't for me," I whispered. "It took me three days to get there and as I went through the cave, I forgot all about the vampire. Now, well it couldn't even make me a real one. I-I have to live with this forever!" I exclaimed and sunk down to the floor.
Graysling rubbed the back of his head and I felt tears form in the corners of my eyes, "So I went to Falion of Morthal, right? And know what he said?" I asked and Graysling awkwardly shook his head. "He said that because I was half a vampire, he couldn't cure me! I don't know if I'm immortal, I don't know if I'll start drinking blood or-or," I buried my head into my arms and felt tears fall down my cheeks. I haven't cried like this in years, but this was too much.
"I've always been alone, but I was okay with that," I whispered and Graysling shifted on his stump. "Now I can't even be near people anymore. See how easily you found my secret? How long will it take for everyone else to? Gods, I'm dead. I would kill myself, but I'll wait for someone like Isran to find out. I'll help him until-,"
"No," Graysling stood and I blinked away the tears. "I can see a bandit butchered into small pieces," he stated and slowly walked over to me, "See a man drained of his blood in a second," he continued and I wiped my nose and watched as he went down on one knee. His face was close enough that I could see his pores. "But I don't want to ever see you cry again, alright?" he said and I glared. Who was he anyway?
"You don't know me," I hissed and he backed up in slight shock. "Don't act like we're childhood friends or something. Why do you even care?" I asked him and wiped away the remaining tears.
Graysling laughed gently and sat down in front of me. His eyes crinkled with his laughter and he picked at the floor. "I hate seeing people who I know like this," he whispered. "Not because it makes them look weak, it's because it makes them a different person," he admitted and I shook my head at him.
"You don't know me," I repeated and he shook his head.
"I know that you are stronger than you look," he smiled, "And that you never give up. And that you aren't good with people and have been alone for quite some time," he said. I glared and looked away.
"And how could you know that?" I hissed and he got up and wiped his pants.
"Because you could stand up to Malik even though I told you of his strength. You even told me yourself that you've always been alone," he replied and extended his hand. I took it gently and he pulled me up. As I stood, he wrapped his arms around me and I began to struggle, making him tighten his hold. He wasn't acting like his womanizer self, I realized. Graysling was actually giving me a hug. Although I felt terrible and just wanted to be alone, I slowly wrapped my arms around his waist as well.
No one had ever told me this, never defended me or acted like I was important to them. I rested my head on his shoulder and he ran his fingers through my hair. "Thank you, Graysling," I whispered and he leaned back and smiled. It wasn't cocky, it wasn't like he was bragging or anything. He seemed truly happy, something that I realized was nice. His eyes lowered to my lips and I felt my heart begin to race. His head leaned in closer and I felt panic start to rise to my throat. What was he doing?
I just met him, no. Not happening. I gently pushed him away and he stopped. "Thanks, I don't think anyone has ever said that to me Graysling," I said, turning away in embarrassment. He scratched the back of his head and looked away as well.
"Yah," he replied and I felt my heart twinge. He sounded upset. "We'll go tomorrow night and can rest here until the rain stops," he said and walked over to the exit of the cave.
"Where are you going?" I asked and he looked over his shoulder.
"Just getting some food, Snow," he replied and grabbed his coat. The whole room seemed tense and I realized that this was the best decision.
"Okay," I whispered and sat by the fire with my left eye shut. Once he left, I had never been in such a quiet room.