DF: Here is chapter 8. It was originally part of chapter 7, but I decided to split chapter 7 into two pieces because it was longer than I wanted. The next chapter, however, will be a bit long and may take extra time to finish writing and editing. If it's not uploaded next weekend, then expect it to come out the Saturday after next. Enjoy!
Chapter 8
Once Lyz was done with her loot hoarding, they set off on the way back to Windhelm. Now that they had recovered Fjotli's locket, they needed to return the locket to the girl's father and collect their reward.
They walked back in silence. Lyz's back clanked with her newfound loot. The noise was beginning to irritate Bran. The optimistic side of him hoped that Lyz would sell the pilfered belongings as soon as they got back to Windhelm. But he had seen the pile of valuables that she kept at the back of her cabin. Jewels, smelted metals, and old pieces of clothing littered that forgotten corner of the room. There was too much stuff in that pile to have been formed in just a couple weeks' time.
Bran shuttered. He would give her a week to take care of the goods she took from the Summerset Shadows before Bran would find a way to make them disappear himself. He bet she wouldn't even notice if they went missing.
Lyz walked ahead of him, as if he wasn't even there. His actions earlier in the day were still upsetting her and Lyz was doing a bad job at hiding it. For the life of him, Bran couldn't understand why it had bothered her so much. She clearly wasn't too fond of company and he couldn't conceive of why his reaction to her had upset her so much.
It was only when they were approaching the city gate that Lyz chose to break the silence.
"You let Niranye pet you," she said flatly.
Bran looked up at her. Odd of her to make that observation after ignoring him for so long. He blinked, not understanding where the statement was coming from.
"You let Niranye pet you," she repeated. "But you don't like me petting you."
Bran was even further confused. It seemed unusual that the woman he had only known for about two weeks would even care how he had acted towards the dark elf when they had questioned her earlier. In fact, it was strange that she expected him to be okay with her casting her spells on him. She could have been trying to hurt him for all he knew.
He tilted his head in thought. Was she… jealous?
He wanted to tell Lyz that it wasn't her touch that bothered him but her magic. Yet his wolf mouth did not allow him to form the words he needed to speak, and he doubted that admitting his aversion to her magic would make things any better anyway.
Lyz didn't say anything more as they entered the city. Her face had returned to its steely expression and she went back to ignoring him. Seemingly, there was nothing more to say.
Her pack full of loot swung back and forth against her back like a pendulum.
They found Torsten Cruel-Sea in the same inn where they had held their meeting. He was sipping a drink, though not the same one from before. This one had a richer, darker scent to it. Bran inhaled deeply. It wasn't wine, but he could still tell that it was made from some plant. Sassafras maybe?
Cruel-Sea looked at them hopefully when they arrived. "Well? Did you - ahem - take care of that business I told you about?"
Lyz responded by holding out the silver locket for Cruel-Sea to see. The man's eyebrows rose in surprise before his face settled into a sad smile.
"It pains me to see this locket again," he said as he took the necklace. "But at least I know that it is no longer in the hands of those thieves. Tell Delvin that if his Guild desires any support in Windhelm in the future to come contact me. I may no longer be a part of the sailor's family, but I still have my connections."
Cruel-Sea swept a thumb over the locket gently before storing it in his pocket. He reached into another pocket and pulled out a pouch containing several gold coins. "Your payment. It's not much, but I expect our future business will help make up for that."
Lyz nodded in appreciation and made her way back down the stairs, coin pouch in hand. When she reached the first level, she walked up to one of the innkeepers and placed the pouch on the counter.
"Room for two. We will be staying for a while."
The innkeeper counted the coins in the pouch then returned the change. She slid a key across the table for Lyz to take. Lyz grabbed the key and led Bran to their designated room. This room was larger than the last one they had stayed in. This time around, Bran had his own bed beside Lyz's. Furthermore, their room included a small table pressed against a corner.
Lyz immediately settled down at the table with a tired sigh. She dumped her loot on the ground and pulled out a piece of parchment and some ink. Bran padded towards her to see what she was doing, but she stopped him with a raised finger.
"One moment please."
Using a quill, she scribbled a short message onto the parchment then folded it up. She slipped the letter into her pocket and put her ink away.
Instead of turning to Bran, Lyz continued to sit in the chair staring into space. She didn't say anything, and her face still showed that tired expression. Her lips tipped downward as if she was lost in a negative thought or memory.
After a while, the silence began to annoy Bran and he woofed demandingly. Her eyes shot to him and her face fell into a cool scowl. Bran didn't like the expression. It sucked away what little warmth was in the woman's face, if there was any to begin with. She held the werewolf's gaze for longer than what must have been comfortable for her, then turned away with a scoff.
"That's right," she said. "We still need to find your owner."
Bran didn't like her tone. She spat out the words as if she was eager to get rid of him. As if he were trash. If Bran were a younger, dumber wolf, he would have taken offense. But he fit neither of the two descriptors. He was an old and powerful wolf that dealt with difficult people for a living. He handled new or troubled wolves with patience so they wouldn't have to be killed. Still, the Alpha in him would not and could not let her attitude fly. So, Bran did what Bran did best.
He stormed out of the room. Lyz jumped in surprise and shouted after him, but he ignored her. He couldn't use words, so his options were limited. But he believed that he had found something that would get Lyz to budge.
He marched over to the bulletin board hanging inside the inn and snatched one of the posters off the wall. The innkeeper cursed at him - something having to do with the male offspring of a female dog- and may have also thrown a tankard at him. Bran ignored the innkeeper too and marched back into Lyz's room with the poster still in his mouth.
He slammed the door behind him and glared at Lyz who was now up on her feet and staring at him with an angry, but wary expression.
"What has gotten into you?" She hissed.
Bran wished that he could ask her the same thing, but he had found a better alternative. He let the poster fall out of his mouth and drift onto the floor. Lyz's eyes followed the descent of the piece of paper. Her eyes scanned the words and she frowned.
"A bounty? You brought me a bounty?" Her eyes narrowed as she scanned the words. "Generous reward offered by the jarl's steward?!"
Bran could've sworn that Lyz began to drool like a starved man eyeing a piece of meat. She reached down to pick up the bounty only for Bran to snatch it off the ground and step away. Lyz furrowed her eyebrows and reached for the bounty again. Bran simply leapt aside, the sheet of paper fluttering out of Lyz's reach.
"Gimme that!"
Bran and Lyz fought over the bounty like two children fighting over a remote control. Lyz was fast, but Bran was faster. Despite the woman's quick reflexes, she couldn't keep up with Bran's flighty movements. Eventually, she lost her patience and leaned against the wall. She panted heavily, exhausted by both the fight with the Summerset Shadows today and from chasing Bran around the room.
"Damn you, you flea-ridden, tongue-chewing, bipolar creature on four legs." She growled like a wolf that had its prey stolen out from under her.
Bran tilted his head in confusion. Tongue-chewing?
"Just give me the bounty like the good boy you are."
Bran looked at her thoughtfully. Then he slowly eased towards Lyz.
She smiled. "Good boy."
She reached for the paper only for Bran to snatch it away from her hand again. Lyz gave him a deadly look.
"You know how I said that you were a good boy? Well, I lied. You suck."
Bran dropped the paper on the ground and carefully stepped towards Lyz. The woman glanced at the bounty then back at the werewolf standing in the way. Bran padded forward until he was nearly nose-to-nose with Lyz. From this close, he could feel the faint stutter of her breath. Hear her heart speed up as he stood in front of her. Smell the peppery scent of her magic and something sweet underneath. He almost leaned in closer to get another whiff. Instead, he moved away towards the bookcase and grabbed a random book. Then he carried the book back over to Lyz and plopped it in her lap. She looked down at the book's cover.
"A Tragedy in Black?" Lyz read. "You want me to read it?"
Bran settled down on the ground and looked at her expectedly. Lyz raised an eyebrow at him but started reading. As she read, Bran closed his eyes and listened as Lyz read the storybook. From the story, he learned about creatures known as daedra, dark gems capable of storing souls, and a magic known as "conjuration." While Lyz was still reading the story, Bran stood up and placed his head on Lyz's lap. Lyz tensed up, but continued reading the book, the wolf's strange behavior obviously confusing her.
When Lyz finished reading the last part of the story, she glanced down at the book and back at Bran. A frightened look passed across her face before disappearing behind a blank mask. It was so quick that he had almost missed it. Why had she been frightened? Was it his closeness or the story? Or both?
Slowly, so as not to frighten her further, he reached over and licked her hand. His intention had been to thank her for the story, but the action only caused her to stiffen further. Bran's ear twitched in annoyance as he reached for the bounty and handed it to her.
Lyz's eyes scanned over the bounty, absorbing all the information on the page. While she read, Bran settled beside her and looked at her encouragingly. When she was done reading, he woofed eagerly and wagged his tail. Lyz stared at him, trying to interpret his meaning.
"You want to hunt down the Butcher?" She guessed.
Bran gave an affirmative woof.
"Why is that?"
Bran nudged his muzzle under her hand.
"Is that supposed to be some kind of apology? Very well. I accept your apology."
Bran wagged his tail happily.
Lyz folded up the bounty and put it in her pack.
"In that case, we will need to get plenty of rest tonight. We will most likely be wandering around Windhelm all day tomorrow. I also have a letter I need to send off in the morning."
Lyz made her way towards the door, likely getting dinner for the two of them. But she paused as she opened the door.
"Hey, pup."
Bran glanced up at her.
"Are you a daedra?"
Her tone had changed so suddenly that Bran nearly stood up in alarm. She was facing away from him so he couldn't see her expression. But he could have sworn her voice had gotten darker when she asked the question. They stood in silence. Then as suddenly as the question had left her lips, Lyz stepped out of the room, leaving Bran staring after her in confusion.