Hey everybody! After a few months of absense I finally have another chapter! Sorry for the wait, anyway, here it is, I hope you enjoy!
Once again, Taka is not my character I'm borrowing her, and I do not own Morrowind, I do however own Larka, Krillan, Liam, and any other characters that I've created. There are some changes to the world but nothing major. Enjoy!
Chapter 8
"We made a good team." Taka said with a sad smile. Larka raised herself up to a sitting position with Taka's help and bowed her head in defeat. The two defeated fighters closed their eyes in anguish as the War Leader drew her bow and fired.
Suddenly a voice called out a spell and bright blue magic raced out to meet the arrows, forming a shield around the pair of women and stopping the arrows short. Larka's eyes snapped open, what had just happened? She looked up at Taka, who wore a similar expression of puzzlement. The spell died and the arrows clattered to the ground before them. Saved. For the moment.
It appeared they weren't the only ones puzzled, many warriors were looking confused. As were the other people of the tribe who had stayed safely in their huts till now. On the contrary, the War Leader looked furious and was scouring the crowd for some clue as to who had cast the spell.
The world spun around Larka and she had to lean on Taka to keep sitting. Blood loss from the arrow wound was killing her. Taka looked up at everyone fiercely; "She's dying here! If someone helped us before help us again and save her!" she shouted.
"I would be more than willing." Said a voice from the crowd. All heads turned to a man who was striding forward. There were hushed whispers as he broke through the mass of people to where the pair was sitting.
"My Chief, I must ask why...This woman has ventured uninvited into our territory and spilt the blood of our people. All rights say she and the others die." Said the War Leader.
"Yes, all the rights say she must die, but I say she will live." The chief said, "Silence Jey! I will hear no more on the matter. Now go fetch the Wise Woman at once." He said just as the War Leader named Jey was about to protest. Glaring dangerously she turned on her heel and stormed off.
He has a beautiful voice, Larka thought through the haze. Smooth yet commanding, soothing even. He sounds young to be a chief, if only this fog in my vision would clear I could see what he looks like. And the pain isn't so bad now, I feel very sleepy, I think I'll take a short nap.
A slap to the face from Taka shook those thoughts from her mind, mostly.
"She's going into shock! Do something!" Taka yelled, her eyes a fierce blue that made the Chief inwardly wince, those eyes can hurt, he thought.
"She'll be fine, stand back and let me carry her." He said gently lifting Larka up, being careful not to jostle her shoulder too much. Taka backed up and then seeing Krillan, pushed through the crowd, elbowing and shoving tribesmen out of the way. They gazed angrily after her but could do nothing if she had the chief's protection. Reaching Krillan, Taka used one of her throwing stars to cut his bonds and helped him back out of the crowd.
"Stellamarah, show these guests to your hut, if there isn't enough room for the three of you join another family tonight." The chief said to a girl who came bouncing eagerly forward to lead the pair away. The chief then stood up and carried Larka off through the settlement to the Wise Woman's hut, where she would get a very badly needed healing.
"When will she wake?"
"Give it time. Our warriors did quite a number on her. I'm surprised she survived at all."
"As am I."
"There's no need to fuss so, I haven't seen you this concerned since Jey took a stab to the leg."
"I just don't want her blood on our hands. I cannot explain it any better yet."
"You have your reasons, and I have mine. There's something special about her. But fussing over her isn't going to help...And, oh Goodness her they come again! Will they never learn!"
"Is she awake yet?"
"No, now if you'll please leave..."
"Taka come on, we shouldn't be here anyway."
"I don't care Krill! I wanted to check on her."
"Please! Please leave her to us. Return to your hut and we'll call you when she's woken."
"Fine."
"I should leave too, Jey still isn't speaking to me and I want to smooth things over, a War Leader should obey her Chief, or at least speak to him."
"I'll send for you when she wakes."
"Thank you."
Larka woke slowly and groggily. It was just her and the woman now, who was busy over a fire stirring a large pot. Larka tried to sit up but sank back dizzily, stabs of pain shooting from her shoulder.
"Stay lying down, you're not healed yet." The woman said walking to her bed with a goblet of something in her hand. "There will be time for questions later, for now drink this and sleep." She said tipping the mixture down Larka's throat.
"Who are you?" Larka whispered.
"My name is WhisperWing. Now sleep."
The next time Larka woke up she was alone in the hut. Sitting up slowly she found that she felt almost no dizziness. Using a narrow beam for support she stood and surveyed the hut. It was small, but had enough room for several people to fit comfortably and still stand or sit. There was a fire pit in the center that had a few smoldering embers in it. A rug woven of soft red material covered most of the ground, and a hammock stood in the corner across from Larka's bedroll. On a table Larka found a plate with a slice of bread and scrib jelly along with a goblet filled with what smelled like spiced wine. Larka's hunger overcame her hesitation and she hurriedly ate the meal. Then she noticed her weapons and cloths sitting neatly in a corner by her bed. Larka went over to them and was pleased to notice that someone had cleaned her weapons and had mended her shirt and pants. Whoever had done it had also gotten rid of the bloodstains as well. Sighing happily Larka pulled off the worn brown dress she was wearing and put her shirt, pants, and boots on. Her hair was a mess of tangles but she would worry about that later, tying it up in a loose bun she concentrated on what to do next.
It didn't appear she was a prisoner, but she didn't know if she was welcome in the tribe or not. Taking her tanto and fastening it to her belt she walked to the hut door and was about to open it when it swung open and a tall figure crashed into her, bringing them both to the ground. Larka let out a yelp of pain as she fell on her injured shoulder. However, acting quickly she untangled herself from the other person and swung herself over him so she was sitting on his torso pinning his arms to his sides, her tanto to his throat.
"I'm glad you're feeling yourself again. I was worried." The stranger said, and something in Larka's mind clicked. That voice...where had she heard it before? Oh! She thought and instantly sprung up off him and helped him to his feet blushing furiously.
"I'm sorry, I did not know..." she began but he cut her off.
" It is quite alright, I startled you, and with the experience you've had I'm surprised you didn't kill me instantly. The chief smiled at her, a dashing smile that made his eyes sparkle. His eyes! Larka thought, they're blue! But that cannot be, all Dark Elves are born with red eyes! She stared intensely at them and then realized she was doing so.
"You're not the first one. All who don't know me are taken aback by them." The chief said.
"But you Are an Ashlander?" Larka began quizzically.
"Of course. My eyes do not define my heritage." He said curtly.
"Well, excuse me but it's not something you see every day, a Dark Elf with bright blue eyes." Larka said, a twinge of anger in her voice. The two glared at each other, but Larka suddenly collapsed and the chief quickly caught her.
"I am sorry. I did not mean to excite you. You still aren't well." He said apologetically as he helped her to the bench at the table.
"I'm perfectly fine thank you." Larka said coldly. She didn't particularly like this man, chief and her savior or no, if his pride could be wounded at a slight remark about his heritage how must he react in battle if an opponent was to taunt him? He was a good-looking man though. Tall and skinny, though muscles were defined through his shirt and when she and him had been entangled briefly on the ground, he was young as well, around Larka's age. Apart from his eyes he looked like a normal dark elf, Ashlander or no, with slightly more turquoise in his skin and ebony locks.
"You can say so but I won't believe you." He said, his eyes sparkling once more.
"Liam!" a female voice called from outside the tent. The Chief, or Liam, sprang up instantly from where he was sitting on the bench holding Larka. This sudden loss of her support caused Larka to fall backwards and Liam, in his haste to catch her stumbled and fell with her, so the pair was once again lying together on the floor. Larka rolled her eyes in exasperation, honestly, couldn't this man, Liam, do anything right?
"Liam!" called the voice, very close now. Suddenly the hut door opened and none other than the war leader Jey stepped inside, to find Larka and Liam entangled with one another in what looked like very different circumstances that it actually was.
"Jey!" Liam said, rushing to get up, leaving Larka lying on the ground by herself.
"Ahem!" Larka said. He blushed deeper than he was already and quickly helped her up, all the while Jey was giving the pair a look of deep malevolence and disgust.
Larka quickly sat down once more, not wanting to be touching Liam in any way lest Jey get even more vicious looking and try to attack when Larka wasn't at her peek. It was obvious the two of them were romantically together from the reaction they both had. Larka was torn between amusement and foreboding, she didn't want to make this woman any more hateful towards her.
"I trust you'll be alright till I return?" Liam asked slowly, his mouth barely moving and not looking at her, as if he didn't want to draw attention to the fact that he was speaking to her in front of Jey. Larka nodded, trying to keep a smirk from her face, it was rather amusing in an ironic sort of way. Jey turned and walked out of the hut, a deflated Liam in tow. What followed was an explosion of furious Ashlander language spoken from Jey, no doubt to Liam, who was trying, without success, to calm her down. It in fact, only made her louder and though Larka couldn't understand the language she had a good idea of what they were talking about. Sighing deeply she slowly made her way to her bedroll and after removing her tanto lay down and closed her eyes. She'd slept through worse noise that a screaming girlfriend before and the last conscious image she had before she drifted off to sleep were a pair of dazzling blue eyes. She'd get explanations later.
