"What the in Oblivion?"
Vilkas halted on the road when he saw it. A dog scampered out from the brush on the side of the road and stared at him with large dark eyes. The long-snouted creature must have been white and sleek once, but now it was matted and dirty. It smiled, making Vilkas shiver, then threw its head up in a bark.
What happened next took place over a few more moments.
The dog barked again before running across the road. Someone shouted behind it, angry and frustrated. Vilkas watched in disbelief as several bandits ran after the dog with weapons drawn. The dog was barking merrily in the background as it went farther and farther into the underbrush.
Sighing, Vilkas shook his head and tried to put the scene out of his mind. The dog leading a few bandits on a merry chase was something he'd tell Valleri over dinner when he got home. He was already late anyway.
He was down the road only a few feet when heard more yelling. Vilkas paused another moment and listened. Angry barking and a few growls drowned out the sounds of yelling. One bandit screamed in pain, followed by a high-pitched whine.
The whine sent chills up Vilkas' spine. The Nord frowned and mumbled to himself before backtracking into the woods. Their group was easy to track since they made no effort to stay quiet. Vilkas found the bandits surrounding the dog. The dog looked like it was at least putting up a fight as it clawed and yapped at one of the bandits. Still, bright red blood speckled and dotted its fur. A bandit had his sword held high and ready to strike.
Without warning, Vilkas rammed the pommel of his sword into the back of the bandit's neck. The brigand went down like a sack of potatoes and the group erupted into chaos. Grabbing the dog, Vilkas sprinted back to the road and didn't stop until the bandits were long gone.
The dog squirmed Vilkas' arm as it jumped back to the ground. It circled around him a few times before Vilkas noticed the dog limping. The Nord furrowed his eyebrows, "You okay there?"
The dog barked a single time and Vilkas let out a groan before leading the dog to the side of the road. Vilkas sat down on a rock and gestured for the dog to follow. Surprisingly, the dog sat down right in front of Vilkas and laid one of its paws on his knee.
"That's it?" Vilkas mumbled mostly to himself. Again, the dog barked as it curled its lips in what could have been a smile. Taking the paw in hand, Vilkas noticed the swollen joint, covered in red torn skin. The dog whined for a moment before Vilkas made eye contact with him. "Well, it's not horrible."
The dog's ears went back as it nudged at Vilkas. It barked, this time deeper than before.
"Fine, fine." Vilkas shook his head as he took out a knife and some old bandages, "It's not like I didn't get you away from those bandits before either."
The Nord worked in silence as he secured the bandage around the dog's paw. The dog was polite enough to sit still for him at least. Resting his hands on his legs, Vilkas smiled. He gave the dog a pat on the head and whispered. "Should be a bit better now."
He watched as the dog backed up and circled around in front of him. He paused, eyeing him from the side, but didn't leave the road. Vilkas furrowed his eyebrows as he addressed the dog again, "You do realize I have to go home, right?"
Tilting his head, the dog didn't move from his spot.
Eventually, Vilkas got up from his seat and started back down the road. He tried not to look back. But the sound of the dog's nails hitting the cobblestones continued to follow him. The Nord's heart sunk as he halted. The dog padded right over to him and nudged his head between Vilkas side and arm. He really tried not to look down.
But he did.
The dog just stared at him with expectant, big eyes.
Vilkas shook his head, "You're horrible, you know?"
The dog whined and walked in front of him.
"If you're following me home, you're gonna have to get cleaned up." Vilkas gestured for the dog to follow him and started off to the side of the road. "Come on, we gotta go find you a river."
…
Valleri was unpacking her old books and journals when she heard him come in downstairs. She figured she should have gone to meet him, but Valleri continued organizing, anyway. The moment the Imperial stopped shelving the volumes, she'd lose all motivation to make sure the library was in proper order.
"Valleri?"
"I'm upstairs!" The Imperial didn't wait for his nonexistent reply as she continued with her task. She listened to him bound up the stairs, only to furrow her eyebrows when she heard claws coming after him.
"Hey Valleri? Promise you won't get upset."
That's when Valleri perked up. She looked over her shoulder to see Vilkas standing in the doorway with a look of frazzled unsurety. He looked otherwise fine. Valleri opened her mouth to speak when she saw it.
A white shaggy dog stood next to Vilkas with its tail wagging from side to side.
"A dog?" Valleri asked, voice cracking as she realized she wasn't hallucinating.
The Nord mustered a faltering smile. His voice was equally shaky, "Yep. I've been calling him Wisp."
Valleri didn't exactly know how to answer. She wasn't averse to the idea, but Vilkas never brought it up either. They stared at each other wordlessly as the dog walked into the room and sat down in front of Valleri. He barked once, making Valleri and Vilkas jump. Valleri looked down to see the dog smiling. The Imperial sighed.
They had a dog now.