Being woken up by my shoulder being roughly shaken isn't an improvement from last time. Rough hard shakes were followed by mild unimpressed grunting noises. I had to press my lips together to keep from laughing at her efforts. Cracking an eye open I looked up from the hand on my shoulder, to the figure half hovering over me.
"Alright, alright you can stop with the shaking. I'm up and almost functional." With that being said I assumed she'd move but as I was trying to sit up her firm grip all but dragged me into a sitting position. Not that merely sitting up would prove to be good enough for her. She moved in front of me, gripped the tops of my arms and lifted me off the ground. I was lifted so high in fact that we were eye level when I knew she had to be at least full foot taller than me. Partially amused I slightly kicked my feet in the air. A few more minutes of kicking on my part and some grunting on hers and she finally let me back on my again. Turning her back to me momentarily I found her pressing armor into my chest. It was the same color and style of the bow I had used. I must have stared at it for too long because she snatched it back and began roughly fitting it to my body.
"It's Glass Armor", she stated. "It's light but will protect you well enough. Forged it myself in Solitude." While she was speaking she had unceremoniously dropped my dress and put the upper body armor on. After various amounts of buckling, unbuckling, pulling, and, shifting it fit snug and comfortably. The gauntlets were next, as she slid them over my hands and up most of my forearms. There were leather straps just on the inside she had to fuss with because my wrists are tinier than she assumed and they kept sliding out of place. Once she was sure they wouldn't move it didn't take her much to fit the glass boots on my feet. She rolled a thin leather material up my thighs from where the boots ended at my knees and fastened it to something under my armor. Taking a step back she admired her handy work.
"It feels good", I murmured as I lifted my arms up and twisted a bit to get a feel for it. As I moved and and stretched she busied herself around me gathering things and placing them in a large leather sack. Tying it closed she picked up the bow and balanced it in her hands. Her eyes moved from the bow to my face, appraising us for a while before making up her mind. With a brisk walk to me and sharp movements both the bow and its arrows were on my back, settled into my shoulder blades. I reached back to touch the bow and show her that she put it in the right place.
"I don't usually fit strangers with weapons but it seems as though we will be traveling together and I will not have you be useless to me."
"Why... Why are you helping me? It doesn't seem to benefit you, and you don't even know my name." She frowning slightly and I could tell she was measuring her words carefully before she spoke.
"You didn't know me either when you a shot a Blood Dragon in the neck for me. Talos has placed us on the same path for a reason. Be that as it may, Talos has placed me on the same path as many others who have turned on me and I've ended their lives quickly. Do the same and I will not hesitate to put you down."
I felt as though her words should have frightened me but they didn't. I nodded in understanding as she sighed and moved the sack onto her shoulder. With twitching ears and a hand resting on her sword she motioned forward and we started walking out of the cave we had been resting in. I opened my mouth to speak but she beat me to it.
"My name is Ri'Akari, seeing as how you mentioned names earlier."
"I'm Kate... Just Kate."