Thanks again everyone for your views, faves and reviews of this story! Thanks also Hot Mage Aeris, Myrielle, crbrgmi and Skippie89 for your reviews of the last chapter.
This one is a bit short and silly, but I hope you may still like it :)
"Alright shrimp, if it's a fight you want you're going to get it!" Anoriath shouted.
Lily swung first and Anoriath swiftly dodged her punch. He was faster than she had guessed. Before she could react, Lily felt a jolt of pain as his fist made impact with her jaw. The blow sent her headlong into one of the crates of the neighboring market stall. Her landing was softened a little by the pile of tomatoes contained within. Anoriath moved closer, his fist raised for another strike. Lily seized a large gourd from the counter and smashed it over his head. Anoriath cursed, pausing to wipe seeds and pulp from his eyes. That gave Lily a second to hop back up on her feet. She heard the vegetable merchant cry out in outrage at the abuse to her produce.
A crowd had gathered and Lily could hear people yelling, "Get her Anoriath!" and "10 septims on the short one!"
Now the two combatants were circling around the central well of the marketplace, throwing punches and dodging. Lily kicked the wooden well bucket, sending it hurtling towards Anoriath's legs. She nodded in approval as she watched him leap over it like it was nothing.
He clearly favored speed and evasion as his tactic rather than strength. The two were alike in this regard. Lily felt her sore muscles protest painfully as she struggled match Anoriath's speed.
They continued to circle the marketplace in a whirl of fisticuffs, neither one of them connecting another punch. They were both sweating like pigs and out of breath by now. The stalemate went on so long that some spectators got bored and left the scene.
Anoriath suddenly stood still, putting his fists down and said, "Alright, this is ridiculous. Let's stop this farce-unnggh!"
As soon as her moving target was still, Lily punched the elf hard in his face.
Anoriath lay on the ground, groaning and holding onto his nose.
Lily ran over to him. "By the Gods, your nose is bleeding," She said, feeling remorseful. "Shit! Why in Oblivion did you stop so suddenly?"
"Forget it!" Anoriath said with a nasal tone. "Look, I get the message alright? I'll deliver your damn order tomorrow. Just leave me alone!"
"For what it's worth, I'm sorry," Lily said. She unhooked a health potion from her belt and left it by his side.
When Lily turned around, one of Whiterun's helmet-headed guards came over to her with an angry woman in tow. She recognized the furious merchant as Carlotta Valencia, owner of the now devastated vegetable stall.
The guard accused Lily, "Shame on you citizen. Look at what you did to Carlotta's stall! She has a hungry daughter to feed you know. Give me one reason why I shouldn't haul you off to the dungeon right now."
Lily stammered, "I, um, didn't know things would get this far out of hand."
She looked around at the mess they had wrought and the carnage of smashed vegetables and broken crates in front of Carlotta's stall. Lily really did not want to go to the dungeon. In the heart of any thief, "jail" was synonymous with "fail." It would be a humiliating end to this ridiculous mission that Vilkas sent her on.
"Could I pay for the damages rather than going to the dungeon?" Lily pleaded.
"Well," the guard said surveying the damage, "I think 150 septims for repairs to Carlotta's stall plus 50 septims to clean up this mess would probably do it, do you agree Carlotta?" The Nord shopkeeper glared knives at Lily, but shook her head that she agreed. Lily paid up. It was all the coin she had earned so far from the jobs Aela gave her.
The Companions drifted into the dining hall for lunch, drawn by the savory aroma of Tilma's much loved "beef and barley" bake. As they sat down, Skjor eagerly poked his fork into the dish, only to let out a mournful sigh when it became clear it was all barley and no beef.
Aela sat next to Skjor and shot him a warning glance. "Tilma worked hard on this dish. We should be grateful."
Skjor groaned and looked around Aela to where Vilkas sat, digging into the barley bake.
"Vilkas, weren't you the one who was going to take care of things with the meat seller?" Skjor asked.
"I was, but I gave that job to the whelp," Vilkas answered. His expression was as serious as usual, yet his ice blue eyes held a spark of mischief.
"You what?" Aela asked, silver eyes flashing.
Vilkas shrugged. "I figured it was time to give her something more challenging than those skeever shooting jobs of yours. Not my fault if she wasn't up to the task."
He flinched a little at the furious look Aela leveled at him.
"Vilkas, how could you?" she hissed. "You know the girl isn't ready for something like that. I'm going to go find her."
"Aela, if she can't do something as simple as this she has no business being here. Someone who can't handle themselves in close combat has no place in the Companions. I wouldn't bother trying to find her either. She's probably run halfway back to Riften by now," Vilkas replied with a smirk.
Aela was about to argue back, when the doors of Jorrvaskr swung open. It was Lily.
Vilkas was astonished. At first glance, he thought Lily was covered in blood and gore and that Anoriath had come to a bad end. The truth of the matter was revealed as the strong odor of tomato pulp assailed his nostrils. She was covered head to toe in it.
"Alright, the deed is done. You'll be getting the meat you ordered from Anoriath tomorrow." Lily grumbled.
There were hoots and cheers of approval from many Companions at the long table.
"Good work newblood," Skjor said casting a sardonic smile at Vilkas. "By Hircine, I was afraid I'd start losing weight."
Vilkas was not amused. His surprised expression faded back into a customary frown. "Very well. Here's your pay whelp." He tossed her a small pouch containing 50 septims.
Lily caught the pouch and winced. Her right hand still throbbed with pain from punching the elf, far worse even than her jaw. She cast a wary glance at Vilkas. "Anyone else you want me rough up?" She asked sullenly. Gods she hoped not.
Before Vilkas could reply, Tilma came in and uttered a cry of dismay when she saw Lily and the trail of tomato stains on the floor. "Gods above, I just cleaned the carpets!"
Lily looked down in surprise at the mess she had created. "Sorry Tilma, I promise I'll be back to clean this up. I need to go throw myself in the river right now." Lily left Jorrvaskr, leaving a sticky handprint on the door as she departed.