Chapter LXXI – A Hunter's Trophy

Lately, walking into any familiar place was a little daunting.

Bishop and Aeyrin knew that every single time, the reception would be the same. The shocked and uncertain stares, the questions, the worries.

Everyone reacted the same to the talk of Alduin and prophecies.

But, at the very least, they knew that, as long as they indulged it for a little while and then put a stop to it, people were actually capable of getting back to normal.

Darkwater Crossing was no exception.

The two of them arrived just as the miners were on their lunch break and everyone saw them. But maybe it was for the best – they could just get this over with all at once.

The miners had been chatting and laughing before, but once they saw them, they all went quiet.

Well… almost all of them.

"Mister hunter! Elf lady!" Little Hrefna beamed instantly. "You're here! Did you kill any more dragons? I wanna hear the stories!"

"Hrefna! You can't ask that!" Her mother instantly hissed at the girl. That just made it weirder. Hrefna could ask them whatever she wanted. She was not the one making things weird. All the people there who fell silent and uncertain the second Bishop and Aeyrin appeared were the ones making everything uncomfortable.

"Huh? But why? I always ask! They always tell me stories…" the girl pouted. She looked confused. It was clear that she had no idea that something very worrisome was going on in the world and everyone knew it and everyone knew that Aeyrin had been thrust into the center of it. It was probably for the best that the girl wasn't aware of the doom looming over the entire world. She was always so fascinated by the dragons – it was a surprising attitude which at least allowed her to enjoy her childhood without being enveloped in fear out here in the open without any guards. The last thing she would need was having the talk of Alduin ruin that for her.

"It's alright… we can tell you stories," Aeyrin gave Hrefna a gentle smile and the girl beamed again. "But first we should probably talk to the adults about… some things." It was inevitable. Everyone would keep staring at her like that until she talked about it.

"Hrefna, go play in Sondas's house and call him out here," the girl's mother ushered her quickly.

"Huh? But why? Mo-oom! It's been so boring around here! I wanna hear stories too. Why can't I hear them?" Hrefna pouted once more.

"There will be stories, Hrefna," the Argonian, Derkeethus, piped up promptly. "But we need to discuss some boring stuff first. Why don't I hide a treasure in the lake for you to find again in the meantime. Then you'll have many exciting things to look forward to."

"Alright," she sighed, but she did seem excited about the treasure. She promptly skipped over to Sondas's house and knocked on the elf's door. Soon, the Dunmer opened and, after a very brief exchange, he let the girl in and walked outside himself towards the fire and the rest of the locals.

"Welcome back," Sondas smiled at Bishop and Aeyrin, but he did look just as freaked out as the rest of them.

"Yeah. Let's just get this over with so that everyone can stop being weird," Bishop groaned. It was always so annoyingly uncomfortable. And he knew it was even worse for Aeyrin.

"As far as we know, Alduin is real, and the prophecy is… there. But we have no more information about anything," Aeyrin delivered the almost practiced sentence.

The residents of the small hamlet looked at each other with disturbed gazes on their faces. They didn't seem very content with Aeyrin's answer. No wonder. Who would be? But it was the truth. Sort of. They did have more information, but not any they would divulge to anyone that didn't already know.

They were silent for what felt like a long time. In the meantime, Bishop and Aeyrin made themselves comfortable by the fire and began to take off their armors. The locals could take their time being weird and nervous if they wanted. But there was no reason to just stand there and wait for them to rouse from that.

When they were about half-way done with removing their gear, one of the miners finally spoke up.

"Is it true that the dragons are all attacking the cities all the time now?"

"What? Uhm… well… there were some attacks on towns, but there were some before too," Aeyrin shook her head. "Like Helgen and Morthal and Karthwasten. It's no different, really." She wasn't so sure about that. She kept telling people that and telling herself that, but it did feel like the attacks were more frequent since they returned from Cyrodiil. Or maybe the respite from dragon troubles just made it seem like that.

"Yeah, it happened before and it's just happening now all the same," Bishop nodded while he worked removing the rest of his armor at last.

"But… did they really destroy Markarth?" Another miner gasped in horror.

"What? No!" Aeyrin reacted quickly. "Where… when did you hear that?" This wasn't some news, was it? There was not another dragon attack that somehow managed to kill Calcelmo's defenses?

"Some travelers said so some weeks ago," the woman squirmed under Aeyrin's shocked reaction.

"No. Nothing 'destroyed' Markarth. There's a whole fucking army of Dwemer automatons protecting Markarth," Bishop scoffed. It was clear that the various rumors were getting out of hand once again. It always tended to happen. They managed to avoid many of the exaggerations before, but it was clear that here in the remote area where only travelers brought rumors, it was just a mess of unreliable information.

"Wait… what army?" Hrefna's mother's eyes widened at Bishop.

They would probably need to explain everything again. It was annoying, but better than these people spreading the weird rumors that made people even more panicked. It was for the best to tell the truth – or as much of it as they were comfortable with. The Forsworn attack, which they were absolutely not involved in, the Dwemer army and the dragons. And of course, Rorikstead. The cradle of their nightmare. Right now, it seemed so idiotic that a year or so ago, the two of them were actually discussing whether they should tell people about Alduin voluntarily. That would have been insane. Who would ever bring this scrutiny upon themselves willingly?

And now, they would just have to start their stay at the Crossing in unpleasantness.

But hopefully they would be done with the recountings soon and could actually still spend the rest of the day with the miners in the same pleasant atmosphere they used to before this mess.

They could only hope.

…

It took a while for them to tell the locals everything.

Hrefna even ran out of the healer's house a few times during to see if she could join them by the fire again, only to be chased off, pouting. It was exhausting, but the people had so many questions about everything that happened. And it would at least help clear the air.

It was even a little encouraging, especially given their current situation, that Bishop and Aeyrin were actually looking forward to spending time with Hrefna instead. Talking about adventures with her and listening to her own either nonsensical or pointless stories actually felt really fun just then.

But in the end, they managed to answer all the questions and worries that the miners had. Not exactly to their satisfaction – there were too many shitty things about the situation for that to happen – but they did answer. And eventually, the conversation steered to the current problems. And one that, apparently, the mining village had been facing.

"We just worry that it will decimate this place. Or that it will trap us in the mine and starve us," one of the miners sighed.

Apparently, there was a dragon that decided to nest on a small hill in the tundra. It was flying near the village often and every time, the residents ran to hide in the mine. It was clever of them. It was possible that if they hadn't and the dragon knew it could take some lives, it would attack the village. They had no guards, no protection, no way to fight back aside from Sondas – and Bishop and Aeyrin didn't even know if he knew any magic besides restoration.

But the concerns were valid. The dragon had all the time on Nirn and if it knew the miners were hiding there, it might just decide to wait. And it might also decimate their village just for the fun of it. Who knew with these things? They could not claim to predict any of them anymore.

The miners were apparently nervous about asking Aeyrin to kill it, even though they asked her before to dispose of a dragon. Well, tactfully – they told her about the dragons and just… hoped she would take a hint.

This time, they were apparently reluctant to ask her because they figured everyone was bothering her with these things now, out of fear of the nearby dragons attacking. It was sweet of them to be concerned about that, but it didn't really change anything. Aeyrin already felt obligated when they told her about how difficult the situation was for them and how easily it could escalate.

But that wasn't the only problem with all of this.

Through agreeing to be careful for the sake of the baby, a dragon fight really threw a spanner into the works.

But of course they still couldn't let anyone know.

"We'll look into it. Maybe we'll be able to get rid of the beast," Aeyrin nodded. She could feel Bishop's gaze burrowing into her from her side as they still sat by the fire there, but she didn't acknowledge it. She knew what it meant – she shouldn't be putting herself in harm's way. She had been annoyed when he treated her like an invalid back in Dawnstar, but now she understood the concern. This was not about being able to travel and live her life. This was the most dangerous part of her life, possibly save for delving into Dwemer ruins or vampire-infested places. Doing that voluntarily was just… reckless right now.

But what was she supposed to do? Say no? How could she leave that on her conscience?

And they would figure something out, surely. Some way to try and be safe. She just kind of hated the fact that she knew Bishop assumed she was planning to just throw herself into battle like no tomorrow. Was she really that bad? Was it really believable that she would risk the baby like that?

Did he think she cared this little?

Did she care this little?

The thoughts started to swirl unpleasantly and she felt the urge to seek comfort in his embrace, but she knew that right now he was stewing in his own thoughts and upset about her willingness. Things suddenly felt oddly uncomfortable between then and she wasn't sure if it was all real or in her head.

She would give anything to be able to leave that spiral in her head whenever she wanted to. Being held by him sometimes helped, at least a little, but with the tension she imagined, it just seemed worse.

"Where is this thing?" Bishop let out a long-suffering sigh. He was clearly not happy with this. Yup. She was not just imagining it. He was upset. But what was his plan? To say 'no'? To ignore them? How would that work? These people were terrified and in constant danger. They would not let their one chance at help just ignore it. They would be insane to do so. And then what? Would Bishop just tell everyone that their prophecy girl was currently pregnant and unable to protect hundreds or thousands of people from dragons just in case it hurt the little whiff of magic slowly forming a person inside her?

Gods, putting it like that made her feel so guilty again.

Stop thinking about it. Just stop!

"It's practically in the middle of the tundra. That thing comes right near the village more and more often. We see it coming so we can hide quickly, but it's clearly targeting us and trying to catch us off guard," Derkeethus explained with a deep scowl on his scaly forehead.

"We'll try to get rid of it for good," Aeyrin attempted to smile reassuringly, but she could feel Bishop's gaze again. She didn't exactly see it, but she suspected it was less than pleased.

"I'll scout it out while I get some meat for you tonight," Bishop nodded.

Oh Gods. No.

He was planning something stupid. They were definitely going to have a talk before he went hunting.

In fact…

"Can we take the usual tent? We should put our stuff in," Aeyrin quickly interjected into the conversation and inclined her head towards the moderately large tent by the mine entrance they were usually allowed to use when they stayed in the village. It didn't belong to any of the miners who didn't have shacks there. It was clearly there for visitors to stay in, if needed.

"It's all yours," Hrefna's mother nodded at them amicably.

Good. They could talk. They really needed to talk, despite how anxious Aeyrin suddenly felt about it.

Bishop didn't hesitate and he got up on his feet, grabbing his pack in the process. Aeyrin followed suit, albeit a little reluctantly, even though it was her implied suggestion to disappear into the tent for at least a little distance and privacy.

The miners all began to talk in a more relaxed way when the two of them left the fire. Probably not because they left but because they were all placated by having their questions answered and having the promise of the dragon's death there in the air.

The chatter did give them the semblance of more privacy though.

And surprisingly enough, when they entered the tent and pushed their packs to its side, Bishop did not seem angry, upset or even peeved.

She had been bracing herself for a lecture, but instead, he just grinned at her.

"So… I have my work cut out for me. I knew this day would come, I just didn't expect it to be today," he chuckled.

Uuuh… what?

What was he talking about? And how was he joking around? Aeyrin thought he was mad at her. Or did she really just imagine it? Her head had been such a mess lately, it was possible she made things worse in there than they were in reality. But it still didn't explain what Bishop was on about.

When she cocked her head at him in confusion, he finally explained.

"Well I have to earn the dragon earring at some point. Sounds like as good a time as any to do it now," he smirked at her.

Oh. That was what he was going with? Granted, it was a little better approach than outright lecturing her about being careful, but it was not going to work either.

"The tundra gives me a lot to work with," Bishop pondered. "It's a good hunting ground and I know how to hide in it. And the hot springs are a good safety net if it uses the fiery Shouts…" He was already planning his 'hunt'. Did he really think she was going to let him go after a dragon alone?!

"Bishop," Aeyrin let out a sigh as she settled down on the furs in the tent, hugging her knees to her chest. "I know what you're doing. Stop." Despite the more nuanced tactic on his part, he was still transparent. He had been ever since she offered to kill the dragon.

Bishop stayed silent for a while as he settled in front of her as well. Eventually, he only let out a defeated sigh. But his voice was more than determined.

"You're not fighting a dragon."

"You're not fighting one alone either!" She huffed promptly. There was no way she would let him do that. Neither of them had ever killed one without help. Maybe nobody ever has. It was too dangerous without any sort of backup.

"So… what now? We just sneak away in the middle of the night?" He scoffed. He knew the answer to that.

"And leave everyone to die? The dragon is clearly scouting the village," Aeyrin shook her head promptly.

Yep. He knew it. And to be fair, for some fucking reason, that option really didn't sit well with him either. Where were the days when he felt comfortable leaving everyone to die when they couldn't take care of themselves? But now he couldn't help but think differently. How could he not feel shitty for the people faced with impossible odds? The thought of fighting the dragon gave him pause too. And he had fought so many of them before.

The most important thing was that they would get out of this alive. Of course it was. But he knew that Aeyrin would not leave these people like that. And he didn't really want to either. He liked these people. But there was no way Aeyrin was doing her crazy stunts like she always did when fighting these beasts.

"I… I know can't… just go in there head on," Aeyrin sighed. "I'm not that careless when it comes to... to the baby." She lowered her head and she actually looked kind of hurt. Why? Did she think he assumed as much?

"I know you're not, sweetness." He moved to sit by her side instead so that he could wrap his arm around her. "But you're also not careless about leaving the people to their shit. And… I don't wanna leave them to it either. But what the fuck do we do here? This is really the only thing I can think of. If I try to take it down alone…"

"You are not doing that," Aeyrin quickly interrupted him. There was no way in Oblivion she would allow that. "But… I have an idea."

"Yeah?" Bishop raised her brow at her curiously. If it was something that was gonna just make it even riskier for her, he was really gonna be pissed.

"I won't fight. Not like I usually do. But I'll come with you. I can… I can even hide somewhere and take an invisibility potion. I won't let it get to me. But I'll be there to watch your back. And I'll be able to Shout in case… something bad is about to happen."

Hmm.

It still made him uncomfortable that she would be anywhere near that thing. But… it also made him much more reassured that he would have backup. A very reliable backup that could very much save his life. And the invisibility thing made it easier to accept.

"Alright. But I'll still scout the place today. Just scout," he emphasized when she gave him an alarmed look. "We'll go together tomorrow. And you'll let me handle it unless you have to intervene, alright? If the dragon doesn't even know you're there, you'll be safer that way."

"I'll only Shout if you actually need help," she nodded. She could do that. She wanted to be safe too, but she needed Bishop to be safe as well. This was the best she could come up with.

"Alright," Bishop let out a somewhat relieved sigh. This discussion actually went much better than he had originally worried it would. Fuck, he still hated navigating these uncharted waters. But maybe they were slowly coming with some sort of… system like this. They would need to deal with this kind of thing sooner or later and it was good that they could actually plan beforehand now.

Aeyrin could finally nuzzle into Bishop's embrace comfortably now, without the nagging feeling of tension between them. This was a relatively painless resolution. But she still worried about tomorrow. And about the dragon somehow catching Bishop off guard on his hunt. Even though that was kind of impossible – dragons weren't really subtle.

But this would be for the best. And they could leave the village then with a clear conscience.

"We should probably go back," she sighed. She was enjoying the silence and closeness, but they only went to put their packs in. They shouldn't linger too long. "I think Hrefna will explode if we hide out here when she might finally be allowed outside."

Bishop let out a laugh at that note. True. The girl was so excited. He was looking forward to telling her they would be killing the dragon that made her mother hide her in the mine so many times. It must have been scary for her, despite her fascination. This would be satisfying to relay.

And hopefully the mood in the village would now be much livelier.

…

Bishop scouted the location thoroughly on his hunt.

He saw the dragon on its peak, but it wasn't leaving. If it had been asleep, he would have been tempted to actually go through with it and try to kill it alone, but it wasn't. That was probably for the best. He still wasn't confident that he could do that and trying might have cost him dearly. He did find a good location for Aeyrin to hide in and still be able to strike from. And also some good vantage points for himself.

And the hunt itself wasn't too bad either. He caught a few rabbits and a deer. This would be a good haul for the village. And if they wanted more, he could always down a mammoth. There were plenty of them in the tundra. It was just that mammoth meat was not the best, so he didn't bother without being outright prompted by the locals to go for quantity.

The next day came soon enough and right after breakfast, Aeyrin and Bishop headed out, much to the relief of the anxious miners.

It was rare that they were so nervous about going after a dragon. They were always kind of nervous, but it became a routine overtime. It felt different now. But then again, it was rare that they were so well prepared for it too. They'd killed dragons before in dire circumstances, with no armor, wounded and exhausted, even drunk or hungover. This time they were fully alert and prepared. There was no reason to be more nervous than usual.

True, Bishop did feel a little unprepared to be trying to kill the beast all alone, but now that he knew he would have backup if worse came to worst, it shouldn't have been that daunting.

Regardless, the alternatives were worse. Leaving the village to be decimated even easier than Rorikstead was worse. And leaving a clearly impatient and aggressive dragon right there in the middle of the tundra with easy access to the main roads and several settlements was no better.

This all came as the unpleasant reminder they both knew would come at some point. Their lives were messy and dangerous no matter what. There was no escaping it.

All they could do was to try and prevent the worst in whatever situation they found themselves in.

"Alright. I think it's sleeping," Bishop said as he rushed back towards Aeyrin. They both stopped at the slope of the hill and Bishop went ahead to scout out the situation once more. The dragon was lying there comfortably and it did look asleep. That was an advantage. "Are you ready?"

"Yes," Aeyrin nodded. She was holding the white phial in her hand, ready to use it. Bishop had told her before exactly where she should go to hide. And he gave her the muffling ring, just in case. Everything was ready.

"Let's do this," Bishop gave her an encouraging squeeze below her pauldron. There was no time to waste on reminding each other to be careful – they had done that aplenty before they headed out already. Now it was time to get rid of this thing quickly.

Aeyrin downed the phial and disappeared in front of his eyes. Hopefully the hiding place would prove to be as good as he assumed.

Bishop took out his bow and headed up the slope. The dragon wouldn't know what hit it.

The beast really was sleeping. It didn't even notice them. Bishop tried to be quiet even without his ring and he snuck onto the closest vantage point he scouted out before.

Everything was ready. He aimed his bow right at the dragon's closed eye and took the shot.

The beast roared in pain instantly as his arrow pierced the scaly eyelid and bore into the eyeball. Its wings unfurled so that it could take off into a panicked flight, likely to get its bearings, but Bishop didn't give it too much time to wake up.

Another arrow pierced its neck right as it took off. It didn't slow the beast down, but it did elicit another roar from it. Now was the time for Bishop to make himself a target. He couldn't risk the beast somehow sensing or smelling Aeyrin. He had no idea if it was capable of something like that, but he was not gonna risk it.

He jumped off the outcropping he had as his vantage point and down onto the dragon's resting plateau. He could at least evade its attacks effectively there. And the dragon saw its assailant soon enough.

A green light formed in the dragon's maw and a spray of acid was hurled at Bishop promptly. It may have been the beast's altered depth perception, or Bishop's readiness, but he managed to jump out of the way easily.

Fuck. This dragon knew the acid should. It would have been able to decimate the village within moments. It was a good thing they were taking care of it.

Bishop aimed once more and his next arrow ended up in the beast's wing. It roared and began to flap the wing wildly, but each motion made it huff in exertion.

That was good. Another arrow flew into the same wing and this time, the beast didn't manage to keep up its flight. It landed right in front of Bishop and opened its maw.

A soft blue light began to form in its open maw, but Bishop was confident he could make it. His next arrow was aimed straight into the maw.

The arrow was shot, but just before it hit, a spray of frost spewed out of the beast's mouth, covering Bishop from head to toe.

Fuck, that was cold! His whole body stiffened and he couldn't move. He didn't remember the last time he felt so cold. His mouth vibrated as if he needed his teeth to chatter, but even that part of his body refused to move.

He felt the cold seeping in and his body heat fighting it. The dragon continued to roar in pain for a while and instead of more attacks, only strained gurgles came out. But it wasn't giving up.

Bishop saw its tail swing right at him. He fought with all his might to move. His fingers loosened around his bow and it fell to the ground, but it was taking him so long to grab a hold of his sword. And he knew he would not be able to jump out of the way.

"KRII LUN!"

The Shout came out of nowhere and the dragon got enveloped in a red glow. Only the dragon. That was some impressive aim at Aeyrin's part. Bishop was so confused at that moment that he couldn't make sense of where she currently was, but there was no more time to think about it.

The tail collided with his stiff body and swept his feet, making him tumble to the ground. The cold was steadily dissipating and he felt like he could move again a bit, but that also made him acutely aware of the dull pain spreading through his legs.

He wasn't the only one in pain, however. The dragon let out gurgly roars constantly now. It tried to move its tail again, but it only flapped limply on the ground. It was as if the bones in it were crushed by the impact with Bishop's body.

It was almost entirely incapacitated. Bishop just needed to move now and finish it.

His legs throbbed in pain, but he managed to slowly get up on them once more. His body still felt stiff and frozen, but he could move. Not with as much strength as he usually could, but he could move.

He reached out for his sword properly at last and unsheathed it. And it only took two steps for him to get close enough. The dragon tried to snap its jaw at him, but it couldn't close it. So as its head nudged his hand, teeth barely glazing along his arm, Bishop's other arm finally slashed into its neck.

The blade slashed under the bronze scales and blood began gushing out of its flesh. The dragon slumped down, roaring and huffing as much as it could with the sounds still coming out wrong out of its open maw. But it was done. It couldn't fight anymore. And it would bleed out soon.

Bishop took a few steps back and finally collapsed to his knees.

Fuck. He did it. The dragon was soon going to be dead.

And he barely needed help. Alright, maybe he would have ended up in a much worse state if Aeyrin didn't Shout in time to stop the tail from doing much damage, but he still was the cause of all those wounds. He chose to focus on that. He practically killed a dragon all on his own. Almost.

The red glow soon dissipated from the dragon, but it wasn't getting up again. And while Bishop was watching it, another form materialized by his side. Aeyrin left her hiding place and now she went to kneel right next to him.

"Heh. See that? Dragon down," he grinned at her. His teeth chattered a little now that they could and he felt so cold. But the stiffness was gradually leaving him. He wondered if that frosty attack would have actually killed him if he wasn't a Nord. It was… likely. Disturbingly enough.

"That trophy was definitely earned," Aeyrin smiled at him warmly. He did really well, aside from getting hit by the frost. But she really thought he would shoot its maw in time too. That was why she didn't interfere then.

She planted a soft kiss on his cheek. His skin was so cold, but there were only sparse speckles of frost on his armor by now.

"Yeah," Bishop chuckled a bit. "You can reward me soon. Now come here," he outstretched his arms to take her into his embrace. There was still the absorption to get through.

Aeyrin nuzzled into his embrace, letting out a distinctive 'brrr' as she made contact with his body. But her armor surely protected her from most of the residual cold. And this would help the both of them. He wrapped his arms around her snugly and made them both comfortable on the ground. The dragon's body was already starting to emanate light.

Bishop began to take off his gloves at the very least. His armor was the thing that still had the most frost stuck to it and his bare skin would warm her up more.

The light struck soon and Aeyrin let out the usual shriek. He squeezed her tightly to himself and he could already feel her own body getting much colder in his arms. Fuck, of course she got hit by the cold too. That made sense.

He tried to ignore the anxiety that gnawed on him every time this happened. She was going to be shivering in his embrace for a while yet. He was pretty sure she couldn't hear him right now, but she would be able to soon again. Maybe it would be less daunting to hear his unconcerned voice when she was coming to. And it would at least distract him as well.

"So, that's three hunter trophies already. How long has it been? Less than three months. That's fucking impressive, if you ask me. And I got the hardest ones already too," he chuckled. "Well, alright, still don't have the werewolf. Maybe I should have shot Aela properly," he scoffed. He wasn't really serious, but at that moment back then, he was really pissed enough to do it.

"But we'll find another one. And hunting a troll is nothing. Soon, you'll have the best hunter in all of Skyrim for your husband," he grinned. Earning these trophies was so exciting. He really loved that gift. Aeyrin knew exactly what he'd like. The challenge of it only added to how special it was. He was already looking forward to their little ritual again when she would give him the trophy properly.

Aeyrin still shivered and clutched to his arms desperately, but he was pretty sure it would be over soon.

"Do you think I could actually manage to get them all before the wedding? I'm not saying we should go looking for werewolves, but with our luck, it's gonna happen anyway," he let out a brief laugh at his own jab and Aeyrin squeezed his arms a bit more. He moved his hands to her cheeks to press his bare palms against her skin. That should warm her up a bit.

He could have sworn he felt the tension leave her a bit after that though. Could she hear him now?

"What do you think, sweetness? You think I'm up to that challenge?"

But instead of an answer, or even the usual confused process of her opening her eyes, something much worse happened.

The tension did leave her. Entirely.

And a second later, the chatter of teeth stopped and she went limp in his embrace.