Maya #6

The trip to Solitude was pretty much uneventful unless you counted the constant sniping Maya was shooting at Ash. He never said a word, Which was unusual for him, but when I didn't hear a bear crashing through some trees because of her constant chatter and sniping, I told her to hush. 

She pouted for a bit and then started singing and I had to explain that I wasn't just asking her not to talk, but to be quiet. I was out of sorts, almost being mauled by a bear, just because we couldn't hear it coming. 

I looked back at Ash and realized he had been waiting for me to say something. I groaned and looked back forward, he always wanted me to think and this was no exception. So, why me say something... hmmm she didn't strike me as the type of woman that won't listen to advice from a man, just because he is.

Ah, in her case, it's the authority figure, she's rebelling against. Well, Ash is a good leader, who knows how to delegate and when. Hopefully, she would not hold a grudge.

It took us almost a week to get to Solitude and I must say, camping with Maya was not a treat. She was not happy about sleeping on the ground and had not packed the right kind of clothing or gear. It was only on the second night, that Ash pulled out a thin but warm blanket, I knew why, he wanted her to plan better. What way to teach than to let someone mess up on their own and then show them how it's done.

On the fourth night, I had a burning curiosity. I was not sure how to ask or even if it was polite. I weighed knowing against sour feelings and decided if she wasn't mad about me constantly telling her to shut UP, then this probably wasn't going to bother her either. So as soon as we were settled down, I decided to ask.

"Maya, why don't you have a Knight protector? The Order is usually much better at protecting its Priestesses." She looked over the fire at me and got a cocky grin on her face.

"I can take care of myself. What do I need a man to protect me for."  Ash snorted and I looked over at him.

"What you mean is you have driven off every Knight sent to you. Now none will have you and without a Knight Protector, all you can do is roam around. You have no clue how to take care of yourself in the wilderness, so you have to stay in the cities and towns, but all those posts are taken by Knights and Priestesses or Priests...." 

"Ash!!" I had never known him to be so mean.

"Tsuri, It's the truth and the only reason we are on this trip to Solitude right now is that there IS a knight who is willing to try to work things out with her." He looked at her and frowned, the tears in her eyes were not expected but the stubborn set to her jaw was. "This is your last chance at a Knight protector, after Malik, you will be recalled back to the Imperial City and assigned to the Priory there as an Acolyte or simply let go, All Priest-mages and mage-Priestesses must have a Knight Protector. You are given too much power by Akatosh not to."

Maya's normally tan face went white and she balled up with her arms around her legs and started sobbing. I looked at Ash and he shook his head, confusion in his eyes. I walked over and knelt beside her, wrapping my arms around her.

"Maya, from what Ash has said you're the one pushing the Knights away, making their life a misery."

I listened carefully as she sobbed and stuttered through an explanation. I fished a small piece of cloth out of a pocket, normally used to wipe down my blade, it was clean at the moment, so I handed it to her.

"Sweetie Ash, neither owns me nor is a marionette, whose orders I follow without thought."

"But...you...he tells you what to do all the time!"

"Well of course he does, I've had something after me since the day I was born. Ash is my Knight Protector, my friend, and my mentor. Over the years I have not had time to learn all, none of us can. I trust in Ash to keep me safe."

"But he...he tells you what to wear." She wailed out.

"And I listen, to an extent."

"You gave me that beautiful outfit 'cause you said he'd burn it!" I gave her a lop-sided grin and nodded.

"That's very true, I did and he would." I looked up at Ash, who chose that moment to look down at the two of us, his face in a stern line and my lips twitched. " I like yanking his chain once in a while, but I actually prefer clothing that covers a bit more." Ash's eyes narrowed and he shook his head, then came over and knelt beside us, tipping her chin up so that she was looking at him.

"Malik's sisters are both Sword-dancers. I have seen Yenaveria wear less and get no flack from him. You're a mage, as long as you use your protective magic, what you wear doesn't really matter. Tsuri forgets her armor spells but rushes right in, so I harp on what she wears." With that, he stood up and walked out away from the camp and looked around.

I didn't for a minute think that was the complete truth of the matter, I did not forget to use my armor spells, I only used them when I thought I needed them. Of course, if it helped settle Maya, Ash wasn't above a little lie of omission. 

She looked a little brighter and stopped sobbing. I stood up and walked over to my pack and grabbed a washing cloth and dipped it in the small pot of water, then wrung it out over the ground. Kneeling beside Maya again, I carefully wiped the tears and smudges away.

"So, no more rebelling just to rebel? We'll get to Solitude, do some shopping and Ash can carry all our stuff. Then we'll go meet Malik and see about the Priory. If his job is like Ash's then you'll be near Solitude for a good long time, while you put it in order. That Priory was A home for a while but was neglected, Malik one of the two Knights sent to look it over."

She smiled and said that was great and she would give him a chance. I was glad she would at least try, if Ash was right ( and I knew he would be) Malik was her last chance.

The rest of the trip to Solitude was pretty uneventful, you know, other than wolves, Sabre cats, and Trolls. I would be more than happy to try on different armor, but I preferred mine... dresses on the other hand!  Now that we were attached to a Priory for a while, I could buy some dresses and look like something other than a walking tin can.

New Friends #5

  

The trip from Riften was a test of patience, I was physically exhausted by the time we got back to the Priory and wanted nothing more than some peace and quiet. As if the wolves and bears weren't enough, Spriggan's and Derzog seemed to have multiplied, or well maybe not. As we had not done more than travel through Skyrim before, maybe it was normal to have so many dangerous creatures around.

  My temper was frayed and Ash's ooof, he didn't even wait for a bandit to try to extort money from us, she no sooner said "Halt...this is" and he loped her head off. That may have had something to do with the assassin that had tried to kill us, which did not go over well, if he could have he would have killed the Khajiit twice over.

  He was practically growling by the time we made it to the Priory. Seeing the horses staked out, out in the small grassy area, was clue number one that we were not alone. He said he would take care of our horses and I could go meet our guests. So I did.

    A set of twins, at first I thought triplets, but they said no. Maya was a tall leggy blond, augmented by the three-inch spiked heel boots and I would feel jealous but she had such a sweet personality, that I could not. Her armor had the twins drooling, Ash rolled his eyes and asked if it wasn't a bit chilly. The twins were blond Imperials that though taller than me, were shorter than Maya, who stood equal in height with Ash.

  Maya just rolled her eyes at Ash and said "Yes Dad...I'll go and put on more clothes". I choked on a laugh, but the twins didn't and he glared at them, stalking out of the Priory. I heard mutters about children that should have been smothered at birth.

  Maya asked if I minded sharing space with her, she normally didn't mind sharing a barracks with men, but the way the twins stared at her made her want to either beat the crap out of them or take a bath and she wasn't sure which. I told her I didn't mind, we could get them to pull one of the beds into my room, I really didn't use the table anyway, but she should know that Ash would pop in and out a few times a night to make sure I was ok.

 "Ohhh- Kaaay and why is he checking up on you?"  I could see the curiosity in her eyes, though all the piercings were very distracting.... at a guess I would say the low cleavage was also, to men.

"Well, it's the whole *Akatosh's chosen, soul of a dragon* thing. He was made my guardian and he takes it very seriously."  I sighed and thought for a moment. " Then again as often as things try and kill me, I can't say as I blame him. Our first  * run in the night* was after he killed a Dark Seducer who was leaning over my bed. "

  I could see the surprise and horror in her eyes, most people looked at it that way. Dragons were not nice creatures, power.. they were all about gaining and keeping power. The whole reason I was taught to be a priestess first and a mage second, the skills as a warrior, well that was strictly to keep me alive.

"Oh, I'm used to it, grew up knowing that Ash would keep me alive at all costs. I have something I have to do, something Akatosh gave me the soul of a Dragon to do. Once that's done," I laughed, in a half-joking manner, " Ash may kill me himself. Well, it's not like I would blame him, I make his life worse than a trip through one of the realms of Oblivion. " She tipped her head sideways and tapped her lips with a long red fingernail.

"Why? Why torment him? Does he restrict you so much?" I looked down at the floor and thought hard about that one. Why did I like to twist his tail, when had I started... huh, that would need a lot of thought.

"No, as a matter of fact, he pretty much lets me do as I please, just watches like a hawk while I do it, picks up any pieces I may have broken, and glues everything back together with kindness and patience."

She slapped her legs and got a bright grin on her face... "How about we go and paint the Sleeping Giant red? We'll even take the boys along, someones gotta cart us home." She grabbed her bags in one hand and my arm in the other and hauled us to my room.

We dressed in some of our finery and ate a small snack for lunch, Maya said we'd be able to drink the men under the table if we had something to soak up the alcohol. I shook my head and knew Ash might have an ale or two, but not more, he was somber and vigilant about his guardianship.

The twins thought it was an excellent suggestion and started arguing about who was going to carry whom home. Ash glared enough at the two of them, that they decided he could carry the "redhead" home, they'd take the blond. Maya snickered and winked, I had the feeling she had been to the Sleeping Giant before and had something other than coming back to the Priory tonight in mind.

I was right, but of all people, she shacked up with Orgnar, well he might not be everyone's cup of tea looks wise, and had the personality of a Sabre Cat in a pissy mood, but well he must have had some kind of quality she liked. I decided not to ask.

I  had less to drink than Ash, I stuck to cider, and Sven and I amused everyone, taking turns playing.  I knew many more songs than he did, from Elswyer, literally, and High Rock, Morrowind, and places in between.  He taught me some of the Local versions of Favorite songs of Skyrim, I knew some of them were slanted for or against the Civil War, which Ash said we needed to keep strictly out of.  I would learn all versions, never knowing when they might come in handy.

We made it back to the Priory with the first glimmer of light on the horizon and I fell into bed gratefully. I woke mid-morning to Maya shaking me and asking if I wanted to go to Solitude, do some shopping, and check out the other Priory? I told her that was fine, we might ditch the twins, but Ash would insist on going with us, I was not wrong.