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.
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.
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