Wolfblind - Chapter 2

And I started to hear it again

But this time it wasn't the end

And the room was so quiet, oh

And my heart is a hollow plain

For the devil to dance again

And the room was too quiet, oh

"Breath of Life – Florence + the Machine"

...x.X.x...

I dreamed.

More accurately, I had nightmares. I knew people who survived traumatic experiences often had them, but it was usually viewed as a bad thing. I savored them.

Because when I dreamed, I could see.

I could see the white-hot flames licking at my arms. I could see the crystal water soaking my clothing. It was all very vague, as I had no knowledge of the details of the town we were in, or the appearance of any of the people. But it was as near as I had been in years, and I took the fear gladly.

Which is why when I was shaken gently awake I was extremely angry.

I cast my spell even before moving to swat away the offending person. It was the figure of a tall woman, probably the woman who had taken us in when we had arrived in Riverwood. She leaned over me, recoiling as my hand shot out towards her arm.

"Why did you wake me?" I said, struggling to keep my voice even.

"You were having nightmares, crying out in your sleep-"She sounded startled.

I turned my head away. "I know." Guilt flooded through me. I had no real reason to be angry. She, by all rights, had thought she was helping.

She stood. "Ralof left this morning. He told me of how you helped him at Helgen, and that I should help you until you're ready to move on. There's food from breakfast on the table, when you get up." I looked back to her at these words.

"Ralof must not of told you…" I couldn't keep the bitterness out of my words.

"What?"

"I can't see."

I was glad I couldn't see her face. She stood completely still for a moment, before shuffling away towards the sound of the fire. "No, he didn't." She sounded just as annoyed as I was. I couldn't blame her. She probably thought he had just saddled her with another mouth to feed. She ladled something into a bowl, and came back over to me. "Can you feed yourself?" I nodded, and she placed the bowl in my lap, guiding my hand to a carved wooden spoon. I listened to her work around the room in silence while I ate the contents of the bowl, a fragrant venison stew. When I finished I set the bowl on the bed beside me and fumbled for the furs, trying to untangle my legs. I twisted, finding the edge of the bed and testing for the floor with my newly released feet.

"I'll leave as soon as I have some supplies to get me on my way." I announced as I stood shakily.

She whirled to face me, and must have panicked at the sight of me trying to navigate the room. "What? But where will you go? How will you-"She wisely cut off the last question.

"I have spells to see creatures." I offered in explanation. "I have my sword from Helgen. I can defend myself just fine. I'll hire someone to help me get to the next city. Whiterun in only half a day from here, isn't it?" I racked my brain, trying to remember the maps I had seen of this region.

"I…" She was obviously hesitant. "I suppose so. When you're ready I'll take you to the inn, then. Sven owes me a few favors; He can lead you there." And so it was settled. Gerder gave me some old armor of hers, and a few emergency potions. I put on the armor, which fit me surprisingly well, and we had one last meal before she took me to the inn.

Almost as soon as the heavy wooden doors swung open the smell of greasy food and alcohol hit me. I was debating whether to be disgusted or not when Gerder called out across the tavern. "Sven! C'mere a minute, will you?" The reaction to her voice was instantaneous. By the way all the rowdy men drinking settled and went quiet I could tell that they respected this woman. The bard playing his lute, standing away from the rest of the men, approached us, and Gerder ushered us all back outside.

"You owe me quite a bit Sven. Here's an opportunity to act on it." She said to him once we were standing on the covered porch outside the door. She gestured at me. "I'd have you guide her to Whiterun."

He turned to me. "If you ask, alright. But why can't she get there herself? The road is clear, and doesn't fork between Riverwood and Whiterun."

Gerder let out an angry huff, and I resisted letting one out as well. "I'll cut to the chase, then. I'm blind, and need to get to Whiterun. I only need someone to show me the road."

Sven stepped back. "Hey now. I didn't agree to any bodyguard sevices-"

"She can defend herself just fine." Gerder snapped at him. "She's the one who helped Ralof out of Helgen last night."

This seemed to jar him. "Her? But how- aw, nevermind. I'll do it, as long as you can take care of yourself. No holding on to my shirt or anything, right."

Gods, this man was infuriating. "Agreed." I growled through gritted teeth. "Now let's get moving, or the city will rot and fall before we get there."

Gerder put a hand on my shoulder. "Do me a service. Go to the jarl and tell him about the dragon attack. He needs to know that this danger has returned." I nodded, and she turned to Sven's impatiently shuffling form. "And you. Stay with her until she finds somewhere to stay. I'll expect a report on the jarl's response." He agreed as well, although a bit huffily. With that, we were off.

I supposed I might have been able to find my way myself, if I had concentrated hard enough on keeping the rounded stones of the road beneath my feet. But not only would it have taken ages longer, I would be hard pressed to also pay attention for the wildlife that could potentially harm me on my way. Namely, the three wolves that attacked us only about half a mile down the road from Riverwood. Sven let out a choked curse as the svelte forms of the wolves leaped from above us landing growling in front of us. But it was trivial to defeat them. Two focused slashes from my borrowed sword and one of his arrows quickly put them out of commission. Sven continued on even before the last one's heart stopped beating. He was obviously in a hurry to finish the job and rid himself of me.

I didn't mind. We walked briskly as I could manage, after a few hours of walking he announced that he could see Dragonsreach, and that it would be only another half hour or so until we arrived. True to his word, the ground underfoot soon turned to the smoother stones and wooden planks of the road right outside the major cities. I listened to our hollow footsteps as we walked over a short bridge. There were horses and guards standing above us on what I assumed were watchtowers. One of them stepped forward.

"Halt. No one is to enter the city, orders of the jarl." He said gruffly.

"I bring new of Helgen." I replied, hoping that it would convince him of my urgency.

"What? You were at Helgen?" He seemed much more willing to oblige now. "Alright, I guess you can go in then. But no funny business!"

He stepped away and I could hear the heavy gates opening. We stepped forward, and were suddenly surrounded by people. I could almost use the flow of people walking as a guide to the streets, and it surprised me how large it was. It must have been at least close in size to Cheydinhal.

"To Dragonsreach, then, to speak with the jarl." Sven said, nudging me a bit to get me moving. I followed him hesitantly, a bit overwhelmed with the amount of people. He led me across the city, past a priest loudly praising Talos, a few beggars, and up a steep set of stairs. When we stepped through another set of doors I could almost feel how massive the room was. I could hear our footsteps echoing hollowly, and Sven subtly guided me up yet another, much smaller staircase, before a small elfish woman stopped us.

"What business do you have here?" She said crossly. "The jarl is busy."

"I have news of the dragon attack at Helgen." I offered once again. It had worked on the guard, after all.

"Ah." She seemed to stand straighter. "Then come with me. He'll wish to speak with you at once."

A burly man was lounging across from me, his head turned towards a much smaller man standing to the side. After the elf whispered urgently in his ear, he turned to me. "So you were at Helgen."

"Yes." I nodded affirmatively. "I was there when the dragon attacked. It was last seen flying this way."

He sighed. "This is troubling news." He turned to the elf again. "Irileth, double guards at all the watchtowers…" He continued giving orders while I stood awkwardly shifting my weight foot to foot. Sven had been left by the stairs, barred by Irileth because he had not witnessed the attack.

When he finally turned back to me my mind had gone elsewhere. His short harrumph quickly brought me back.

"You've done well." He said. "And, if you're interested, I have a job for someone of… your talents."

I nodded slowly. I hadn't any idea where this could be going, and didn't want to agree too quickly.

"Come with me." He stood. "I'll have Farengar give you the details."

As it turned out, it was not something for 'my talents' at all. They wanted me to go into some Gods-forsaken barrow and retrieve some draconic artifact. But to my immense displeasure they didn't even ask me if I could do it; Farengar simply patted my shoulder, and told me to "get to it."

As soon as Sven and I had returned to the stairs outside Dragonsreach I let an angry growl slip from my throat. I kicked at the ground, and to my satisfaction heard a muffled splash as whatever I had kicked hit water far below. Sven was just as angry.

"What were you thinking?" He practically yelled at me. "You're going to get yourself killed as soon as you step out of Whiterun! This is a job for a Companion, not a cripple!"

I was about to agree when a thought hit me. "Wait. Can you take me to the Companions?"

He snorted. "Going to go hire someone? Good choice. Do you think if I leave you there you can find someone to get you to the inn?"

I consented, a bit angrily. I was just as excited to get this lazy, bitter man out of my hair. So when we reached the Companion's home, Jorrvaskr, and are greeted by a tall, imposing woman in armor, I shoo him away almost as quickly as he runs off.

"Who's he?" The woman, Aela, asked me.

"Oh, he was only a guide. A friend didn't trust me to take care of myself enough to get here in one piece." I couldn't hide my bitter tone, and Aela noticed.

"I'm sure you can handle yourself just fine." I could hear the grin in her voice. "Are you here to become a shield-sister?"

"A shield-sister-?" I was startled at the invitation and for a moment I had to recollect my thoughts. "Wait, I-"

"Come with me." She plows right on ahead, ignoring my protest. "I'll take you to meet Kodlak." She started away, and I followed her hastily. We went down, and the hollowness of my footsteps faded. Were we underground? Before I could stop her we were met by two more warriors. One of them sat lean and straight, while the other man was a bit bulkier, sitting with his hand resting on his hip, were there appeared to be a sword hanging.

"What's this?" The bulkier man said. His voice was young, younger than I expected for such a large man. He sounded irritated.

"This woman is looking to join us." Aela said quickly.

"I, uh-"I tried to interrupt but the warriors plowed ahead.

"Hmm." The leaner man mused. His voice was considerably older, and he reminded me distinctly of my father. For the first time since arriving in Skyrim, I felt a wave of homesickness. "Yes. There is a certain strength of spirit. There are always beds in Jorrvaskr for those with a fire burning in their hearts."

"This woman?" The younger man said. "Are you sure, Kodlak? She's almost a child. She could barely hold a sword."

He didn't sound much older than me, but I kept my mouth shut. "I'll have you know I can handle a blade just fine!" I retorted.

I heard a chuckle from the older man, Kodlak. "Vilkas, will you take her to the yard and test her mettle? She seems confident enough."

Vilkas nodded and stood, a small noise of frustration escaping him. "Very well. Come along, whelp."

Vilkas and Kodlak started off before I could stop them, Aela nodding at me to continue.

So I followed.

...x.X.x...

How are you guys liking this so far? Switching up the perspective next chapter, I hope you like it! Please feel free to leave nice, honest reviews! Hope you are enjoying the story so far, ciao!

~ElderSkie