Duty
Middas, the 19 th of Last Seed, 4E 201
Fed, well rested and stocked up for the journey, a refreshed (and now clean) Asling skipped along the dirt path, whistling off-key, with the polar opposite Adair keeping up without effort thanks to his long stride. He was still irate at the rude awakening he had gotten this morning.
Lucky enough that Asling was deep in her cups, he took a chance and joined her in the bed – his first mistake – his second being that he slept on the edge of the bed. When Asling rolled over in her sleep and kicked him, he had the wonderful opportunity to learn how hard the wooden floor was.
Adair let out a short huff, adjusting the strap on his knapsack, feeling the familiar weight of his steel blade against his back and was glad to at least be properly armed once more.
Daggers alone did not cut it, he thought with distaste.
“Decided to trade up to impress me?” Asling had said as soon as she saw the great sword strapped to his back, smiling sweetly at him as they headed out the gate. The expression made her appear strangely innocent accompanied by her youthful face, but given a minute or two with her would ruin that illusion, Adair merely gave her wry look.
He was already irritated because Asling had wasted almost half an hour flirting with the proprietor of The Drunken Huntsman before finally buying her arrows; although he did admit she got a pretty good discount...
“No... I was having Adrianne temper the blade for me. This sword has seen lots of action,” he replied and Asling bit the side of her cheek, trying to contain herself long enough for him to finish speaking.
“Oh, so you've always been prone to “compensating” then?” she grinned and he merely scowled, moving a few paces ahead of her and lapsing into silence. They reached the crossroads past the Honningbrew Meadery, and Asling went straight over the bridge, Adair skidding to a halt.
“Where are you going? Riverwood is this way,” he called out to her as she drew away, watching her in disbelief.
“I know, I can read,” she pointed to the sign without slowing. “But I'm not going to Riverwood, I'm headed for Riften.”
“No.” The tone Adair took was a warning that the matter was not up for debate, which she ignored.
“You can't make me go, just do the quest without me. A simple fetch quest shouldn't be that hard for you,” Asling laughed, making it halfway across the bridge before Adair strode up and nimbly plucked her off the ground, tossing her over his shoulder like his knapsack. Ignoring her cry, and subsequent protests, he turned on the ball of his foot and headed up the hill towards Riverwood.
“What in Oblivion are you doing?! Put me down!” Asling twisted in his hold, trying to break free.
“I don't think so,” he replied, hefting her up so she hung farther down his back, losing what little leverage she had.
“You can't make me do this!”
“I can and I will.”
“What, are you going to carry me the entire way there?” Asling scoffed at his words, crossing her arms, then grinned. “Tie me up so I can't run away?”
Adair couldn't see her face, but pictured her raising her brows at him.
“Yes... maybe I'll gag you as well,” Adair said as he jolted her a bit, making her yelp and slap at him uselessly. Pleased, he smirked to himself, then abruptly stopped in place, slowly lowering Asling to the ground.
“Wh–” She started, bewildered by his actions before she froze, hearing a low growl coming from the brush on the right. Their feud forgotten for the time being, she sent Adair a sideways glance, her hand crept towards her bow as the wolves came into sight.
Adair slowly drew his sword as the trio circled around them, teeth bared. They looked half starved and unhealthy; one of them looked to have mange, its fur patchy in some areas, the exposed skin cracked and oozing.
“Ready?” Asling asked, but Adair did not reply aloud, his hands merely gripping at his sword. As if sensing the shift in the air, the wolves moved, snarling viciously.
Asling quickly disposed of the mangy wolf; a shot to the head and the beast was down without a fight, but the other two were healthier and moved faster, the one nearest to her lunging at her.
She dodged quickly to the side to keep her leg out of the wolf's mouth, Adair's sword coming down and killing it as she lay on her back staring up at him.
He opened his mouth to yell at her when the other wolf lept at him while he was distracted. Asling whipped out another arrow and shot the wolf in the shoulder, crippling it enough so Adair could toss it off and finish it.
“Well... that was fun,” Asling commented, rising off the ground and brushing herself off, a coy look on her face. “So, are you going to thank me for saving you?”
Adair wrinkled his nose at her words.
“No, because you did what you were supposed to do,” he said, drawing a rag from his knapsack and cleaning the blood off of his sword. Asling stood there looking smug and he tried to ignore it for as long as he could.
“Are you going to drop this any time soon?” He relented, looking irritated as he kept on up the path.
“Not until you thank me,” she sang, following behind him.
“Terrific.”
Midday arrived by the time Riverwood came into view, the pair already wary of the road and each other. The plan was to grab a bite to eat at the tavern, get more detailed directions to Bleak Falls Burrow and then head out.
Adair had put up with Asling's childish teasing the entire trip, refusing to thank her, but if it meant she would follow him until then, it was worth a bit of suffering.
Means to an end, he supposed.
They entered the tavern and ordered food, settling by the door so they could make a quick exit, though Adair had to admit, it was a cozy place for being located in such a small village. Asling was over at the bar talking with the grumpy looking cook, edging away when a barmaid came out of one of the rooms and the cook's expression ever changing despite the insults. Adair watched with interest, more so because the way the barmaid walked was... odd.
She stood with squared off shoulders and spoke with confidence; one would think she had seen battle before. He dismissed his thoughts in favor for the rest of his food.
After they were finished eating, the pair of them stepped outside, Adair unfolding his map and burying his nose in it, planning their trip up to the burrow.
Meanwhile, Asling was wandering along the main road through town, looking around. She stopped in front of one of the shops, grinning to herself. The Riverwood Trader; this was the shop the cook was talking about, and with one last glance back at her travel companion, she slipped inside.
“Alright, it looks like we will have to stop for the night, but this should be the quickest way,” Adair said, raising his head; but by the time he had realized it was strangely quiet, Asling had been long gone.
“Damnit...” Adair grumbled as he folded his map and stowed it away, looking back down towards Whiterun and saw the road was empty. Well, if she's not run off, then she's probably poking around in one of the shops, he reasoned and after not seeing her at the blacksmith's, he headed into the general store.
“A golden claw you say? Sure, I can help you get that back, especially if you're paying,” Asling was saying, leaning leisurely against the counter when Adair came in.
“Asling! Come on, we need to get moving,” he barked, arms crossed. She jumped and glanced back, an expression on her face that was half guilt and half annoyance. Beside the fireplace, Camilla sat up in her seat, sending the newcomer a friendly smile, her brother noticing the gesture immediately.
“Actually, if you're going to Bleak Falls, I can guide you there,” Camilla said, and Asling raised a brow at her, looking between her and Adair.
“Thank you, but we've got a map,” he said politely to Camilla, his tone hardening as he shifted his attention away.
“Asling!”
“I'm coming,” she grumbled, waving to Lucan, who was too busy glaring at Adair to notice.
“Don't worry, you'll have it back, safe and sound.” Asling sent a longing look to the dust covered spell tomes in the corner then went out the door.
“What are you doing? We're behind schedule,” he informed her, stepping quickly to make up for lost time.
“We're leaving now, aren't we?” Asling said in exasperation, having to jog to keep up with his pace as she was considerably shorter than him.
“Finally...” He said just loudly enough for her to hear, and she stuck her tongue out at his back. They headed east out of town, Adair leading the way. He strode down the middle of the bridge, glancing back at her as she had slowed to a stop unknowingly. How... deliberate. Why walk over just so you could cross in the exact middle?
Adair clapped his hands to get her attention.
“Well? We're wasting daylight here. Hurry it up before the sun sets,” he beckoned her with a roll of his hand and Asling sighed, trotting up after him.
He really was an insufferable ass.