First Aggresions

Arya frowned as she studied the map that lay in her lap, relying on her mare to follow the path before them. Though she had followed the roads on the parchment to the best of her ability, she couldn't shake the feeling she was going the wrong way. Travelling through Pale Pass to enter the Nordic country had been easy enough - one way in, one way out. Now, before her were foriegn paths that led through unfamiliar forest that tampered with her sense of direction and distance. She hadn't been in the country for more than a few hours, and she was already lost. She sighed and began to refold the map, feeling the weariness of her long journey fog her mind. For all she knew, instead of heading toward her destination of Whiterun, she was halfway to Morrowind at that moment.

A voice drew her attention back to the road. She looked up to find that a large, burly man stood in the path before her a dozen feet ahead. The man was donned in mismatched leather armour and carried a large sword in his hand. She grimaced. A bandit. Cyrodiil, Skyrim - no matter where you went, they all had the same look about them. She pulled her mare to a stop, sighing at her bad luck. She was tired and in no mood to fight.

"You look lost, little lady." the man called out in a gruff, mocking voice.

She heard movement in the brush around her to see three more bandits emerging from the forrest surrounding her. She cursed, realizing that she had blindly stumbled right into an ambush.

"And you're in my way." she replied, hoping to buy herself time to think.

She knew she was in big trouble.

Sighing, Minerva rose and placed the few mushrooms she had been able to find in her pack with the flowers she had gathered earlier that morning. She just didn't understand how she was to get better at Alchemy when the ingredients seemed to literally hide from her. She had been in the southernmost hold for nearly a week and had only a small satchel full of miscellaneous flowers and mushrooms to show for it, it was, in all honesty, rather pitiful...

Her hands moved in a downward motion on her monk robes in an attempt to keep them somewhat clean looking. All she needed was to look like some rabid barbarian if someone did come along. Even with her eloquence, she would be hard pressed to over come an absolutely terrible first impression.

She was walking down the mountain, using the more obvious game trails when she heard what she had been dreading the entire time she had been in these hills: a bandit attack! Almost immediately she sank into a crouch glad now for her brother having her along on his hunts. She made a metal note as she conjured her Mystic Bow to thank Rowan with a great big hug the next time she saw him. She crept closer to the bandit's voice, the wolf she had charmed earlier at her heels, and then she heard the woman - a young woman, judging by her voice...

She came a little bit closer, this time climbing onto an over hang above the group, and she finally saw them. "Damn!" she hissed, "there's a lot of them!" She looked at her 'pet' and pointed from him to one of the bandits, her Illusionist charms influencing the rather simple animal. "Kill..." she whispered. She was rewarded with a mournful howl and a snarl as the beast descended upon the unwary bandits while she sent an aimed fury spell toward one of the bandits at the back.

While the spell and wolf worked their respective magicks, she took one of the nightshade flowers she had managed to find and rubbed it on the tip of one of her magical arrows, slightly poisoning the tip. "Here... goes... nothing..." she breathed as she nocked the arrow and took aim at one of the cretins who dared call themselves a woman.

The arrow made a whizzing sound as she released it from it's mystic cradle and sent it toward a new quiver. It was almost like she was seeing things in slow motion! The arrow came to an abrupt stop in the shoulder of the bandit closest to the girl on the horse, the resulting thud and scream sounding all the way to the overhang. Quickly, she nocked another arrow and drew back on the string...

Arya cursed and scrambled off her horse as chaos exploded around her. She landed on the soft dirt next to her panicked horse and wrenched her hand-and-a-half blade from her sheathe, grimacing as her stiff legs throbbed under her weight. Sitting in a saddle for any considerable amount of time did unpleasant things to one's joints.

Using the suddeness of the attack to her advantage, she ran as quickly as she could toward the nearest still-standing bandit, throwing a wild swing at the man. His eyes still fixated on his fallen comrades, he only had time to get his blade halfway from it's sheathe before her sword met his flesh in a cross-slash at his chest. He yelled and fell before her, quickly silenced by another stab to the throat.

Arya turned to see another bandit, the red glow of magic around him, wildly slashing at the remainder of his own comrades. She rolled her shoulders and engaged another nearby outlaw, whose blade was already in his hand. She danced out of the way of his first attack, his blade meeting nothing but air. She jabbed her sword for his leg, inflicting a small wound on his thigh. He growled in irritation and swung for her again, foolishly leaving his guard open. She parried his blade away and stabbed him through the chest.

Minerva loosed her second arrow at the same bandit as before, this time striking the woman in the chest and taking her out for good. She then stood and seeing the panicking horse, sent a calm spell toward it in the hopes that it would even join its master in the fight. as soon as the spell left her hands, she began her descent, skidding down the mountainside, being careful to avoid the rocks. She had grown up in terrain like this and could navigate it fairly well, an ability that had served her well when her brother's friends would chase her with rotten fish...

"Oi! You there!" she suddenly yelled at the bandit leader as she came to a stop behind him and across from the other girl, "Are you really going to let a couple of little girls beat you? What'll the people say about you now?" She smirked as the fool turned to focus solely on her. "Yeah, that's right, I'm talking to you, you backwards illiterate. What will people say when they find out that you were bested by a healer and a weary traveler?" Her plan had worked, his focus was off of the swordswoman and on her. Now she only hoped that the other girl knew her plan...

The last of the immediate threats dispatched, Arya paused to look up as a girl in robes, assumedly the one who was assisting her, slid to a stop at the bottom of the steep slope across the road from her. The girl began shouting taunts at the largest bandit, who appeared to be the highest ranking one of the group. The man turned towards the girl, turning his back to Arya. She rolled her eyes at the man's foolishness, and began approaching him as quietly as she could manage. At that moment, she wished she had any sort of ranged combat skills. It would be easy to put him down with an arrow or a spell in her current position.

She flinched as her horse, in an unusual display of bravery, charged straight for the man, bashing into him over before he could move his bulky frame out of the way. The collison stunned the man, and he fell to the ground, gasping for breath. Arya dove forward and promptly stabbed the man in his neck. She looked to her left to see the outlaw under the influence of the spell had killed all his nearby comrades, and was now running towards them.

Minerva smiled a bit at the sight of the horse barreling into the bandit, though admittedly it faded with the bloody dispatch of the man. She was about to go and introduce herself when she realized that the the last bandit, the frenzied one was now out of enemies and was coming straight for her!

Gathering the last of her reserves, she waved her hand in front of the man's face, mere moments before he reached her. "Stop." The effect of the command spell was nearly instantaneous!

"Yes, Master." he replied, his will being bent by the illusion magic. "What is your will?"

Minerva looked at him for a moment before bending down and taking an iron dagger from one of the fallen bandits. "Take this and make it at home in your heart..."

"Your will is my command..." The glazed eyed bandit picked up and dagger, and without a second thought or glance, plunged it deep into his chest.

Minerva looked away as the bandit stabbed himself. She knew there was no other way, that it was him or her, but it was times like these that she wished she could simply fire a bolt lightning and be done with it instead of bending someone's reality. She flinched a bit as she heard the body thud on the ground, and she couldn't even look, only shudder visibly.

"She turned to the girl whom she had helped without even knowing who she was. "I'm sorry you had to see that, almost as much as I'm sorry for having to do it." She held out her hand, "I'm Minerva, by the way, Minerva Cassell."

Arya watched as the bandit fell under the effect of the girls magic once again, mumbling complacent replies to her orders. He obediently committed suicicde, his body falling to the ground with a dull thump. Magic had always been a source of puzzlement to Arya. The fact that anyone could have such easy power over another was a slightly unsettling prospect.

The other girl got halfway through a sentence before Arya realized her groggy mind had wandered. She brought herself back to reality with a small shake of her head, and sheathed her blade, trying to decipher the words she had only been passivly listening to.

"Arya." she replied shortly, witholding her last name in the interest of reserving some anonymity. The attack had left her shaken and paranoid. Skyrim was not treating her well so far.

"Thank you for that." she added, nodding towards the carnage behind her that she didn't care to look at. "My head would've been another trophy for them if you hadn't intervened just then."

"That's a lovely name, and it was no problem. I won't say it was a pleasure... but it is never a problem to help someone out of a bind like that." Minerva shivered a bit and rubbed her arms. She wasn't used to fighting large groups like that and the complete draining of her magicka had left her cold. She felt it building back up, but it would be a few minutes before she could do anything more than the simplest charms or healing spells. She had a way to get it back up quickly, but she'd rather just let it come back normally and save her other method for an emergency.

She looked at Arya closely, actually seeing her for the first time. She was rather pretty, much like herself, and much more than that cow Camilla back home in Riverwood, but she seemed utterly exhausted. "Are you ok? I can heal you if you need it, or I might have some potions in my pack." She looked at her again, her head sort of going to one side in puzzlement "I'm sorry, if I seem rude, but are you from around here? I mean, you look like you are at least part Nord, but you don't sound like you are from this area at all..."

Arya sighed. She hated giving information about herself to strangers, though this one had given her no reason to hold any mistrust against her. Lying about what she already plainly knew would just be insulting, in any case.

"I'm fine, just a little tired. I spent all day travelling through Pale Pass from Cyrodiil. I've only been in Skyrim for a few hours. As you can see, it's not going well so far." she again gestured to the fresh battleground behind them. "I was trying to get to Whiterun before nightfall. I was told it's one of the safer cities around here."

Her mare plodded to her side, nudging her arm with it's muzzle. She picked up it's dangling reins and scanned it over quickly for any injury, murmuring to it lovingly. Finding none, she absentmindedly rubbed the horse's face and returned her attention to her rescuer.

Minerva didn't know why, but she felt called to help this girl. Oh well, she'd just chalk it up to her nature as a healer. She nodded as Arya told her story, beginning to fish about in her pack as she finished. She pulled out a bottle filled with a green liquid and handed it to her. "Here, this should help with the fatigue. It is just a minor stamina potion I picked up in town the other day. You never know when you'll need to run for your life..."

She then looked around them, taking in their surroundings, "As for Whiterun, I'm sorry, but you are headed in the wrong direction. This road turns just up there and doubles back to Falkreath. I was heading home today though, to Riverwood, to see my family. Whiterun is only another hour or two's walk from there depending on which way you travel. I could take you there if you like." Minerva suddenly blushed, "I've been looking for an excuse to go and see Farengar Secret-Fire anyway..."

Arya took the bottle, eyeing it suspiciously. She had never had cause to use potions, and found the idea of taking one slightly unsettling. However, upon realizing that Minerva was freely sharing her provisions with her, she thanked her and quickly drank it, not wanting to be rude. She almost immediately felt her limbs lose some of their heaviness, and her mind clear slightly.

Arya pressed her lips together as Minerva informed her of her misdirected travels. She had known she had been travelling in the wrong direction, but hearing she had gone all the way past another city in the wrong direction was slightly frustrating. She tilted her head at Minerva's last statement, but didn't pursue it. She didn't want to unsettle her.

"That would be very helpful. Hard to tell where you're going with all these damned trees." she said, then inclined towards her horse. "Rogue here can carry both of us if we travel slow. She's faring much better than I am. Won't be much faster than walking, but less tiring."

She couldn't help but giggle slightly, the poor girl. She was almost as bad as a man, refusing to ask for directions and riding until she was ready to fall off of the horse. "Yes, I suppose that will wor- Ooh! Shhh..." A large elk had suddenly bounded out of the trees and onto the road. Minerva charged up a command creature spell, having just enough magicka for one shot, and brought the mighty beast under her control. "We'll move a little faster now!" she smiled "And we'll have dinner once we get to Riverwood!"

The large elk walked slowly over to its new master and nudged her shoulder before bowing slightly so that she could climb onto its back. "Well, come on then! Get on your horse. We've got a couple hours to ride before we make it to Riverwood." Lifting her robes a bit, she inched up onto the elk, the dip in its back in the perfect spot for her to sit, and its large horns the perfect natural reigns.

She was used to being somewhat tall, but this was amazing! Her feet alone must have been at least two and a half feet from the ground! "Ok! Follow me." she said, the excitement clear in her voice. "First we'll have to go up, back where I was before I found you. Then we can see the river and the for the rest, we'll just follow it since it runs straight through Gerdur's mill back home!" She pulled one of the antlers to direct her forest beast and gave him a slight kick to get him going up the slope...

Arya's eyebrows raised uncontrollably. She had seen some odd things, but someone riding a deer was not amongst them. She sighed and shook her head wearily.

"Magic is a strange force." she said mostly to herself, mounting her chestnut mare.

She did her best to listen to Minerva's explanation of how their journey would play out, but she her rapid, excited speech was too far beyond her still-fuzzy brain's comprehension. The mage turned and urged her strange mount up the slope before Arya could ask her to repeat what she had said, so she simply followed the girl and trusted her not to mislead her.

Feeling the urge to know more about her guide, she asked "May I ask what you were doing so far up here? Sounds like Riverwood's a ways away."

((Gotta give up the comp. Be back tomorrow ))

Minerva's elk was scaling the mountainside nearly by itself, only needing her to keep it heading in the right direction. "Well, I want to be a court-wizard for one of the Jarls, and in order to do that, I have to be at least competent in Alchemy. I was here looking for ingredients which can only be found on this mountain, but unfortunately, I only found one species of mushroom and even then only two samples..."

She turned around and looked at her new companion, "What about you? What brings you to Skyrim? This is pretty far 'up' for a Cyrodiilian isn't it?" A lock of her blonde hair came loose and dangled in front of her eyes and began tickling her nose. In irritation, she lowered her hood quickly and tied it all back in a ponytail, not wishing to be distracted. She knew that there were more bandits in the area and she could not afford to be fighting with hair in her face...

Arya's horse did it's best to follow the deer, but a horse used to the plains of Cyrodiil could barely do more than scramble up after it on the slope. She shifted her weight forward in the saddle to help it get more traction in it's front end.

"My father's the one who gave me my Nord blood. He was a freelance sellsword here in Skyrim in his heyday, until he injured his sword arm and could barely defend himself. He went to Cyrodiil intending to stay until he healed. But then, he met my mother there...and...well, he ended up staying a lot longer than he planned. He always wanted to come back, but me and my mother were too important to him."

Arya thought of the many times she had seen her father sitting outside in the stable yard, looking to the north. Always to the north, as if he were about to just jump up and run back to the very land she now stood in.

"So he raised me as he had been raised. To fight, and have a sense of adventure." she paused, "I really could've been happy staying in Cyrodiil, but I kind of felt responsible to him to come here, after what he gave up for me. So...here I am."

Her head bobbed politely as she listened to the story of how the other girl came to be in Skyrim. She thought that she detected a bit of resentment in her voice, or was it guilt? She didn't really know, and she certainly wasn't going to chance the girl shutting back up like a clam by pressing the matter further. "I'm sorry..." she said, trying to console the girl she'd only just met. "It sounds like he loved you very much."

She plodded on in silence for a few moments, uncertain of what to do or say. She didn't want to seem insensitive, but she also didn't want to suffocate her, a balance that she had always had trouble finding. She finally decided on something somewhat neutral to talk about. "So... How long are you planning to stay? If you are going to Whiterun, you might consider joining the Companions, errr... a sort of fighter's guild. With how you handled those bandits as exhausted as you were, I'm sure that they would be glad to have you. If you want, I could go with you and give a recommendation to their leader. I'm no person of high importance in Whiterun, but I've patched up some of the Companions enough that Kodlak knows my name and trusts me with his men and women."

She really had no idea if that would be up Arya's alley or not, seeing as how she'd just met the girl, but she seemed the type and she certainly seemed trustworthy enough; however, that could just be her own trusting nature getting her into trouble again. Awaiting the other's answer, she slowed her mount a bit, completely unaware of the bandit encampment which laid over the next rise...

Arya cracked her neck nervously as a pause in the conversation ensued. She had never felt comfortable during conversations with new people. She always felt awkward pauses were her fault, a result of her brain not knowing how to continue. She scrambled for something to say, but couldn't decide on anything that she felt didn't make her sound awkward. She released a breath in relief when Minerva spoke agian, alleiving her of her stress. She snorted quietly at her compliment.

"The only reason I'm still alive is because of sheer luck. But I suppose in most situations, luck is just as useful as skill, no?"

Arya scratched her cheek and thought of the Fighter's Guild back home in Cyrodiil. Their lack of comradery had always bothered her. You got your contract from one person, completed it, and got another one. It was unlikely one would know anything about the other members, even if a considerable amount of time was spent in the Guild. An organzied version of her father's work. She didn't like the idea of joining the Companions if they were anything like their likeness in Cyrodiil, but then again, she thought, having a faction to her name would help ground her in the country. Their name itself also implied they were more of a group of allies rather than only individuals under a banner. She was in no situation to turn down an opportunity to gain allies, anyway.

"I would appreciate you introducing me. I'd want to see what they're like first, though. I'm okay with a blade, but I'm no professional mercenary."

A noise over the ridge in front of them reached Arya's ears. She would have dismissed it as a creature of the wild, but the noise was not one made by animals. The sound of wood being chopped.

She quietly hissed to her companion and reined in her horse, bringing the animal to a stop. She leaned forward to be better heard.

"Are there any settlements around here?" she asked quietly, nodding towards the ridge in front of them.

Minerva had just been about to tell her about the familial bonds when she heard it. *THWOP* Arya called her aside quickly, having heard the sound first. "No! Not that I know of. I came over this ridge on the way here last week." she whispered. "There was nothing around for over two miles. The nearest place I know of is old Anise's cabin to the northeast!"

"Aaaaaahhhh!" Her shrill shriek split the air as an arrow embedded itself in the tree next to her head, the fletching cutting her cheek as it passed. "They've spotted us!" She leapt down from the elk, her feet sending up a small cloud of dirt as she landed. Her hands were glowing with magic almost immediately, her left using one of the few alteration spells she knew, Oakflesh, and her right conjuring a Flame Atronarch.

The green flash enveloped her body as the purple portal made of magical flames opened up before her. Mere seconds later a fiery maiden with flesh of stone and blood of lava stood before her wielding firebolts. She had no time to use a bow or even charm her enemies, not when they had the upper hand. She would just have to rely on her poor armor and her magical guardians to keep her safe. "Find the attackers! Defend us!" she cried, the atronarch already hurling masses of fire...

Arya cursed and dismounted quickly, dodging behind the nearest tree as arrows volleyed towards them. Her horse spooked and ran a short distance out of harm's way. She unsheathed her blade and glanced at her companion to make sure she had not been injured. Aside from blood stremaing down her cheek, she seemed relativley unharmed and was casting magic.

Arya peeked around the tree, and was forced to dodge back as an arrow promptly whizzed by her exposed face. Again with her weakness at ranged combat. She took a deep breath, suddenly happy she had taken the stamina potion earlier, and sprinted for the nearest tree slightly more up the hill, barely avoiding being impaled by more arrows. She slammed herself behind the cover and called out to Minerva.

"Kind of hard to move with them shooting at me! Try distracting them so I can get closer!"

"Okay... I'll try!" She looked up at the hill. She could just see a few of them past the tops of the trees. Her Atronarch managed to hit one in the face with a firebolt, but she could tell that it wouldn't last much longer, the arrows in its head and middle weakening it almost to the point of uselessness. As it faded, it managed to hit another bandit, this one dying but not falling out of sight like the other had...

She raised her hands to the sky, electricity crackling and the wheels in her mind turning. She had her distraction. She began to fire, the sparks flying high into the air, and as she did she cried out, her voice carrying up to the bandits and causing birds in the trees to be disturbed. "Namira, Eater of Flesh! Molag Bal, Breaker of Bones! Nocturnal, Queen of the Night! I beseech thee, grant me thine powers that I might slay mine enemies! Grant me, thy champion, your aid!!!" She focused as she spoke, casting the inexpensive sparks into the air and focusing on a different power, the power of the Ritual Stone...

She heard the startled gasps of the bandits at the top of the hill. They had no idea she was a phony, that the entire thing was a sham. She had never met any Daedra before, and she hoped she never did, but it would serve to distract the bandits and make them believe that the now rising corpses were indeed a gift from the daedric princes. The one at the bottom nearest Arya rose first, picking up his bow and firing it at the other bandits while the one at the top began hunting them with a axe, a vacantly feral look on his face...

Arya arched an eyebrow as Minerva called out the names of the daedra, though she did not dwell on whether she was actually their champions or not. Focus on the present, stay alive.

As the bandits let out cries of alarm, Arya dashed up the hill, almost reaching the top before anyone brought their attention back to her. One groped for his bow, raising it halfway before he was stopped by Arya's blade meeting his wrist, almost severing it from his arm. He barely had time to cry out before she silenced him. By then, another had almost finished aiming his bow at her, the rest still being distracted by Minerva's antics. She threw herself onto the ground just as the arrow flew over her. The man discarded his bow and pulled two one-handed axes from where they hung at his hips. Arya struggled slightly to get back onto her feet, and then settled into a defensive stance. This enemy was ready for her. Rushing in would only get her killed.

The man charged her, both axes ready to deal a horizontal blow to her torso. She sidestepped the man and moved his axes away from her, jabbing her sword at his ribs, her sword rapping off his thick armour. The man turned to face her again, but Arya, in the heat of the moment, dove for him, trying to tackle him to the ground. Her slight weight, however, was only enough to stumble him. Desperate, Arya brought her knee up in between his legs, kneeing him solidly in the groin. He let out an oof and stumbled again. Arya took advantage of his stunned state and slashed his throat. She stood over her kill for a moment, breathing heavily, and then turned to see how Minerva was dealing with the rest of their attackers.

Minerva saw that her plan had worked, and cackled quasi-evilly - she had to keep their attention after all - as Arya was able to get in and kill several of the bandits. She ceased firing the lightning and switched to dual fear spells as one of the bandits Arya had missed began charging at her. "Haaaa!" she yelled, firing the red orb at the incoming bandit, who immediately began to fear the suddenly fire-breathing, dragon-headed girl with snakes for hair.

She let loose a true giggle as he ran away, and was completely oblivious to the woman sneaking up behind her, an axe raised above her head. A fierce barking and snarling caused her to spin around in time to see a large dog tackling the woman, its teeth sinking into her arm and taking her to the ground. Quickly, she picked up the axe and brought it down across the woman's neck, patting the dog's head as she finished the gruesome deed. "Thanks, puppy!"

She watched as another bandit began to go after Arya, and she fired another fear spell at them before trying her luck with the dog. "Get him!" She nearly squealed in happiness as he looked at her with abnormally intelligent eyes and took off for the bandits with a snarl.

Arya readied herself for another incoming attacker, but the man was hit with a red orb of magic, causing him to stop in his tracks. His eyes tripled in size suddenly as he looked at her, and he screamed and dropped his weapon, turning around and fleeing as fast as he could run. She tilted her head. Didn't think I was that ugly. She thought, smiling to herself.

Arya was again puzzled as a scruffy dog came to the aid of Minerva. She hadn't even seen her cast a spell on it. She saw her give the dog a command, the cainine sprinting towards the last two bandits of the group. The men stumbled back in surprise as the dog leaped fearless onto one, its teeth sinking into his exposed throat. The other went to defend his fellow outlaw, weapon raised to cut the dog down. Arya scrambled for a way to help the dog, looking around helplessly. She looked down to see a medium sized rock at her feet. She transferred her blade to her left hand and picked up the rock with her right, taking only a second to aim before releasing the projectile. Her aim was true, and the rock glanced off the helm the man wore, causing a loud ringing sound. The man grunted and stumbled, whirling around to face her, completely forgetting about the dog that he now had his weak side to. Arya shot a smile at him the second before the dog, now finished with the first bandit he had downed, tore into the flesh at the back of his neck.

She sighed and ran a hand across her face as the dog finished the deed. She looked over to Minerva and laughed a humourless laugh.

"Can't get a minutes peace out here, can I?" she then motioned to the dog. "Who's this?"

Minerva laughed as well, her voice floating like a gentle melody on the wind. "I guess not, but it'll be better once we reach the town, I'm sure of it." She looked once again at the scruffy mutt who had come to her rescue and had now returned to her side, nuzzling her leg with his head. "I haven't the faintest idea! He just appeared! There was a bandit sneaking up behind me and he saved me!" She patted his head as she answered Arya; it was nice to have an animal protector that she didn't have to charm, for once.

She looked down at the dog, its large brown orbs shining in the light. There was certainly something about this one... "What say you, boy? Want to come with me?" She knew he couldn't understand a word she said, but all the same she hoped he'd tag along for a little while at least. He barked happily and gave her hand a lick before trotting contentedly up the hill behind her...

"Can you hear that?" she asked Arya as she reached the top. "The river, can you hear it? We must be near now. Riverwood should only be about three or four miles away by the road! All we need to do now, is follow it straight into town!"

Arya finally stopped for a moment and listened - indeed, she heard the faint trickles and splashes of the water. She wiped her blade off in a tuff of grass and resheathed it. Looking up, she saw her horse standing a dozen yards away in the brush, nibbling on the green around it. Arya let out a short, high-pitched whistle, and the horse turned and picked it's way through the trees to her. Arya mounted and settled herself in the saddle.

"You going to ride with me this time?" she asked.

She took a tighter hold on the reins as Minerva's new companion approached her horse. Rogue had never closely encountered a dog before, and Arya didnt' know how she would react. The horse lowered it's nose to the cainine, sniffing it curiously. She stood still as the dog began to lick her muzzle, snorting slightly at the tickling sensation. Arya smiled and patted her mount on the neck, happy that they got along.