First Aggresions

Minerva nodded and quickly settled behind Arya. She had ridden some before, though mostly with one of her brothers, but she still knew what she needed to do. "We should follow the river, as there might be more bandits along the road. It looks as if I have yet another reason to go to Dragonsreach; the Jarl will need to know that travelers are being waylaid on the way to Whiterun." She whistled quietly, sounding almost like a bird as she called her new dog to follow them.

"I heard that someone in Falkreath wanted to capture a dog that looked like this and use him as a hunting dog. I'm glad he found me instead. He looks too smart to just be a hunting dog and I think he'll be better off with me as a companion and scout. What do you think?" She asked, waiting on Arya to start their journey toward Riverwood and Whiterun. "By the way, we don't have to stop in Riverwood if you don't want to, the only real reson I said we should before was because of the elk, but now that is gone so... It is up to you."

((I was hoping that's who the dog would be ;D))

"He has a strange air about him." she answered, studying the dog.

It looked at her for a moment, and Arya noticed it's eyes were almost....human like. Chills went down her spine, but she didn't tell Minerva of her uneasiness. She figured it was just her being paranoid again.

"I think I'd like to get to Whiterun as fast as possible. At this point, I want to be safely behind city walls."

Arya turned her mount towards the ridge and urged her forward. The dog followed, trotting alongside them as they surpassed the top of the ridge and were met by the river. The ground grew softer with the nearby moisture, turning the sound of her horse's hoofprints into dull, faint thuds. She began following the river, the sound of the water reminding her of her training days, when her father would take her down to the lake near the Imperial City and run her through drills.

"So, you know where I come from. What about you? Were you raised here?" she asked.

(( Yep! Big plans for him a bit later. He's gonna help Minerva find love ))

Minerva breathed a sigh of relief, "Good. Then I'm not being plagued by the mind tricks of Sheogorath after all. I think so too. I mean, I know he can't understand me, but it honestly feels like he knows exactly what I'm saying. You saw how he took after those bandits when I told him to. But that is just it... I only TOLD him, I didn't cast any spells or charm him. That was all him..."

Minerva smiled as Arya asked her about herself, the memories of growing up in the forests and low mountains around Riverwood flooding back to her. "Yes, I grew up in Riverwood. My family owns a farm there, but because of what a traveling prophet said, I was born in Whiterun. They came to our house one day, my oldest brother Johann was only five at the time, they told my mother that they had read the stars and that they had told them that the birth of her fifth child would be hard and to seek 'Divine Help' during the birth. My mother only planned on having four children, so she didn't pay him much mind, but then one day she found that she was pregnant with me, her fifth child. The warning of the prophet came back to her, and fearing both her life and mine, she traveled to Whiterun, to the Temple of Kynereth until I was born."

Minerva took a draught of water from the skin in her pack before offering it to her companion and continuing with her tale, "My birth was hard on the both of us, and if my mother hadn't been at the temple in the presence of all the healers, we would both be dead. That is part of the reason that I have devoted myself to learning the secrets of Restoration, so that I can help others like I was helped. After my mother regained her strength, we returned to Riverwood and I being my father's only daughter, was treated as a princess, much to my dismay. He always wanted me to stay at the house, his excuse being that I didn't have to do any farm work or anything at all since I 'have four big and strong brothers.' But I didn't stay at the house. I would follow my brothers, asking them to take me with them when they went hunting or into town. I quickly learned the ways to tug at their heartstrings as they were all at least five years older than I."

"It was during one of the hunting trips that I discovered that I was indeed magically inclined. I knew a couple simple healing spells, my father having set aside money for me to learn them, but I didn't think I knew anything else until it happened. My brother Johann had buckled and brought me along on a hunt in the mountains not far from this very spot when we were attacked an escaped prisoner. Almost immediately they attacked, hitting my brother in the arm with an arrow, the tip having been poisoned with a sleeping agent and then they started coming toward me, talking about how if he gave me to the ones who had imprisoned him, they would let him go."

She paused a second, the memory flashing back. Her fear for her brother, the hatred of the outlaw, the helplessness. She never wanted to feel like that again, it had been too much for her... "T-They came toward me faster, and before I knew it, I was using magic. I didn't even know any Illusion magic, it just happened. I was leaning over my brother and I looked at the man and yelled 'STOP!' through all of the tears. I felt my magicka reserves deplete almost completely, but he listened. He just stood there with his eyes glazed over asking for a command. That was the first time that I had taken life instead of giving it... After what he did to my brother... I just couldn't stop myself. I thought he was dying, I didn't know it was only a sleeping potion, so I made him jump off the cliff..."

A tear trickled from her eye and she laughed, as she wiped it away. "I have no idea why I am even telling all of this to you... I've only just met you, but something... something within me is telling me that I can trust you, though what, I don't know. It feels good though, getting that out. Until now, only my family has heard that story, and no one else. But enough about that part... you probably just wanted to know how long I've lived here, and now you know. I've been here my whole life, spending most of my 20 years in the woods and mountains trying to gain a better understanding of my magic."

((Whoah, interesting. Definately will want to see how that plays out))

Arya listened silently to Minerva's story. It was one of things her mother had first taught her - "If someone has something to say, let them. You'll learn a lot more listening than you will interrupting. She gladly accepted the waterskin, quenching the thirst she hadn't realized had been bothering her before returning it to her companion. When she finished her story, Arya spoke.

"I'm only child, so I was treated like everything at once. Princess by my mother, warrior by my father. But I'm grateful for it. It's made me a well-rounded person." she paused. "As for your first experience with magic, I would've done the same thing. There's not many things that tick me off, but threatening anyone close to me is definately one of them. Threaten me all you want, but not my friends or family. Anyone who does that is just asking to get their ass kicked, in my opinion."

She moved her horse into a smooth canter, picking up the pace to reach their destination quicker.

"So who's this Farengar you said you've been wanting to see?" she asked, hoping to lighten the mood of their discussion.

She thanked Arya for her reassurance that she would have done the same. She really didn't get it, something about this girl from Cyrodiil made her feel at ease, something not many people could do since she spent most of her time in the field looking over her shoulder.

Her hand waved in the air as she silently greeted the people in her hometown. She even waved at Camilla if moving your hand back and forth with only one finger up could be counted as waving. Divines, how she hated that cow. Honestly, she didn't know how she could stand herself!

Minerva's face flushed beet red as Arya asked another question, though she thanked the divines that she was seated behind her and that she could not see her face. "Farengar is the Court-Wizard in Whiterun. He works for the Jarl as an advisor on things magical and historical in nature. He is also the only actual mage for miles around. Everyone else only dabbles here and there or only teaches people who will swear themselves to the service of a divine and serve in a temple until they are grey headed. So, I go see him, though he acts like he barely knows I exist. He does tolerate me though. I actually think he likes it when I come since I'm not 'one of the mindless barbarians' that the Jarl usually has him working with. He lets me look in his library and dabble with his Alchemy and Enchanting tables when he is not using them."

She sighed, "I still don't think he knows though. I've had a crush on him for nearly two years, but he never says anything to indicate that he feels the same. I'm about to just give up and look elsewhere. Life in Skyrim is short and I'm not going to waste my youth pining after a man who barely gives me the time of day, much less a ring..."

Arya smiled knowingly. She had figured as much. She sniffed as Minerva told her of his inattention towards her.

"It sounds like he's pretty dedicated to his job. He may have just never stopped to think of you that way. Or he's just one of those men who doesn't know how to express anything but irritation."

Arya had seen her fair share of young love in the Imperial City. Lots of people and drama. She had even had interest in one boy there for a while - before she realized what an ignorant, pompous, bigheaded jerk he was, much like the rest of the population of the capitol city. But the past was the past.

"If you feel like you can get over him, move on. It'll be his loss." she said. "Not that I'm any expert on the matter. Again, it's just what I would do."

She looked around Riverwood. It seemed like a pleasant enough little town. Some people studdied her suspiciously, but most just kept their head down. She felt Minerva stiffen, and looked to see a dark haired woman standing on the porch of one of the shops, a dirty look on her face as she looked at them. She raised her eyebrows as she saw Minerva flip the woman the bird out of the corner of her eye.

"Old friend?" she asked jokinly.

A smile spread across her face at her complement, "Thanks, Arya. And I'm going to do one better. I'm gonna tell him what he missed! Haha! It'll be great; first I'll tell the Jarl of the bandits, then it is off to Farengar's lab." She felt a bit better about it now. There had to be plenty of mages in Skyrim that would like to court her, or at least pretend like they did. Farengar wasn't doing either of them!

"Who, Camilla?" she asked, her voice incredulous. "Over my dead body! She's just the resident cow and man-stealer. She stole the first man I ever loved, Faendal, a rather fine looking wood elf. Right now she doesn't even have the decency to even be true to him, no, after she stole him from me, she started seeing Sven as well, and both of the men know it! That's the worst part. He could have had me, the girl who would never leave him, but instead he chose that unfaithful cow! Oooohhhh! I just wanna charm her and send her off a cliff!"

The horse's hooves sparked on the cobblestones of the bridge as they crossed, "Up here you are going to take the path to the right, since the left goes up the mountain. We are only about an hour away by now, maybe a little less if we cut across the rocks at the bend about a mile up the road." She was excited now. She had a new pet AND she was about to 'dump' Farengar!

Ary smiled lightly. "You've had quite your assortment of love interests, haven't you?" she said. "At least you know you'll find a husband sooner than later. Me, I'm afraid I'll end up an old maid with the overwhelming lack of interest I've had in anyone. Maybe I'm too picky for my own good. But that Faendal sounds like a brainless lot anyway. You can do better."

She turned her horse down the path Minerva had pointed out, and smiled lightly at her directions.

"I hardly ever stuck to paths in Cyrodiil. I don't know what idiots made the paths, but they seem unable to make a clearly possible straight line. Always have to lead you on some crazy maze before you can get where you're going."

"Hey!" she said, trying to feign offense but failing for her laughter, "In my defense I overheard him telling my brother that he thought I was cute. And you are right... again... Though I don't think I would mind it SO much if I had lost him to a better woman, or at least an equal instead of that harlot Camilla..."

"You won't be an old maid... trust me, if you don't find someone by yourself, I'll do it for you. After all, the folks back home call me 'Mara's Little Helper'!" She smiled, remembering the day her mother had called her that. She had been trying desperately to set her oldest brother up with the owner of the Sleeping Giant, but had to stop when Delphine threatened not to talk to her anymore. In her defense though, Minerva's last attempt had been quite disastrous... She was snapped out of her musings by the changing scenery, 'Here! Just go straight and ignore the road. It is a bit steep, but I think she can handle it. Then we just go in between the farms right to the town gate."

"Oh, girl, I know exactly what you are talking about." she replied with a laugh.

She smiled. "I might take you up on that offer one day. I'm hoping that with a new country will come with many new opportunities in the love department."

Arya's horse snorted and began down the steep decline, her steps short and halting.

"Lean back a bit. It'll help her to keep her balance." she said, shifting her own weight.

She glanced up to look ahead. The city of Whiterun lay a mile away, amidst miles of open plains. Arya grinned. After being surrounded by suffocation mountains and trees, the terrain more similar to her homeland was a welcome sight.

"I'll come with you to talk to the Jarl if you want. If nothing else I can just provide moral support for your little confrontation with Farengar." she said. "But after that, I'll need to rent a room and sleep for a bit. I'm about to fall asleep sitting up. I'm assuming they have stables where I can board her?" she said, gesturing to her horse.

Minerva laughed and did as Arya instructed, almost immediately feeling a difference in the horse's descent.

"You will? oh that'd be great! Oh, I can just tell that this day is going to finish great! And yes, there is a stable right outside the walls. The stable master is a good person, they'll take fine care of your mare, don't worry."

She looked down at the ground, her dog still following them. 'Well, I guess he's going to stay!'

It felt nice to breath the open air. Minerva loved her home in the forests around Riverwood, but she also like change, and right now, change was winning out...

((I'm leaving it up to you whether or not we help the Companions with the Giant. And once we reach the gate, we should start a new topic that is actually in Whiterun. ))

((Ooooh good idea!! Yes yes yes))

"Good. It's always hard for me to leave her with anyone else. Raised her from a baby." she said, patting the horse on the neck.

Right as they reached the bottom of the hill, a resounding thud reached Arya's ears. She frowned and reined in her mare, trying to look between the small farms that lay a short distance in front of them. Moving her mare slightly to the right provided a clear view of where the noise had come from.

A huge, humanoid creature brandished a club twice the size of Arya over it's head, grunting in a deep, masculine voice. The creature was garbed in nothing but a loincloth and some leather sandles on it's large feet. A small group of warriors surrounded it, also brandishing their weapons, but keeping a small distance between them and the humanoid.

"What the hell is that?" she asked incredulously.

"Hurry! We need to help them! That beast is a giant, rogue judging by its location, and those, Arya, are the Companions!" Minerva gave the horse a slight kick, knowing that Arya could control it and they hastened their approach toward the beast.

Minerva dismounted as they were moving, her life of scaling the mountains helping her not to lose her balence, and she sent a Rally spell toward the foot soldiers before conjuring her bow and taking a stance by a rather fierce looking woman. "How goes the Battle, Lady Aela?" she asked, firing an arrow toward the back of the beast.

"The glories of the hunt are thrilling as always, Minerva! Now, less talking, more fighting!"

Minerva laughed as she launched her third arrow toward the beast, this one landing square between the shoulder blades. "Oh, by the Nine! I think he felt that one!" She saw a large Nord, Farkas was his name, take a rather nasty blow to the chest and it took him quite a bit to rise, so pausing her fire, she sent a healing beam of energy toward him, hoping that it would be enough of a boost for him to keep fighting... Her healing spells seemed to work better the closer she was to the target...

Arya hesitated to join the rest. Though her father had warned her of giants, she had never seen one in her lifetime. The prospect of fighting something so large was intimidating, and she had very little clue of how to approach it. She dismounted and skirted the giant, hurrying to join the rest. She drew her sword and observed how the others approached the creature before engaging herself. When one of the swordsman attempted to attack, he was almost immediately thrown back by a blow to the chest. Arya swallowed nervously and readjusted her grip on her sword, trying to calm her nerves.

Arya forced herself to approach, feeling her eyes widen when the giant turned to look right at her. She continued her slow approach, trying to lure the giant into swinging at her while she was still far enough away to have room to dodge. The giant took a long stride towards her and swung downwards. She scrambled to get out of the way, feeling the ground at her heels lurch where the giant swung. Before it could raise it's arm again, Arya turned and inflicted a deep gash on it's bicep. It bellowed at her and swiped at her with it's other arm. She tried to duck, but she couldn't get far enough out of the way. She avoided the majority of the blow, but it's hand glanced off her head with enough force to send her reeling and disoriented. She instinctivly moved her sword arm away from her as she fell to the ground to avoid falling on it.

Her senses came back somewhat within a few seconds. She struggled to rise, knowing she had to move or else be crushed by the giant behind her, but her brain was having trouble telling her muscles what to do. She heard the heavy footsteps of the giant behind her, charging towards her...

Minerva watched in horror as the giant clipped Arya with its large hand, sending her reeling toward the ground. She wasn't too far action, perhaps it could work? Fearing for the life of her new friend - Yes! That is what it was! Arya was her friend! - she charged toward the beast, already melting into her surroundings before vanishing completely.

The dagger made a scratching noise as she drew it from the sheath, her invisible feet sending up small puffs of dirt on the way to the giant. She WOULD get there in time, she refused to let Arya become a pancake breakfast for the large carnivore. "HYAAAAAHHH!" her invisibility faded as she lunged forward, the steel of her small blade sinking hilt-deep into the flesh of the giant's leg. Blood spurted out onto her robes and she jumped back to avoid the wrath which came with the giant's mighty bellow. She wasn't used to fighting with a dagger, or any blade for that matter, and so she was sure that she had missed where she was aiming, and upon looking as he charged her, she was right. She had wanted to nick the artery, but had missed by several inches.

She screamed as he charged her, Aela raining arrows down on him all the while. Minerva looked over at her friend - yes, that would take some getting used to - and sent a healing spell toward her before opening a fiery portal to the realms of Oblivion and calling forth a bulky mass of ice and snow built much like the giant, only shorter and stockier. "Destroy it!" The large Frost Atronarch immediately obeyed, charging toward the massive monster for a contest of strength...

Arya couldn't figure out why she wasn't dead. She hadn't been able to move more than a foot or two away from her original spot. Colours flashed before her eyes, and her ears were filled with a faint ringing sound.

After a few moments she felt energy surround her, and the throbbing pain in her head dulled considerably. Her vision came back into focus, and she spat blood that had come from her biting her tounge during the impact, which the healing spell had already healed. She stood and turned to see that somehow, the giant's attention had been diverted away from her, and was now battling a large frost atronach, assumably that Minerva had summoned. The two large creatures exchanged blows loud enough to hurt Arya's ears. She tried to make her way back to the group, who were still firing magic and arrows at the giant. Before she could, however, the atronach landed a massive blow on the giant, causing it to stumble and fall nearly on top of her. She took advantage of it's weak moment and ran up as fast as she could make herself move, stabbing it in the chest. The blow did not kill it, however, and creature bellowed and wrapped a massive hand around her torso, lifting her into thet air and squeezing the air out of her. Her weapon still lay in the creatures chest, leaving her with no mroe defense than clawing desperately at it's hand. She felt as if it were about to crush her very bones. She looked over to the group, searching desperately for help.

Minerva watched with horror as the large humanoid picked Arya up from the ground and began to constrict her with his hand. "Nooo!" Her bow was back in her hand with an arrow on the string faster than you could wink. She didn't have amazing skill, but she was okay with the mystical weapon. that is not how it would seem to the passerby though, at least not in that moment...

She breathed out slowly, carefully taking aim at the creature. She ahd to act fast, but she couldn't risk not making the shot. She exhaled fully as the arrow left the string, the magical projectile fluctuating from the force of the bow. A blue streak was all that could be seen as it flew toward the mark, toward the throat of the nearly sleeping giant.

She cried in triumph as the arrow struck true, the blood flowing from around the magical dart and the giant gasping for breath, for the only thing that had been keeping it alive, for what it had been denying Arya. She drew and fired once more just to make sure it was dead, adn she watched with bated breath. For what seemed like minutes, nothing happened - though in reality it was only a few seconds - but finally the giant hand opened, its fingers releasing its precious cargo... "Arya! Are you okay?!?"

When the giant's iron grip finally released her, Arya fell to the ground, gasping for breath. She inhaled the now precious air in gulps, fighting the lightheadedness that filled her head. It was a few long moments before she could gather herself enough to answer Minerva's cry.

"Well, quite honestly, I've been better." she grunted, rolling onto her hands and knees before standing unsteadily.

She cracked her sore neck and yanked her blade from the giant's corpse, kicking it solidly in the side for good measure before resheathing the weapon.

"Now I owe you big time." she said, meeting her new friend's eyes. "I think that makes three times you've saved my life in the past few hours. So...thank you."

"I'm not keeping count and you don't owe my anything. I'm just glad you aren't dead. That battle was a close call for everyone." She stressed the word 'everyone' while looking pointedly at Aela, who was coming up to them and looking like she was going to start talking to Arya.

At Minerva's words however, she changed to speak to Minerva. "I guess you're right. I do wish that you would re-consider and speak to Kodlak about joining though, you would make for a fine shield-sister even if magic is your chosen weapon."

"I told you already. I am a healer at heart. I will always heal the Companions or help you if you need it, but the life of a warrior is not what I want. I know what you have is good, but it is just not who I am. And just because I won't join officially doesn't mean we can't just have a nice talk or swap stories, you know where I can be found most of the time."

Aela chuckled, "You have a counter-arguement for everything, don't you?" She jerked her thumb toward Arya, "And who is this? She fights okay, a bit reckless, but maybe someday..."

"This is Arya, and cut her some slack. We've just traveled non-stop from Falkreath, AND we were waylaid by two whole groups of bandits. For traveling all the way from Cyrodiil and then from Falkreath to here, and THEN fighting a Giant, I'd say she's cut from some pretty good material." She suddenly smirked, "If we put you through the same trials, I don't even know if you'd do as well as she did, and you are a native!"

She chuckled a bit at Aela's face before continuing, "I told her about you all on the way and that I'd put a good work in for her with Kodlak, and now that you've seen what she can do even after a thoroughly exhausting time, I'd say you will too, am I right?" She smiled happily as Aela nodded her head slowly. Minerva liked Aela and even though she was not in the Companions, she knew that Aela considered her a shield-sister after how she'd helped them.

Arya remained silent during the exchange, somewhat embarassed. She scuffed her boot in the dirt as they talked, suddenly feeling like a child again, though she smiled when Aela agreed to introduce her to the Companions. She didn't want to miss out on the opportunity because she had been to tired to fight without taking huge risks.

"Thank you, Aela. I'd be honored to be introduced to your group." she said.

"We'll cover the rest of the introductions once we get to Jorrvaskr." the Companion said, gesturing to the rest of the group. "Right now, I'm thinking you'd like to get inside."

Arya whistled for her horse, who immediately ran over to her. She shot Minerva a grateful smile as they all walked to the city gates, Arya feeling a sudden sense of relief as they approached the city.

((Whiterun thread now?))

((Yup! ))

Minerva smiled back at Arya, happy that things were starting to pick up for her. She was sure that Kodlak would see the same thing in her that she did, that fire, the hidden strength that she didn't even know that she possessed. She patted her hip loudly, calling her dog to her side. "I'm going to have to think of a name for you, aren't I, boy?"

She strode toward the city with the rest of them, trying, with little success to think of a name for the dog, when she all of the sudden, as clear as if someone had spoken to her, came the name 'Barbas'. "Barbas! That's it, I'll call you Barbas!" She cried. "That's perfect! Though... I wonder where I've heard of it before..."