Board Thread:Roleplaying/@comment-3293219-20140525223412/@comment-3293219-20140526180459

A small light flickered at the center of the wilderness, where a pitifully small spark had been lit to keep two travellers ‘warm’ and to cook their pitifully skinny meal. A repulsive looking rabbit hovered over the camp fire on a spit, the spit was held up by two sticks on either side of the fire, just like the older of the two was taught, by her khajiit friend.

The younger of the two, a child-like Dunmer girl, with short shaggy hair, sat before the campfire, huddled up and holding her knees to her chest. The fire’s reflection flickered in her eyes as she watched the flames dance, seemingly mesmerised by them. The older woman was a Nord, who was considerably older than her companion, by twenty years. Her hair hadn’t seen water in weeks as they trekked the Cyrodiilic countryside and crossed the border into Skyrim, avoiding Imperial patrols as they went…

Manja, the older looking Nord woman, tutted as she noticed that the fire was failing. She looked to Nepht, who just sat there and shook her head as she was, once again, forced to rescue it…

Again…

It wasn’t that Manja wasn’t sympathetic; Nepht was depressed, to say the least and she had good reason to be. But the recent rainfall made camping hell and it was hard providing for the both of them, especially when Nepht was physically capable of providing for herself. Even Nish, at his worst, wasn’t this bad…

Manja shuffled over to the camp fire and threw two twigs on the fire, which was about as much use as a napkin would be if you had to clean up blood, after an artery had been severed but it was all she had. She turned around and wandered away from the camp fire, making her way over to the forest’s outskirts, bending down and retrieving a log. The log was damp and therefore useless, prompting the Nord to grumble as she threw it in the mud, It landed with a splat and bits of mud flickered all over the Nord’s boots and exposed legs.

Nepht was left alone to stare into the fire, with her pale red eyes as she found herself going into another trance. She gazed into the embers before her as she cast her mind back to before…

It was only 6 months ago that she was happy, free of this drudgery and shame… Back when Mikasa and Petra were her neighbours and childhood friends, her hero, Daniel, was alive and out there somewhere, his name was still Daniel and he wasn’t some tubby drunkard in a tavern, which felt like a funeral parlour. The Dunmer’s eyes shimmered as she looked down at her wrists, seeing the scars that were lead behind by the shard of glass...

Back when I had a soul…

Manja reappeared from the bushes, with some dry firewood, which had been sheltered by the canopy above. She dropped it on the floor and immediately began to feed the hungry fire, hoping that it would return the favour soon…

She looked up to Nepht, who hadn’t budged an inch since she had left, prompting her to take a seat opposite her and cross her legs as the fire began to liven up.

“You looking forward to some grub, kiddo?” She asked, in an attempt to keep up Nepht’s spirits by uplifting her own.

Nepht nodded before looking up at her, bringing her knees down and sitting on the floor, leaning on her hand.

“I guess…” She muttered, looking at the skinny rabbit, which looked like it was a member of the undead, like draugr or something...

“Do you think they’ll be enough for both of us?”

Manja looked at it, wondering this herself; the most likely outcome would be the two of them going to bed dissatisfied.

“Well, we could always go for the Laniros method…” She chuckled, bringing her hand to her mouth at the obscure reference.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Laniros?” Nepht asked, in confusion.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Y-Yeah… There was a general, in this dumb book I once read… He had ten soldiers to feed but only enough food for five.”

<p class="MsoNormal">Nepht nodded, perking up a little as she liked stories and problem solving. Her favourite puzzle was the one with the giant, the cow and the potato.

<p class="MsoNormal">“So… What did he do?” She asked, pretending that she was feigning interest as she sat cross legged, a tell tale sign that she really was intrigued.

<p class="MsoNormal">“He fed half of his men and then had the other half eat the half that had been fed.” Manja explained, grinning in amusement at the outcome. Truth be told, she wasn’t expecting it, the first time she read the book.

<p class="MsoNormal">Nepht smiled faintly, finding it very difficult to see such a story as amusing, she nodded slightly and looked back to the camp fire.

<p class="MsoNormal">“But… Doesn’t that halven his army?” She asked, unable to hide her confusion.

<p class="MsoNormal">“I guess… But it solved the food problem…” The Nord sighed in response, poking the rabbit with a stick, to test if it was done.

<p class="MsoNormal">Nepht muttered, glancing back to her with a smirk.

<p class="MsoNormal">“You’d better eat up Manja, I’m starving…”

<p class="MsoNormal">Manja shot up, giving her an exaggerated look of frustration as she resisted the urge to laugh.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Oh, that’s nice… I catch the rabbit, build the fire, keep it stoked, keep us out of the rain and I’m the one who gets eaten!” She broke down at the end of her rant and began to laugh, falling back on her hand as Nepht sat up.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Well, you are taller than me… And I’m super skinny so…”

<p class="MsoNormal">“And I’m not?” Manja raised an eyebrow, putting the teenager on the spot as she reached over for the rabbit, pulling the spit off of the fire and drawing her knife. She looked up to receive a sheepish look from Nepht, who didn’t know what to say in response as there wasn’t really a right answer…

<p class="MsoNormal">“Great, now I can add being called ‘fat’ to the list as well…” She muttered, carving a leg off of the rodent and letting it fall into the bowl. Manja passed it to her young companion, who immediately grabbed it and began to eat, smiling as she tasted her first meal of the day. And first hot meal in, what felt like, an eternity.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Was Laniros real?” Nepht asked, in the process of chewing, which always managed to amuse Manja for some reason.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Dunno… Maybe he was but had a different name? Or… Maybe he was based on a real story or a few stories?” The Nord just shrugged and took her first bite, savouring the mouthful of gristle as she slowly began to chew.

<p class="MsoNormal">“I can’t imagine that he would have kept his job for long…”

<p class="MsoNormal">Manja chuckled to herself before openly giggling letting her head hang as she closed her eyes and began to laugh.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Yeah, he probably went back to his superiors, with a huge stomach like; ‘I had ten men? You sure?”

<p class="MsoNormal">Nepht smiled warmly, nodding along as Manja burst into a laughing fit, taking another nibble at the rabbit’s leg. She was doing well, considering that cannibalism was a bit of a sore subject with her…

<p class="MsoNormal">She winced as a raindrop rolled off of a leaf, falling several feet and fell onto the unsuspecting traveller below, tapping her on the center of their head as she tried to eat. She shuffled forward as she felt the water droplet roll down the back of her neck, sitting closer to the fire to warm herself and avoid the rain drops as they bombed down, onto her. She envied Manja, for never being cold, though in this situation she’d like to be an argonian as they seemed to like the water.

<p class="MsoNormal">The Dunmer looked up and noticed that they had been sat in silence for some time as Manja was preoccupied, peeling the disgusting bits off of her food and throwing them into the fire out of spite.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Manja?”

<p class="MsoNormal">This got the nord’s attention, though she was biting into the rabbit leg, pulling at a bit of gristle and praying to the nine that it was half as nutrious as it looked…

<p class="MsoNormal">“Yeah?” She asked, through gritted teeth, coming out as a sort of growl as she tugged at the grey slather of rabbit, keeping her eyes on Nepht, so that she didn’t look at it and spoil her appetite.

<p class="MsoNormal">Nepht took a deep breath as she composed herself for what she was about to say, she had been travelling with Manja for six months now; she had been like a good friend to her or even a sister. But after tomorrow, their time together may come to an end, as tomorrow was a red letter day, the closing chapter of her life as this soulless, blood sucking monster and the start of something new. Nepht wasn’t as naïve as she once was, she knew that it couldn’t be how it was, due to the absence of Mikasa and Petra and Veneficus but the nightmare; the cravings would be gone and replaced with…

<p class="MsoNormal">Nothing…

<p class="MsoNormal">“I… Just wanted to say that… I just wanted to thank you… for helping me get this far. I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for you…”

<p class="MsoNormal">Manja looked up, spitting the grey meat across the camp and wiping her mouth, looking disgusted with it.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Great, way to guilt trip me…” Manja mocked, pulling a face as some of the juices still ran around her tongue.

<p class="MsoNormal">“I’m not, I…”

<p class="MsoNormal">“I know… I was just fooling…” The Nord replied, with a warm smile as she knelt up and put the bowl to one side, deciding that she’d salvage something edible from it later.

<p class="MsoNormal">“So... This time tomorrow? You could be a cured lady.” Manja smiled, sitting back and resting on her hands.

<p class="MsoNormal">“If this ‘witch’ is as good as you say…”

<p class="MsoNormal">“She is.” Manja interrupted, bluntly as she didn’t want Nepht to doubt this plan at all.

<p class="MsoNormal">“She’s the most powerful being I’ve ever encountered; she scares the crap out of me.”

<p class="MsoNormal">Nepht nodded, knowing that she must be somewhat fearsome, considering that she could strike fear into Manja, the bravest person she knew. The Dunmer paused as she wanted to know whether or not to ask Manja this question, a question that had been burning in the back of her mind for months but she had never built up the courage to ask. Today she was feeling pretty courageous…

<p class="MsoNormal">“Can I ask why?”

<p class="MsoNormal">“Why Agatha scares the crap out of me?”

<p class="MsoNormal">“No…” Nepht paused as she put the bowl down and got a little more comfortable.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Why you helped me…”

<p class="MsoNormal">Manja squinted and smirked, hoping to dodge the question with a witty comment but nothing came to her… She paused, frowning as she looked into her bowl and shuffled closer to the fire, embracing its warmth as the glow hit her skin, illuminating her.

<p class="MsoNormal">“The Penitus Oculatus… Common Folk… Hell, even Rowan…” Her mind sort of trailed off as she mentioned him, she yearned to know what happened to her friend, after he went missing six months ago. She had spent a whole month tracking him but it was like he had vanished, the trail went cold, along with the weather and she knew that he was gone…

<p class="MsoNormal">“They… Don’t see it like I do. How much of a person is left inside a vampire. They think of you like… zombies or werewolves, during transformation.”

<p class="MsoNormal">Nepht smiled, somewhat thankful for Manja’s tolerance for vampires and Dunmer as she had heard that Nords and Dunmer weren’t exactly holding hands and singing in the land of the Nords.

<p class="MsoNormal">“To be honest? I didn’t either… Not until erm… recently.”

<p class="MsoNormal">“What changed your mind?”

<p class="MsoNormal">Manja looked back to her companion, seeing that she was eager to know and she deserved to know really. She would have been more than sceptical if someone, who was considerably older than her, decided to help her at Nepht’s age…

<p class="MsoNormal">“My erm… Sister in law…” She whispered, wrapping her hands around her knees as the fire began to sting her eyes.

<p class="MsoNormal">“You mean… Eilonwyn?” Nepht was hesitant of using her name; it was rare for Manja to speak of Nish, Eilonwyn or any member of the companionship to her, unprompted.

<p class="MsoNormal">“She was a vampire?”

<p class="MsoNormal">“Yeah…   For a little while…”

<p class="MsoNormal">Nepht moved closer to her friend, wishing to hear more as she began to wonder why Manja hadn’t mentioned it before. If Eilonwyn was a vampire and was cured? Why didn’t she tell her sooner?

<p class="MsoNormal">“We… Had an enemy… Three of them actually but one of them was a pain in our ass. He was a vampire lord, called ‘Dunlammus.’ He prayed on our group and attacked whenever he got the chance. He was erratic and stupid, even Tyranil thought little of him.”

<p class="MsoNormal">Nepht listened intensively as she found herself captivated by this story, forgetting about her food.

<p class="MsoNormal">“We went to Falkreath and he appeared, he did that a lot, so none of us were worried when he showed up. We were a full group and raring to kick some ass, so we pretty much hunted his ‘copies’ like they were game.” Manja’s voice lost all emotion as she felt like a narrator of sorts, caught up in the memories…

<p class="MsoNormal">“This was a trap; Dunlammus got smart and tricked us, getting us all away from Eilonwyn before he… Bit her, drained her of life and threw her on the ground, leaving her for dead and Nish in a state of paralysis…

<p class="MsoNormal">I thought he’d died on the spot but… he went into some sort of ‘locked in’ state, according to Veneficus.

<p class="MsoNormal">Then? She got back up… Wandered over to us, like nothing had happened but we could see it in her face. She looked like a walking corpse of sorts, being so pale and lifeless at the time.” The Nord broke away, looking over to Nepht and turning to face her, feeling like she was telling a bed time story to a child, rather than confiding in a friend.

<p class="MsoNormal">“I was… Scared, y’know? Nish was all I had and I was terrified that she’d lose control and try to drink from him. Eilo… Didn’t take it well, she ran off and went on a killing spree as the blood lust kicked in, killing so many people…” Manja got up, feeling the ground jutting into her leg and feeling the urge to break away from it. She wandered around her Dunmer friend as she approached her bowl, seeing that there was some left.

<p class="MsoNormal">“You going to eat this?”

<p class="MsoNormal">Nepht hastily shook her head, wanting to hear the rest of the story.

<p class="MsoNormal">“So… What happened next?” She asked as Manja sat down beside her tucking into the rabbit’s leg.

<p class="MsoNormal">“She came back, all ‘blooded up’ and demanded that we gave her Nish. I was… Scared, younger and stubborn and she was angry, betrayed and even more stubborn. I took him hostage and said that I’d rather have him die by my hand.”

<p class="MsoNormal">“Which… Probably won’t have gone down well…” Nepht muttered, glancing away from the fire, regretfully.

<p class="MsoNormal">“It did not…

<p class="MsoNormal">I ran off with him, into… Shit, I think it might have been this forest…” She looked around, though she wasn’t sure as it was different somehow. It would help if she knew whether or not they were in Cyrodiil or southern Skyrim.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Anyway, this family took us in and it wasn’t long before there was a shit storm of epic proportions.”

<p class="MsoNormal">“Swear…” Nepht reminded her, prompting the Nord to roll her eyes as she began to tuck into the rabbit leg, continuing on as she finished.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Anyway… It was me and this old Khajiit versus her, though… I don’t think either of us had the guts to kill the other. Especially not with Nish in the room…

<p class="MsoNormal">She broke in and it got hairy.”

<p class="MsoNormal">“Was that before or after the Khajiit got there?” Nepht asked, Manja’s influence rubbing off on her. She stopped to grin at the Dunmer, resisting the urge to inform her that she had a long way to go, when it came to being a smart arse…

<p class="MsoNormal">“So… Half way through the fight? Nish gets up, arriving late to the party as always and…” Manja paused, looking saddened as she recalled it but there was a hint of pride in her eyes as she looked back to Nepht.

<p class="MsoNormal">“He didn’t care what she was… She was still Eilonwyn to him and he respected that, taking her by the hand and letting her take him away.”

<p class="MsoNormal">“That’s… Brave…” Nepht muttered, she wouldn’t have done the same; in fact, she wouldn’t have let Lucian tag along with her, if she knew about his vampirism.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Stupid more like…” Manja corrected her, though she secretly agreed.

<p class="MsoNormal">“He eventually found a cure for her and before you ask? No, we can’t just do what they did…”

<p class="MsoNormal">“What did they do?” Nepht asked, not entirely disappointed as they already had a solution.

<p class="MsoNormal">“They pissed off a group of vampire hunters and managed to nab a ‘cure vampirism potion’ on the way out.”

<p class="MsoNormal">Nepht nodded, figuring that it would be something like that… Why can’t random cure vampirism bottles fall out of the sky for her? Why was it always water droplets? Targeted at her shirt collar… Speaking of which…

<p class="MsoNormal">She moved away, feeling like she was being pestered by some inconsiderate stranger, whilst waiting in line.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Right!” Manja exclaimed, clapping her hands together and rubbing them vividly.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Time for bed kiddo.”

<p class="MsoNormal">The Nord shuffled closer to the camp fire, glad that she didn’t need to keep a look out. Animals were rare in the wilderness, due to the deforestation in the area and the invention of rifles made any skinny armed Imperial nobleman into a ‘skilled hunter.’

<p class="MsoNormal">Nepht nodded, seeming a lot more lively than she was when she was earlier, curling up by the fire pit and smiling as her head touched the floor, resting her head on the scars, on her wrist.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Manja?”

<p class="MsoNormal">“Yeah?”

<p class="MsoNormal">“Thank you…”

<p class="MsoNormal">This might seem like a spur of the moment thing, due to it being their final day together but Nepht said this every night, when they went to sleep. It confused Manja at first, feeling like the girl’s auntie. Taking her out on a day trip but she began to figure it out, over the next few months. Nepht was just brought up to be grateful and thankful to those who hosted her and looked after her. The Nord found this endearing, though she was a little concerned, noticing how… behind Nepht was at times.

<p class="MsoNormal">''As soon as she drops the vampirism? I’m going to get that girl drunk and teach her a few songs… ''Manja began to laugh to herself as she tried to imagine Nepht, after a few ales. She looked over to the Dunmer as she began to stir, slowly drifting off to sleep.

<p class="MsoNormal">Heh… I can corrupt the best of them… Manja thought as she lay down again, getting ready to sleep for the night.

<p class="MsoNormal">I’m like… Sanguine… that way… She added as she faded off to sleep.