Little Italy

Sᴋʏʀɪᴍ ᴘʀᴘ w/ Lɪᴛᴛʟᴇ Iᴛᴀʟʏ

Yeah because I love all of them and they'll be fun additions. It's just a matter of finding good place to insert them i suppose XD

Sᴋʏʀɪᴍ ᴘʀᴘ w/ Lɪᴛᴛʟᴇ Iᴛᴀʟʏ

Elle ended up falling behind a bit, studying her surrounding curiously. The place definitely wasn't much, a simple settlement along the road, but it seemed peaceful and pleasant enough. Nil gave it a rather displeased look, clearly wanting to be elsewhere, but for once she kept her sarcastic comments to herself. She stopped when she heard someone say dragon, looking for the source of the voice.

The speaker proved to be an old woman pointing at the sky and insisting stubbornly that she had seen a dragon. A man, whom Elle assumed was her grandson or something, was trying to convince her she had just been seeing things. Well, she hoped he would never find out that it was actually a blood thirsty beast that had just set an entire city ablaze. She dearly hoped the Jarl of Whiterun would be willing to send aid to Riverwood. Though, she wasn't sure what good it would do if even a band of Imperials couldn't handle the beast alone.

She realized that Nil and Ralof were beginning to leave her behind, so she quickly jogged after them, their strides much longer than her own she she had to move faster in order to keep up as they approached what she could see to be a mill. There was a man working with the wood and saw, and a woman with blonde hair was standing nearby. She turned when Ralof called her 'Gerdur', so Elle guessed that she was the sister he had spoken of.

Once they had stopped, Elle looked around for a place nearby to sit and chose a tall tree stump, sitting slightly hunched forward with her legs crossed. Now that all the adrenaline of running from a once legendary creature had worn off, she could finally feel that fatigue of the encounter weighing on her limbs. She decided not to say a word unless they addressed her directly.

Now that she really had a moment to study her companions, she started a quick breakdown of them with soft grey blue eyes.

Ralof seemed normal enough. A loyal soldier and nord who had joined his brothers under the banner of the Stormcloaks to fight for their rights, or at least, she was pretty sure that's what they were fighting for. His blue eyes were kind and he had laugh lines on his face, suggesting that he was very amicable when not in life threatening conditions.

But Nilovas, on the other hand, was a completely different story. Eilonwy had seen her fair share of Dunmer, but he was definitely out of the ordinary. The horns and other qualities (including his friend Jym) would fit him under the category of Daedra, but she wasn't sure how he fit. She had read many books about the Daedric princes and their shrines throughout Skyrim, but she had never really had any encounters with them.

Sᴋʏʀɪᴍ ᴘʀᴘ w/ Lɪᴛᴛʟᴇ Iᴛᴀʟʏ

No doubt. I'm excited XDDD

WHOOOO ASKDJFHLKASDF

Sᴋʏʀɪᴍ ᴘʀᴘ w/ Lɪᴛᴛʟᴇ Iᴛᴀʟʏ

Elle balked slightly in surprise at the rather angry blast of red light, staring at Nil with shock before looking at Ralof, who also looked rather stunned. Judging from his expression, Elle assumed that such a reaction was a bit on the abnormal side. She pursed her lip and stowed the thief stone in her pocket. She thought it wise to bite back her quip that she had considered making at Nilovas's expense.

"Agreed," she said, starting down the road after him, Ralof taking up the lead towards their destination, "How much farther to Riverwood?"

"Not long now. Once we're there, Gerdur will set you up with some supplies and then you best be on your way to Whiterun," Ralof replied.

Elle hesitated a moment before glancing at Nilovas, "Both of us?" she asked, cocking her head slightly to the left.

Ralof shrugged, "That's up to the two of you."

Elle nodded before falling silent again. The gates of Riverwood were growing closer now. She hoped they'd have a moment to rest before she ran off to Whiterun to ask the Jarl for help. She had a feeling Nil wouldn't want to come with her, just by virtue of the fact he had been so opposed to hanging around with them before. Though, she couldn't be sure. Either way, she wanted to make sure no other towns met the same fate that Helgen did. Thinking of the ruined town, she began to wonder about that dragon. Quite a coincidence it had chosen to attack when it did. Had it been any later, she would have been dead; they all would be. Was there a reason it had razed Helgen, or was it just a random choice it had made? Her books had described the dovah as intelligent creatures with knowledge superior to humans and other such races.

Sᴋʏʀɪᴍ ᴘʀᴘ w/ Lɪᴛᴛʟᴇ Iᴛᴀʟʏ

Yep this is gonna go 0 to 100 real quick

THREE PAGES IN WHOOO

Sᴋʏʀɪᴍ ᴘʀᴘ w/ Lɪᴛᴛʟᴇ Iᴛᴀʟʏ

Elle smirked, "I'm sure he is." Okay, maybe this guy wasn't such a prick as she originally thought. Anyone who replied with sarcasm was good in her book.

She pondered his reply to her gratitude a moment before she shrugged, "Well, I guess that makes us even then," she decided.

She paused when Nil gestured to the weird rocks. There was a hole in the top of each one with a stone resting inside. She had been to Skyrim before, of course, but she wasn't as familiar with their traditions as she was with their folklore and legends. She walked up to one of them and it started to glow when she came close. "Fascinating," she said quietly to herself before turning and tilting her head at Ralof.

"What are these?" she asked, picking up the mage stone and turning it over in her palm.

When she did pick up the stone, there was a flash of light and she felt… different. She wasn't sure how or why, but there was definitely something that made her feel almost better in an odd way. She was suddenly very excited to be in Skyrim and to explore what it had to offer; the crypts and barrows, the cities, the mountains, the hot springs, the history. Her whole experience back at Helgen seemed pretty insignificant now, more as a way to jump start her journey rather than end her life.

Sᴋʏʀɪᴍ ᴘʀᴘ w/ Lɪᴛᴛʟᴇ Iᴛᴀʟʏ

Very true! It's gonna be legit

Sᴋʏʀɪᴍ ᴘʀᴘ w/ Lɪᴛᴛʟᴇ Iᴛᴀʟʏ

Elle glanced over her shoulder at Nilovas as Jym disappeared and couldn't help but smile slightly.

"I hate to gossip behind people's backs, but he's a bit of a stick-in-the-mud," she remarked rather bluntly.

Ralof cast her a warning glance, as if to caution her on what she said. Now that she did think about it, she probably shouldn't have commented at all, but she couldn't help herself. If her mouth had a filter, it probably needed changed.

She cleared her throat and went on, "Uh, anyway, I never got to thank you properly for saving my butt back there. I owe you one," she stated, looking forward at the cobblestone path ahead of them.

Thank goodness they were out of there though. Now she could go to Falkreath, maybe get some help from that family friend of hers to get back on her feet and some coin in her pocket. Well, if there was one thing she learned from this experience, it was that Skyrim was not very big on hospitality. Or fixing their criminal justice system. Someone should probably look into that.

"Where are we headed?" she asked Ralof.

"Riverwood. My sister, Gerdur, will be happy to help. Plus, Whiterun is just beyond that and should be warned of the dragon attack. Maybe they'll send troops to defend Riverwood," Ralof explained.

Elle nodded, "Sounds reasonable enough. Though, if I'm not mistaken, Whiterun has some Imperial influence. Wouldn't that be dangerous?"

"For me, possibly, but you're not a Stormcloak soldier, so you'll be fine," he replied.

Sᴋʏʀɪᴍ ᴘʀᴘ w/ Lɪᴛᴛʟᴇ Iᴛᴀʟʏ

Yes, that's very true. A for effort on past us's part XD

Sᴋʏʀɪᴍ ᴘʀᴘ w/ Lɪᴛᴛʟᴇ Iᴛᴀʟʏ

Elle sidestepped when Jym charged past to go 'feast on the bear's heart', standing straight again and raising an eyebrow at him before casting a look at Ralof and Nil as if to say, is he serious right now? Still, it made the job easier, so she started forward again to yet another tunnel, turning a corner before she spotted blue light.

"Looks like the way out!" Ralof said happily from behind her before hurrying forward.

"Thank divines," she muttered, following the Nord to the outside, blinking slightly as her eyes adjusted to the brightness of the day. She never thought she would be so happy to see the blue sky again, the cool breeze a nice change from the stuffy caves. She was about to start down the path when Ralof hissed, "Wait!"

Elle instinctively crouched, looking up at the sky as the huge black dragon soared over head, a roar echoing around the ground below as he disappeared over the mountains in the distance. She sighed with relief when it didn't see them and stood once more.

"No way to know if anyone else made it out alive. But this place is going to be crawling with imperials soon enough. We'd better clear out of here," Ralof stated practically, and started striding down the hill.

"No complaint there," Elle replied, glad to be clear of that place and free again. Now maybe Jym would go away and stop giving her that loathing look since she had sassed him. Her instinct was to comment on it, but her rational side decided that such a thing would have a negative effect on her health. He seemed like the type who couldn't take a joke. She had half a mind to ask if if he and Nilovas were brothers.