Winterhold ... Closed for Sands13

[AmberStar]

Celia Kaeaine transferred the heavy backpack from her left shoulder over to her right one; even thou she had been on the road for a few weeks now. She just wasn’t used to the weight hanging down on one shoulder for an extremely long periods of time. Her father, may he walk with Julianos, always told her that she needed to work her body just as much as she did with her mind. However, she didn’t see the wisdom of being sore every day when the mind could resolve things to a degree where the physical strength aspect wasn’t necessary all the time. Now, in hindsight, she wished she would have listened to her father's wisdom.

Tired and sore, Celia wiped over her face and moved a few thin strands of her ivory hair away from her face. Her emerald orbs slowly drifted from side to side as she carefully dissected the heavy foliage before her, which seemed to be getting thicker here than the previous areas she has passed through. She stopped after a few steps, and listened to the wilderness, searched the heavy foliage for any signs of trouble and exhaled the tension out over her lip. It was safe to proceed.

It was still a month or more before she would reach the College of Winterhold. A place that would help her learn to use and control the gift she was granted. Like her mother, who embraced the special gift given to her solely, her father wanted her to split her training up between the arcane arts and the art of battle, which again was his sole purpose in pushing the training of her body statement. “Well, I still have many nights of the moon passing over my head before I get to Winterhold." she told herself, "If I wish to add the training of my body to my agenda I will,” Celia responded that nagging little inner voice of hers that repeated what her father told her about training her body.

Celia's orbs resumed in their scrutinizing over the heavy foliage as she moved forward, allowing the past to fade back into her memories. She knew why she was out here making this hard journey to the famous College of mages, she wanted to make her mother proud of her, and if she became a force to be reckoned with, then her father would be proud of her as well, for she could protect her people with magic, instead of the sword. She just wanted to please them both for then maybe things at home would be much better than what it was; she grew tired of them walking outside arguing over what would be best for Celia.

“Stop it, Celia!” Her voice broke the silence of the wilderness. “You have to get there first to do any good for your people, and that will not happen if you don’t stay focused upon your surroundings instead of what is in your heart and hopes!” she blasted herself, which was happening more and more on this perilous journey of hers. She stopped once more to get herself under control, to wipe the images and the heartthrob of her emotions away from her mind. “Now, pay attention to your surroundings!” she blasted herself once more.

Her body stopped, her eyes narrowed for just a short distance ahead of her she saw an outline of some kind decaying cottage. She slowly knelt to one knee; her keen sight waved ever so slowly over the dense foliage. Her chest pounded with the beating of her heart; her mind fought against the sound of this beating to the sounds of the surrounding area ... Laughing? ... She Cursed herself now for not listening to her father; for now, she wished she had the battle skill of a warrior along with her arcane magic.

The sound of her beating heart battled the formation of words that she needed for her incantation. Her inner voice still going on about how her father was right all this time, and now she was going to die for her arrogance! Her incantation was completed and readied in case something went wrong, and she needed to get out of the area fast.

Her orbs drifted over the foliage, finding the best way for her to go to get away from these people, even though she was exhausted and that small cottage offered her a place out of the elements, she didn't want any trouble ...

"Well, well, what do we have here boys?" A rough voice echoed out from the small clearing. Celia shot her gaze toward the voice, and fear crept up into her throat for there were the men who were laughing, and now they were gawking at her small elven frame...

 

[SandS13]

The woman was watching. She had been watching for a while. She had seen the elf on the road. Not an elf as she was. She was pale too but with dark hair and dark eyes. Her hair featured long braids with leaves woven into it. Her dark green coat helped her blend into the foliage. The soft leather boots and leather pants rounded out her outfit.

The woman with hair the colour of ivory never noticed her. From tree to tree the wood elf ran silently. Yrlissa was keeping her distance. A lone female on the road was easy prey. She watched her struggle with her pack. She could tell she had been walking for awhile. This elf was a curiosity to her. She wondered what brought her to the road, alone. She wondered where she was walking towards and walking away from.

Unlike this traveler Yrlissa was used to her pack and quiver. She travelled fairly light and the forest gave her what she needed for food and shelter.

Predictably, she could smell them on the breeze. She sighed at the men she saw 'hiding'. They thought they were sneaky and tough. Yrlissa did love men who thought they could threaten women. They always figured they were defenceless. They were always proven wrong.

She waited for them to walk out. Waited for the to openly threaten the elf. Her bow was trained. She licked her lips. The moment one stepped towards the woman she fired, the arrow landing in the ground at his feet.

"Stay your feet..." The tree seemed to call out. "The next one will be into your leg." Her voice was like a warm breeze normally but it had an icy chill. Yrlissa notched another arrow. She hated men who took advantage of women or the forest. Her lip curled and she waited for them to do something stupid. They always did.

 

[AmberStar]

Celia stood, frozen in place, not by fear, but from the requirement of her prepared spell. Well, a little fear filled her gut, but her spell would be lost if she moved about too much. She couldn't wait till she would understand how to control the weave of magic within herself more adequately.

Her emerald orbs floated to the man who spoke. He appeared to be of the rouge-ish type of character. His face was scruffy and fully bearded, and nastily upkeep if he did anything to it at all. He wore badly kept leather armor, and a dagger was pulled and clenched into the fist his lowered hand.

Her gaze drifted over his left shoulder to the other man, who was about the same as the other in comparison to his equipment. He was slightly taller, and broader across the chest then the first human. His face held a glare to it that made Celia shiver, she had seen this look before when the humans raided her village years ago.

She then shifted to the right side where there was a cloaked female, she couldn't get a visual at her face, but the way she held herself told that she was very agile and good with the hand-held crossbow that was at the moment pointing downward. She had an aura of authority about her, but that was just what Celia read into her gaze of the woman.

Celia's gaze drifted back to the frontman and was about to ask if there was something the man needed as if perhaps they needed directions for they were lost, but somehow she didn't think that was the case, and she really didn't want to speak with them at all, but she did want the tension between them to falter in hopes that other opportunities would come into play.

It was all lost when an arrow landed at the man's feet. His screams of another in the woods filled the small area. The two men advanced toward Celia, while the cloaked female faded into the foliage. Celia unleashed the spell she held. A small sphere left her hands and floated a few feet away from her and exploded into a bright white light, she heard the men scream as their eyes felt the searing pain of the white light.

Celia took advantage of the temporarily blinded men to scatter off into the foilage. Her mind raced with what just happened. Where from and who fired that arrow, were they friend or foe to her? Where did the hooded female go? What was she to do? She couldn't outrun them, she was so exhausted the way it was and that spell even took more out of her.

She lowered herself some thirty feet from where she was. Using the heavy foliage to conceal herself, but that female worried her! She lowered herself even more as the fear was now all over her body. Now she wished she was a well-armed warrior!

Celia concentrated and prepared another spell, this one would be more of an aggressive spell but it would only affect one of the men. She would use this spell only if they found her, which they were getting close to her ...

 

[SandS13]

Yrlissa raised her long bow and fired another arrow as the woman let off a spell. It lit up the whole clearing. She just barely turned her head in time to not be blinded by it.

Her arrow hit one of the men in the shoulder and he cried out. They were scrambling trying to find their bearings. Her spell had set them off balance. It was a good spell. Yrlissa smirked and ran off int the trees.

She was above her in the treetops. The woman was below her, running. She could hear her heartbeat, smell her fear. Sometimes heightened senses were blessing. Other times a curse. She could smell the men too as they tried to follow.

Yrlissa stopped and crouched on a branch. Her eyes followed the woman as she tried to hide herself in the foliage. She smirked. It was sweet the way the elf thought she was able to hide herself. The men that chased her knew these woods. She was clearly not used to hiding in woods. They would find her.

She turned her head and fired an arrow off. They were far enough that finding where it came from would be impossible. She heard the man cry out.

Yrlissa dropped silently to the ground not far from where the woman hid. She moved a little closer. "They will find you here. Come. I can help get you away." She whispered it, fearing she might scare the woman.

"I have injured them but they know these woods and they will find you."

She held out a hand. "Come. You can trust me." Dark brown eyes looked down at the elf. She waited to see if the woman was going to take her hand. She looked up. She could hear the men. The scent of the woman was over powering. She couldn't smell them, just the elf. She was light, not earthy like Yrlissa was. "They are coming...quickly. You need to trust me."

 

[AmberStar]

'Calm down!' Celia's inner voice sounded like her mother's. Her mother's tone of voice always seemed to calm Celia's emotional moments of distress. Even in the moment of rage, it only took her mother's touch of hand, and her soft whispers to decline Celia's moment of turmoil to a sheer mood of disapproval.

Celia took in another soft inhale of the fresh foilage scented air, closed her eyes, and focused her inner power in keeping her prepared spell active. She opened her eyes and looked over over the clearing. The men were moving off just slightly from the path that was needed to find her. They were now stalking the one that had to have fired that arrow.

She wanted to help the arrow bearer, for they saved her life, and now she must help them. She couldn't leave her mistake for someone else to bear. She slowly began to rise, but a light sound of a creaking branch from above and behind her stopped her dead in her tracks. Her body trembled with the fear once more. She wanted to look over her shoulder but feared what she would see coming down upon her, like a hawk snatching its gound bearing pray.

Celia jolted, her spell lost as her mind screamed silently within. The feminine voice took her mind to the mysterious cloaked female that was with the band of rogues, but the words spoken to her didn't match to what a rogue-ish foe would have said to her.

She slowly looked over her shoulder and looked into the eyes of one of her racial cousins. Celia blinked in thought before she looked back toward the men that were now returning to the clearing. The woman's words came once again and brought Celia's focus to the wood elf.

She looked at the extended hand and took one last look about the area for that mysterious female, but nothing was about, could this be that mysterious female wanting to trick her surrender so she could just be handed over to the human's without a bruise on her body?

Celia didn't have many optional choices for the elf was already upon her and if she tried anything, a quick launch of a hidden dagger would be the end of it anyhow.

She reached up and took the elf's hand into her own and pushed herself up. "Okay ... " She replied and followed the elven woman.

 

[SandS13]

Yrlissa was relieved as the woman took her hand. She pulled her in close and covered her with her cloak. "Duck." She whispered to the woman.

Another two arrows were shot. One went wide left and the men turned that way. The other also went left and took the men further away. "This way! I heard the bitch over here."

Yrlissa shouldered her bow and grabbed the elf's hand. "Come." She pulled the woman along. They did not make it far before Yrlissa stopped and grabbed the woman's pack from her. "You are too slow."

She shouldered the bag and began pulling the woman along once more. The wood elf was slightly annoyed. This woman was not stealthy. The branches crunched under her feet where Yrlissa's made no sound. She froze. "They are coming."

Yrlissa grabbed the woman and forced her against a tree. She covered them both with her cloak. She could smell the men, their sweat sharp in her nose. She put her head down, forehead against the tree and woman's shoulder under her chin. Her lips were on the woman's ear. "Do not move." She whispered.

"Be very, very still...." Yrlissa pressed against the woman making them as small as they could be.

One heartbeat. Two heartbeats. Three....

The men were passing in the distance. Yrlissa pulled away. "Good. Now come, quietly." Once more Yrlissa began to lead the elf away, opposite where the men had gone.

 

[AmberStar]

Celia didn't know who this elven woman was, but apparently, she wasn't with them, but that didn't mean she was any safer. She was pulled into the woman suddenly, a small gasp escaped over Celia's lips, but then she was covered by the woman's cloak and told to duck down. Celia didn't argue or hesitate, she complied and kneeled down, not making a sound. 'Who was this woman? Why would a wood elf come to the aid of a High Elf? Their two races despised one another for one was considered to be trash of the elven kind.

What was she doing? Celia could tell by the movements and the faint whispering in the wind that she was firing arrows, was that a wise thing to do? Shouldn't they hide and let the thug's loose interest in them and return to their lair?

She heard the yell off in the distance and knew they should have hidden in the deep foliage instead of engaging. Wood Elves were always impulsive and aggressive in nature, where High Elves were considered to be diplomatic and peaceful.

Celia yelped when the stronger elf grabbed her hand and basically dragged her across the forest flooring. A few branches whipped away from the elf and caught Celia across the cheek the sting came first then came the feeling of wetness to her cheek as the branch drew blood.

She was about to ask the elf to stop when the woman did just that, but it wasn't to mend the cut upon her cheek but to grab Celia's backpack and claim that she was too slow. Celia looked withdrawn fearing the wood elf would become hostile.

"Wait!" Celia's words lost to the wind as she was once again grabbed by the hand and pulled along the sparse foliage. She eyed her backpack that was now hanging from the wood elf's shoulder. She had to get her pack back for everything she owned and held dear to her was in that pack.

Celia ran into the elf as the woman came to a sudden stop. The woman's ears were perked up and her face held the expression of concentration. Then just as fast as she stopped she pulled Celia toward her then whipped Celia's petite frame up against the tree, the woman pressed her body up against Celia's and covered them with the cloak.

The scent of earthly divine filled Celia's nostrils, it was a pleasant scent, one that Celia figured she used to help her in concealing herself against unwanted company. Celia also notice the strong and athletic build the woman had for their bodies were smashed together, she could feel the softness of the woman's face against her neck, she could feel the woman's lips upon her ear and the heated breath as she spoke to her. Celia shivered and felt ... awkward for she was never this close to any female except for her mother.

She did as she was told, she kept quiet, she consciously kept her breathing to a low intake of air, while she closed her eyes and lightly licked over her lips. She was fighting the creepy feelings her body was sending to her nervous system, one or two were those of pleasure, but that was absurd! Her mind swayed in confusion.

She was grateful when the elf pulled away, but before Celia could ask who she was, the woman spoke and once again they were moving across the forest flooring toward where ever this elf was taking her. "Who are you!" She finally mustered and spoke up ... "What do you want with me and give me my backpack back!" she spoke and demanded as if she was a little child, which in elf years she was still a baby, in human years she was pressing seventeen years old.

 

[SandS13]

Yrlissa stopped, still holding the woman by the arm. She regarded this elf slowly. Her dark brown eyes moved over her. Top to bottom and back up again with slow deliberateness.

She began to laugh, a light sound like a light rain on leaves. The laughter faded and a slight smirk appeared. "I want less with you than those men do. I trust you are naive enough to think they just wanted help and not to have their way with you before selling you to the highest bidder or worse, leave you broken and used in the mud."

Yrlissa let the woman go but kept her pack on her shoulder. "You are struggling with this pack, which means you aren't used to carrying things any distance. You looked tired on the road which shows you do not travel often by foot if at all and do not know how to pace yourself. This is slowing you down and if we have any hope of staying out of their grasps it is better for me to carry it." She tilted her head. "I am Yrlissa. I am trying to save you from those men. Shall we?"

She turned and began to walk away. "Quickly now and quieter if you please. Less pouting, more moving. Those men mean to harm you." She sighed. She kept her pace slow so the elf could keep up. "And please, keep your voice down or they will hear you." Her own words were soft, just audible over the sounds of the woods.

Yrlissa stopped a moment and looked up. It looked like she was listening to something. "Very well. We must go this way. Come."

 

[AmberStar]

Celia stopped once more, her arm still being held by the wood elf as she waited for an explanation on why they stopped once more. A thin brow slowly arched upward upon Celia's angular face as she watched the wood elf's brown sphere's drift downward then back up a few times obviously taking in her features. Celia shivered from the few possibilities that swept across her mind.

However, those concerns were quickly washed away when the wood elf began to speak with her. The soft laughter insulted her, but the smirk infuriated her, but before Celia could speak her mind, and ask what was so funny, the wood elf began to assassinate her intelligence about the situation with the brigands, even though she did consider for a brief moment before discarding the thought.

She shivered from the images that came to her mind as the wood elf voiced what kind of things those men could have and does want her for, if the elf was trying to scare her, it was working as Celia slowly started to withdraw into herself.

Celia took a few steps back away from the elf and glared at her. "So, if I'm such a burden for you, why don't you just give my stuff back to me and go back where you came from and leave me alone!" Celia tried to push all the anger into her tone in hopes that it made her appear more mature than what she was.

Celia was a little hurt from the criticism she received from the wood elf about all the things she couldn't do. Nobody enjoys being belittled on their shortcomings, and Celia was one of them. She huffed and crossed her arms across her chest and glared at the wood elf when informed that she wasn't getting the pack back yet.

"I don't care who you are!" Celia now showed the childish side once more. "I can handle myself, as I stated before if I'm such a burden to you, why are you even still here? Why do you even care what happens to me? Do you think you'll get an award of some type if you get me away from the brigands?" She ignored the elf's warning about keeping her tone of voice down as she slowly followed the elf down the path.

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/33/ab/90/33ab900e8f54f30f0a87843fb14caee6.jpg

 

[SandS13]

Yrlissa rolled her eyes as the woman began to complain like a child. She ignored her at first but the more she led the woman, the more the woman whine and pouted. Her volume grew louder.

"I said be quiet!" She hissed. Clearly, this elf didn't notice things around her like Yrlissa did. The men were running their way now.

Her hands grabbed the ivory haired, pouting beauty and pushed her down on the ground. She laid herself on top, pulling her cloak over them both. Her hand went over the woman's mouth.

Once more, Yrlissa put her mouth to the woman's ear. "Do not make a noise. I must deal with them." Her body was pressed against the other woman's. She could feel the soft curves under her and for a moment felt almost dizzy with her presence.

Heavy footfalls drew Yrlissa from her distraction. She counted in her head and waited.

Closer...closer...

She was suddenly gone, leaving the woman laying on the ground. The men cried out and heavy thuds could be heard as they hit the ground. One was trying to get up and Yrlissa stood behind him and plunged the dagger into his back. She sighed and hung her head.

"I was trying to avoid killing them. I don't like to take a life if it can be helped."

Her blade vanished and Yrlissa crouched next to her reluctant companion. She held out a hand to help her up.

"You are not a burden. You are a danger in these woods, on that road. You are not trained to defend yourself. I noticed it and most certainly they and others did." She brushed a leaf from the ivory strands of her hair. "No, I seek nothing but to make sure the woods are not spoilt by the likes of them. You would have been and that would have been a shame."

She dropped the woman's pack at her side. "I was trying to protect you. I do not know where you go or where you are from but you are not equipped for a journey." Her voice was gentle now. "They are dead, no danger to you but there will be others."