U.O.T.W. Chapter 51 The Great Rock Hunt

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    It was almost pitch black in the room. The only light source was from an oil lantern which was turned right down low. Silently a slim figure in the shape of a girl crept towards the bed. She stealthily climbed over Sotek who was sleeping peacefully and positioned herself against the wall before resting her boots against the middle of his back. The next moment she shoved him violently sideways.

    “Get up, get up, shiifftt”. With a crash, Sotek woke up suddenly, finding himself lying on the wooden floor next to Aela’s bed. She was peering over the edge of her bed looking down at him with a big grin on her face. She didn’t look sorry at all despite having only just  pushed him on to the floor. “Oh good your awake! Get up, I wanna try my bow out”. She then bounded over him, and headed out of her room. that’s when it occurred to him that she was already dressed.

     

    Fearing for his stomach, and still reeling over the sudden awakening, he quickly put his armor on then headed upstairs just to hear a voice cry out at him.

    “Forget breakfast, your too late! Come on”. Aela was already at the main door with her bow in hand and a quiver full of steel arrows.

     

    Sotek snatched two apples from the wooden fruit bowl and hid them in his pockets. As he approached Aela, she tugged down on his chin forcing his mouth to open. She then shoved an apple in between his jaws like he was a stuffed pig. She then patted him on the head as she smirked at him.

    “Good boy!”.

     

    Sotek’s lip curled upwards as he growled at her. While he munched greedily on the first apple he sped up his pace allowing him to follow Aela outside. Realism hit him immediately as his eyes tried to take in Whiterun’s skyline.

    “Aela it’ss sstill dark”. All he could do now was just stare at her in disbelief.

     

    “Oh not for long, come on”. She got behind him and started to push him towards the main gate.

     

    Three thoughts simultaneously entered his head.

    I want my bed. I want breakfast. I’ve created a monster. He gave out a heavy sigh then made his way to the gate while Aela who was literally acting like an exited child, bounced around him with her new favorite toy.

     

    As they left Whiterun, the sky had only started to brighten. Aela triumphantly pointed towards the east to justify Sotek’s awakening.

    “See dawn already”.

     

    Sotek rolled his eyes at her as one last thought formed in his mind. ‘Well at least she’s happy’.

    They traveled along the plains slowly making their way towards the north west of Whiterun. Due to the fact that he was still feeling somewhat tired, Sotek stopped by a small stream which trickled down the slopes to join the bigger river which laid to the west. He knelt down and scooped up several handfuls of water which he used to wash his face to try to wake himself up a bit more. He felt more alert for doing it but he wasn’t as alert as he should have been.

     

    Before Sotek even saw it, an arrow sliced past him and struck a Mudcrab which was slowly moving towards him. The arrow burst through its shell with a loud ‘Crack’ and pinned the corpse of the crab to the ground. Sotek walked up to it then collected the leg and retrieved the arrow back. A few seconds later a mudcrab shot past him, where Aela had shot it and the momentum of the impact literally launched it into the air.

    “Well, I’m not chasing that one”. He stated jestingly as he glanced at Aela.

     

    She however wasn’t in the mood for his mucking about. Sotek knew this to be a fact by the way she was leering at him.

    “Wake up!”

     

    Sotek quietly hissed his response which caused her to grin at him.

    “I will when it’s dawn…” His attention was taken away from her as he saw a third crab in the corner of his eye.

     

    Summoning up his bow, he took aim then after holding his breath, he fired. The conjured arrow flew a few feet above the ground and hit dead centre resulting in a loud thud resonating  from where he had struck his intended target.

    Aela burst out laughing causing four rabbits nearby to break cover and run for the rocky terrain as they searched for any nook or cranny which they could hide in for relative safety.  

    “Nope, that’s a rock again”. She stated while a solitary ‘Thump’ came from Sotek’s tail as it slammed down.

     

    She then saw a stag to the south in the distance. Instantly she calmed right down as she whispered across to Sotek.

    “Looks like deer’s are back on the menu. This’ll cheer Tilma up no end”. Her breathing became expertly controlled as she took careful aim. She watched her prey for a few seconds, then fired. The arrow shot through the air at ridiculous speed, completely overshooting the stag. The arrow was last seen flying way over the top of its target.

     

    Sotek laughed at her face which was more than surprised.

    “Well, Little Mrs. Fancy Pants isn’t the crack shot everybody thought she is. Maybe I should take my bow back”. He then reached out for the bow while she stood there half stunned, just staring at the deer.

     

    “Don’t you bloody dare” She snapped as she glared at him like a kid does when their toy is under threat from being taken away. Her head turned as she looked back at the stag. “I missed, I missed by miles”. All she could do was gawk at it as she shook her head, muttering to herself.

     

    “Aela, you never used a bow like that, you aimed too high. It’s a lot more potent than you think”. Sotek glanced over at the stag as he tried to work out the distance. As he had practiced with the bow for a few hours he had a far better idea of it’s true potential. “It’s still there, aim about three feet above it”.

     

    Aela disagreed entirely with his seemingly ridiculous proposal.

    “Three feet? That’s 200 yards away. It‘ll miss”.

     

    “Try it. Sheesh”. He walked up to her and spoke softly as his hand slid across her back to attach itself to her waist. “Try it, three feet”.

     

    She took aim and fired the arrow as Sotek had suggested despite her instinct telling her that the arc was wrong. The arrow flew through the air way too low for Aela’s liking but over the long distance it gradually dropped. Then started it’s downwards decent and slammed into the stag. The stag was sent sprawling across the ground. It died on impact having instantly burst into flames as well as receiving massive amounts of ice damage at the same time.

     

    Aela’s jaw nearly dropped to the floor as she cackled to herself like some red haired lunatic. Once she calmed down slightly she thumped Sotek playfully in the arm.

    “Bloody hell and Oblivion, you guessed that perfectly”. She stated as she smiled at him. She was pleased he was actually improving, far more than she thought he initially would.

     

    Sotek tutted at her as he drew his dagger to skin the deer.

    “Don’t sound so surprised!”

     

    She couldn’t help herself. A low snigger escaped her lips as she quickly turned her back to him. Sotek huffed in response although he was still smiling even when he saw her shoulders start to shake due to her suppressed laugh. A few hundred yards away, Aela noticed something which quickly took her attention, an old tree about two hundred yards in the distance. She dropped her pack by a large rock, before pointing to it.

    “Here you go, I packed you some food”. Then she drew an arrow and aimed at the tree. Sotek eagerly sat on the rock and started eating, while he watched Aela for a few hours as she got herself acquainted with the bow. When she went to recover the arrows she spotted another deer. This one was a doe, she readied an arrow but just as she was going to fire, she lowered the bow to the ground.

     

    “Here, you have a go”. She handed him the bow then watched him take aim. “Control your bloody breathing…Stop”. Sotek sighed then lowered the bow as he prepared himself for another telling off. “Your footings all wrong. Take your time”. Aela shook her head as she muttered to herself as she watched him prepare to fire a second time. He steadied his breathing as she had instructed then fired. The arrow flew off through the air but missed it’s intended target by yards. Moments later they both saw a tree beyond the deer explode in flames. “Oh well done, you great nit”. She snatched the bow back off of him as she laughed. “Watch me”. She took aim then fired. Sotek watched in awe as the arrow struck the deer perfectly. The single shot killed it instantly let alone the elemental damage which was inflicted as well.

     

    She tilted her head slightly at him as she muttered under her breath.

    So, you can work the range, well that’s something I suppose”.

     

    As they got near the body, Aela suddenly dived for cover calling out to Sotek.  

    “Get down”. He followed her lead without question. “Over there, bandits. It’s an old iron mine, they must be using it for a camp”.

     

    “Iron mine? Any iron left?” Sotek asked. He always needed gold and here was a good opportunity to make some, provided there was still some ore left to mine.

     

    “Probably, shall we take ‘em out?”

     

    “You know damn well you want to”. He laughed. “Give your bow a good work out”. With that she crept closer, moving to a higher location.

     

    Aela summed up how many bandits there would be, then she forewarned Sotek.

    Three bandits outside, say three maybe four inside”. She took aim at the one on the walkway, then she fired. Within a few seconds her target was thrown back a few feet by the impact and burst into flames like he was struck by a fireball. She couldn’t get over the power of the Dragonbone bow. “Bloody hell, Sotek, this is amazing”. She fired off another arrow at a bandit who was turning around on a chair to see what had just happened. The shot killed him on impact as it slammed into his chest. The power of the shot was such that it threw him backwards tipping him off the chair. He disappeared from sight as he slid down the platform ramp into the dirt below.

     

    The third bandit had enough. Not even having the slightest idea where the shots were coming from, he broke cover and ran to the cave. Running as fast as he could, he only just managed to the entrance. The safety of the mine was just a mere few seconds away when he was struck in the back. The force from the impact added to his momentum sent him tumbling into the mine entrance door with a great thud. He bounced backwards and fell upon the ground with the Dragonbone arrow protruding through his chest.

     

    “Yaay three for three”. Aela cried out, then she headed towards the camp. Sotek couldn’t help but feel impressed with her shooting, each hit a perfect kill. Once they entered the camp, Sotek started looting the bodies. He also collected anything that’s worth  selling from  around the campsite. Although there wasn’t a great deal there, he did manage to find a few scrolls and a couple of gems from bags as well as a few gold coins on the tables. Once he was happy with the search they headed inside.

     

    The old mine had a musty, damp smell as they passed through the entrance. Aela took point as they stealthily headed down the main tunnel. At various spots torches burned brightly, mounted in holders along the walls. Up ahead, in the semi darkness they could see a bandit with his back to them. One thing they didn’t have to worry about was any noise they might have made, as he was singing loudly completely out of tune. He mined a node of iron ore, hitting it with an old pickaxe. At least he was until Aela’s arrow knocked him off his feet. Once again she had managed to kill a bandit with a single arrow.

     

    Aela stood over the body but as she did so her eyes betrayed her instantly. The wolf in her literally screamed to get out. She quickly glanced at Sotek then turned and started to head deeper inside. After a few paces she noticed Sotek wasn’t following so she turned back to see him sitting on an old barrel next to the corpse of the bandit they had just killed.

    “Ermm what’s up?” She could tell he wasn’t overly happy by the way he was looking at her.

     

    “I thought we were ok, I  thought we were sorted. What I thought was that we had a… Understanding”. As he spoke he looked up at her standing there.

     

    “Sorry, I’m not sure what you’re on about”. She thought back to them hitting the camp. Everything was fine with him until she killed the last bandit.

     

    Sotek got up and walked over to her. As he talked to her he poked her in the chest, forcing her back slightly.

    “You got, or rather had, the same look as you did when you went in that troll cave by yourself. So why haven’t you changed? If this, between us is going to work out, I have to be me. I can’t be anyone else, and you…” As he spoke he pulled her arm causing her to spin around. Then as quick as a flash he smacked her on the backside. The next moment he raised his voice in total disregard to their circumstance and promptly told her off. “You have to be you, so stop pretending, stop fighting it, be you”. With that he simply started heading further down into the mine. Then he stopped and looked behind at her.

     

    Aela just stood there looking at him. She was still unsure of how he actually felt but something inside her decided to take a chance. Moments later she started to change. Over the course of a few seconds, she grown in height while her mass increased three times her weight. Long sharp claws protruded from her red furred paws as saliva dripped from her fangs.

     

    Sotek blatantly walked up to her. As he looked at her right in her face he pointed to himself.

    “Good guy!” Moments later he pointed into the depths of the mine. “Bad guys”. Finally he tapped her in the chest, saying one word at a time for empathizes. “Don’t… Eat… The… Good… Guy…” Only then did he step back allowing her unhindered access to the rest of the mine.

     

    As she gave out a deafening roar, voices deep within the mine cried out in panic. Dropping to all fours she charged further in, killing anyone she came across in a blood feed frenzy. Sotek walked behind slowly like he was out on an evening stroll, looting what remains he found. Using the pickaxe he collected from the dead bandit he mined a few iron nodes which he had came across as he made his way along the tunnels.

     

    By the time he got to the main chamber, Aela, who was grinning like a cat who got the cream, was sitting on a table with her legs gently swaying back and forth. Her armor, hair and especially her face was smothered in blood from her feasting. She held her head back while her eyes were closed. As she sat there she listened to her surroundings. She could feel her heart still hammering in her chest. Her breathing was fast and erratic but gradually it slowed as she regained control. Sotek found an old bowl, then passed it over to her. She took it quick enough although she had a bewildered look on her face.

    Sotek pulled out two flasks of water from his pack along with a cloth.

    “Clean yourself up, god you’re a messy eater”. Then he smiled at her, letting her know he was fine with who she really was. She sheepishly said thanks then took the flasks.

     

    While she washed off the blood from her face, Sotek searched around. He found a few more gems and a few oddities for selling. He had also found an old pair of black boots and a scruffy dirty white miners shirt, both of which he kept for himself.

     

    Aela soon joined in the search but they found little else of interest, the previous miners had already cleared out the cavern before they evacuated it. Once Sotek mined the last few iron nodes, they divided up what Sotek had collected for ease of carrying although Sotek bore the blunt of the two deer carcasses. The instant they stepped outside, the sudden change from the gloomy caves to the sun rising over the mountain forced Sotek to stop as his eyes had some trouble readjusting.

    “Are you ok?”. Aela asked as she watched Sotek blink heavily.

     

    He didn’t reply but he just nodded instead. Once he could focus better he gave her a smile to reassure her that he was genuinely alright. Then he took the lead as they headed off back to Whiterun.

     

    When they got back, Aela helped Sotek with all the goods they had collected. They visited each trader one by one until all of Sotek’s wheeling’s and dealing’s were completed. From there they headed into Jorrvaskr.

     

    On entering the hall a whelp approached them.

    “I killed two wolves today, did you get anything? Oh you killed two deer”.

     

    Aela stood silent waiting for Sotek to answer. Sotek however hung the two deer on large meat hooks which lay  to the side of the doorway. He then smiled mischievously as he pointed to Aela.

    “Aela took out a bandit camp! I… Ah, I killed a rock”. Then he smiled at her.

     

    “A rock? You can’t kill a rock”. The whelp stated as she looked at him like he was half crazy.

     

    Aela backed her up.

    “You didn’t actually kill it you know”.

     

    Sotek just smirked at them both.

    “No but its mortally wounded. Tomorrow I’ll take a big hammer and finish it off”. Then he and Aela headed downstairs leaving the whelp totally confused.

     

     

Comments

9 Comments   |   ShyGuyWolf and 1 other like this.
  • Sotek
    Sotek   ·  March 31, 2016
    Fixed the corrections.
    When they both go hunting, that's when they can be themselves and leave the troubles of the world behind. this is one aspect of their relationship which I pay attention to. At least I hope I do.
  • Sotek
    Sotek   ·  March 31, 2016
    How the hell did  I miss corrections already laid out for me?
    On it....
  • Relycs
    Relycs   ·  March 31, 2016
    Good to see them on the hunt again. The freedom of those moments really helps and strengthens their relationship.
  • FlameLord
    FlameLord   ·  October 10, 2015
    Just 3 errors
    1.She then patted hi on the head as she smirked at him. Patted 'him' not hi
    2.A few seconds later a mudcrab shoot past him. Should be shot
    3.Iron mine, any iron left?” Sotek asked. He always needed gold and here was a good ...  more
  • Sotek
    Sotek   ·  July 11, 2015
    Well they've had a bit of a rough time lately. They have baths Lissette I assure you.
  • Exuro
    Exuro   ·  July 11, 2015
    Sotek be like: Don't mind me, just hunting rocks and taking the wolf for a stroll. It was a happy night of reading for me; Sotek and Alea hunting together, and Shin feeling his oats slaughtering the dead in dank tunnels and having.. vivid dreams.
    Li...  more
  • The Long-Chapper
    The Long-Chapper   ·  July 9, 2015
    Hehe, isn't it always? 
  • Sotek
    Sotek   ·  July 9, 2015
    They swam in the lake the other day lol. Someone once pointed out something to me about the Dragonscale armor and weapons. Here's a fact to remember... Sotek stated that it was a lost art untill now... . They were well over due a break from all the stress...  more
  • The Long-Chapper
    The Long-Chapper   ·  July 9, 2015
    It is a nice thing in relationships when you can be yourself, but wow, Aela really needs a bath. Some waterskins and a bowl aren't gonna cut it. LOL, tell Tilma to fill up a water barrel and throw the girl in!
    This one made me smile. Nice to see the...  more