Sitting Bear's work day was over. He, Erik and Lemkil had tended a mighty crop, and in the months to come it would yield enough food to last the family for another year. Satisfied with his work, Sitting Bear retreated to his space in the Frostfruit Inn, where he opened a book lent to him by Mralki that detailed various Nordic legends and heroes. He was greatly fascinated by the history of this province; Skyrim, it seemed, was indeed the place where heroes were born. Even in the days of the Atmorans, heroes like Ysgramor dominated the history books and proudly represented the dignity of their race. As he sat reading, he quietly sang an old Bosmeri song to himself...
"Sa-mo-ne-ta-wa-wa-wa-wo/Et-tey-shey-na/Wey-yo-na-na-yo-wa-na-hu/Wey-yo-na-na-yo-wa-na-hu/A-no-hey-no-yo-wey-na-hey-ney-no-wa... Wey-yo-na-na-yo-wa-na-hu/Wey-yo-na-na-yo-wa-na-hu/A-no-hey-no-yo-wey-na-hey-ney-no-wa... "
As he read and sang, Sissel shyly entered the room so as to talk with the mysterious visitor whose life she'd saved. She was fascinated by the music he sang to himself; she'd never heard anything of the sort before.
"Oh -- can I help you?" Sitting Bear asked, looking up from his book.
"Just wanted to know how you were doing." Sissel responded quietly, "I like what you were singing. What song is it?"
"An old Silvenar lullaby that my mother would sing to me as a boy. Even in the face of amnesia I can never forget her voice, or her song."
"Do you remember anything else? Like who you really are?"
He shook his head. "No... though I'm slowly remembering more about my lineage. We were a proud people once... if only I knew what became of the Silvenar."
Sissel nodded and noticed a strange weapon laying on his nightstand, which resembled an ax yet was shaped differently. "What's that?"
"My people call it a tomahawk. It is a very versatile tool that can be used to cut wood for fires, or defend the wielder from his enemies. It can even be thrown if used correctly."
"Really? Can I hold it?"
"If you're careful with it, then yes you can."
Sissel picked up and admired the tomahawk: it was top-heavy, yet she could carry it with ease; the handle was laden with traditional Silvenar carvings, and the top piece was decorated by twin hawk feathers; going down the bottom half of the handle were letters that seemed to spell some foreign word...
"Mr. Sitting Bear?" She asked, "What's this say?"
"It says 'Apache'." Bear responded, "It's a Drurel word for 'Enemy'... often a name they used in reference to my people, in ancient days. Some travelers and historians have used it too, when studying our culture... or what little they know of it."
"Why is it written on your tomahawk if it's an insult?"
"I can't yet remember why... I will tell you when I do." Sitting Bear reclaimed his weapon and set it aside. "I want to thank you again for what you did. I don't know what would have happened if you hadn't found me."
"No problem... I didn't think it'd be right to just leave you there. You seemed different from the other grown-ups here."
"How so?"
"I don't know, you just... seem different, that's all."
"Well regardless, it would seem I owe you my life. How might I repay you?"
"Um... can you teach me how to use a bow? I heard that wood elves are really good with them."
"You're wanting to be a hunter?"
"Maybe. I just need to know if I'm any good at it."
"Alright. We still have sunlight left, if you want to try it right now."
"Wow, really??" Sissel beamed, "Awesome!"
And so, Sissel and Sitting Bear set off into the neighboring hills to practice archer. Sitting Bear set aside his quiver and handed Sissel the bow. "See that tree over there? Down the hill, between the other two?"
Sissel nodded. "Yep."
"That will be your target. Draw an arrow from the quiver, pull it back as far as you can, take aim, then let it fly."
Sissel aimed her bow carefully at her target, then sent it flying into the tree bark.
"Good!" Sitting Bear encouraged her, "Now try aiming slightly above that arrow. Try to hit right into that hole in the tree."
"Okay." Sissel took aim again and fired, but missed the hole. "Aww..."
"Try again. Don't be afraid to take your time and calculate your shot."
Sissel drew a third arrow from the quiver, and shot again -- this time hitting her mark exactly. Sitting Bear praised her efforts and clapped. "Great work! You did it!"
"I did it! I did it!" Sissel jumped with joy. "You think I could be a hunter like you someday?"
"Of course I do. You wield the bow like an extension of your own self -- the tell-tale sign of a great hunter to come."
"Thank you so much! Let's do it again!"
"Can't do that, sadly; we're losing daylight fast."
"Aww... well can I try using your tomahawks?"
"You're an eager one, aren't you?" Sitting Bear grinned warmly. "Might as well while we're here. Come, let's practice on that middle tree of ours."
The two approached the tree and Sitting Bear gave Sissel a tomahawk. "Best start with only one. Try cutting into the tree."
Sissel swung at the bark of the tree, but much to her frustration the blade seemed to bounce off of the surface. "It's not working!"
"Come, let me show you." Bear guided Sissel's swings with his hands. "Make sure the blade lands directly on the bark. If it isn't angled correctly, it will deflect off of the tree. Now let's see you try it again." Bear let go to give Sissel free reign again.
"Oh, now I get it!" Sissel swung again, this time successfully chopping the bark away and severing a small limb of the tree.
"Yes, you got it!" Sitting Bear congratulated her. "Now let's get going back to Rorikstead; you and I both need our strength for tomorrow."
"Aww... do we have to?"
"I'm afraid so, little one."
"Oh... fine."
The two of them began their walk back to Rorikstead, and continued to talk along the way. Sissel detailed her miserable life; how her father would beat her, and her sister would do much of the same. She wished aloud that she could be an adventurer, so that she could see far-off lands... and escape the torment that was her family. Feeling pity, Sitting Bear followed her all the way to Lemkil's farmhouse and walked with her inside. Not expecting the company, Lemkil angrily approached his daughter's friend.
"You're not supposed to be here!" He growled, "Get out of my house!"
"Your daughter is weary and afraid of you. I will tuck her in to let her feel safe 'till morning."
"Oh, she's afraid of me? That good-for-nothing little runt? She should be! And so should you!"
"I have nothing to fear from you. Leave us be and sleep in peace."
"Get out of my--"
Sitting Bear swiftly put a hand to Lemkil's neck and stared him down with a bitter glare. He did not harm the man, however; his statement had been made, and hurting him would serve no purpose. But he would not spare the foolish white man his words. "You should be grateful that your lineage shall see another age. Few in this land of war can ever know the privilege of parenthood. It is a gift -- do not take it for granted. Your forefathers will curse your name in the other world, and the spirits will never cease to burden your soul. Not even in death." Sitting Bear then released Lemkil from his grip, and the old man fell terrified to the ground. There was that look again, Lemkil thought to himself -- the eyes of a savage killer. The eyes that seemed to pierce his very soul each time they glared into his own eyes. What was it about this wood elf that frightened him so much...?
Sissel climbed into her bed and Sitting Bear tucked her in. "Is there anything more you need before I return to the inn?"
"Can you tell me a bedtime story?"
"A bedtime story... let me think... ah, I know of one: Coyote and Bobcat Scratch Each Other."
"What's that story?"
"It goes like this:
Coyote was traveling along. Badger always used to carry darkness on his back. Coyote met him. "My cross-cousin, what's in the bag you carry?" he asked. He was hungry and he thought Badger had food in his sack. Because he thought there was food in there, Coyote wanted to stay around where Badger was and maybe get something to eat. So the two traveled on together for a way. Then Coyote was thinking he would offer to carry the load and let Badger rest. After quite a while Coyote said, "My cross-cousin, you look tired. You have a heavy load there. Why don't you let me carry it and you rest ?" "No, I'm not tired. I always travel this way," Badger said. After a while Coyote said again, "My cross-cousin, I think you are tired. Let me carry the load for you just a little way and you rest for a while." "All right, you carry this, my bed, if you want. I know you are thinking it's something to eat, but it's not. I carry this always. I'll let you have it, though." "I'm just saying this because I want to carry it for you and because you are giving out. I will carry it a little way," Coyote answered."
Sissel's eyes started to close, but she simply had to hear more of the story.
"So Badger took his pack off and gave it to Coyote and they started on again. After a while Coyote said to Badger, "I want to stop to urinate behind this bush. You keep on ahead and don't bother to wait for me." So Badger went on ahead. As soon as Coyote got behind the bush he started to untie the pack, as that was all he wanted to do in the first place. When he untied the pack, it started to get dark. Darkness was all coming out. Coyote got scared and hollered after Badger, "wa-'a, my cross-cousin, I'm having a bad time here. It must be that you are packing bad things with you. I can hardly see at all." Badger came back and said, "I told you not to open my pack. Now you have done it and started this. I already told you that there was no food in it. You have done something bad." Then Badger spread his arms and gathered in all the darkness and shoved it into the sack again, tying the mouth tight. Coyote felt mad on account of being fooled and said "You just carry badness." Badger went on by himself. After a while he met Porcupine; The two sat down and told stories about old times. Badger said, "I was living when the sky fell out onto the earth," and he set his pack down. "That's quite a while ago but I was living before that," said Porcupine. "I was living when the sky and the earth were rubbing together. Do you know about the time when that happened ? Which of us is older now ?"
Images danced through Sissel's sleepy head, of Badger and Coyote's misadventure.
"Later Coyote started on his way and met Bobcat. They stopped to talk to each other. Then they said, "Let's scratch each other's back in turn and see who has the sharpest claws." Bobcat said, "I have no claws," He had claws all right, but they were sheathed so you could not see them. "Let me see!" said Coyote. Bobcat let him look and it seemed as if he had no claws at all. Then Coyote let Bobcat look at his claws and there was far more of them showing than of Bobcat's. "If I scratch your back nothing will happen. It will just pull a little hair and skin off you. But if you scratch my back, you will rip me right down," Bobcat said. "I want you to scratch me first," Bobcat said. "No" Coyote said, "you come first." Finally after a long argument Coyote thought it would be all right to do it first, because he thought this was going to be an easy game for him. He told Bobcat to sit up so he could scratch him from neck to tail. When he was ready Coyote raked him down the back as hard as he could and pulled a lot of fur and hide off Bobcat's back. '"Eye'ya-, you hurt me, my cross-cousin, on my back," Bobcat said. Coyote just laughed at him and thought it was funny. It really did not hurt Bobcat at all, but he made believe it did. Now it was Bobcat's turn, and Coyote sat with his back to him. "My finger nails are not long, you will just barely feel them," Bobcat said. But when he got ready, he unsheathed his claws and gave Coyote a terrible rake with them, all down his back, taking off hide and flesh. Coyote jumped up and yelled, "You have killed me, my cross-cousin!"
Sitting Bear kept a watchful eye at the door for any sign of Lemkil or his abusive daughter, but both left him and Sissel in peace.
"Further on Skunk and Bear were sitting together, telling stories. Bear said to Skunk, "You stink too much where your rear end is." Skunk said, "You stink too much where your rear end is." They argued about it for a while and then said, "Let's see who is the worst one to stink. We will both try it and see which is the best at this." Skunk said, "I think that I am the best one. Come here and smell me." But Bear said, "When I break wind it is the most powerful. I think I am best." They kept on arguing, each saying he was the best one to make a bad smell. "It will knock you over, the smell I make," each said. "All right, you try it first!" said one "No, you try it first!" Finally they agreed and Skunk said, "I will put my head close to your buttocks so I will smell you well." Bear started now and blew out hard, all he had, ka+, ka+, ka+ it went and made a terrible smell. Skunk stuck his nose in the ground and shook himself. He got out of the way as quick as he could. After a while he recovered and came back, saying, "My cross-cousin, I think you are the best. You smell the worst, but I will try all the same to make a worse one." So Bear put his nose by Skunk's buttocks. Now Skunk started to squirt and blow out at the same time. It was terrible and when Bear smelt it he stuck his nose in the ground. It was as if he had had his senses knocked out. It pretty near killed him."
Sissel giggled as the story ended. "That was funny." She yawned. "Thank you, Sitting Bear. Goodnight."
"Sleep with the spirits." Sitting Bear rose from Sissel's bed and left Lemkil's farmhouse. A warm paternal feeling came over him as he returned to the Frostfruit Inn; he'd given light to a child's life, when all other lights seemed dim. A genuine smile spread across his face as he lay in his bed, reflecting on the evening...
