Sotek was the first up so he took it upon himself to cook them both breakfast. He first cut a few splints of wood from a nearby sapling before hanging a couple of pieces of deer on them and proceeded to cook them over the fire. Soon the smell of cooking venison spread out around the camp causing Aela’s nose to twitch.
Sotek saw it through the corner of his eye so he sat back and watched as the smoky trails of the meal wafted across Aela’s face. Her nose twitched a second time making Sotek chuckle as her face started screwing up in response to the scent.
As if she was a machine her eyes flicked open and she was instantly awake.
“Mmm smells good”. She stated as she sat herself up.
“It'll be ready soon. Did you sleep well?” Sotek asked as he gazed across at her.
“Yes, yes I did thank you”. She smiled as she thought about the previous night until her mind turned to the task at hand and the days hunting.
After they ate, she took him to a particular spot she often hunted. Looking up at the clear sky, Sotek could see the hawks slowly circling above.
Aela spent the next few moments studying Sotek as he gazed upwards at the birds which seemed to torment him by darting down a few feet just to gaud him into action. She smirked to herself then decided to get the training started.
“Right!!! First off, lose off a few arrows. Let’s see what I got to work with”. Aela stated as Sotek readied his bow.
He fired off five arrows completely missing the hawks. After several attempts he lowered his bow as his shoulders sunk while his eyes stayed fixed on one hawk in particular who lazily flew just above the treetops overhead. He turned to Aela who was smirking at him and groaned bitterly.
“They could at least pretend to be scared of me”.
Aela chuckled as Sotek groaned but then she gave him some words of encouragement.
“Shooting up is hard. The arrows slow down a lot faster and wind shear affects them far more. Hitting a moving target is hard as well… You have to see where it will be when your arrows reach it, not where it actually is when you fire”.
The next few hours were spent firing arrows just to watch the different arcs, and wind shear. Afterwards when Aela felt that he was ready she talked him through his timing. A few hours later Sotek had three hawks lying dead at his feet. He then started to clip some feathers and cut off their beaks.
“What’s that for?” Aela asked being somewhat curious.
“Alchemy… These are useful for potions”. Sotek replied as he stored the ingredients in his pack.
Aela smiled at Sotek then she looked up at the sky and pulled out her bow. She fired twice in quick succession. To Soteks amazement both shots each struck a hawk. She collected the bodies then past them over to him. He gratefully accepted them then started to clip their wings as well. On the horizon past the plains something took Aela’s attention. “Time to go there’s a storm coming”. She stated.
Sotek glanced at where she was watching but all he could see was a mist in the distance.
“How do you know?” He tried but he couldn’t see anything to resemble a storm.
Pointing to the mist she stated. “You see that mist there, in the distance? It’s not a mist, it’s a blizzard. It’ll be here in about two hours”.
Within ten minutes they were packed up and heading back to Whiterun, heading home. When they got back to Jorrvaskr, Aela sought out the Harbinger.
Kodlak breathed a sigh of relief thankful that at least Aela hadn’t killed Sotek. The fact that the Argonian was still able to walk was to be considered nothing else but a bonus.
“Well, how did it go?” He asked hoping things went well.
“I owe you an apology. My behavior lately has been…” She paused not entirely sure how to carry on.
The Harbinger spared her from her own torment.
“Aela your spirit dances like a flame, we all know this” sighing as he spoke. “How are things with Sotek?”
“Sotek!!! Oh god he’s so bloody minded and stubborn. Everyone thinks he’s so useless, but inside he’s so bloody competent and capable. So sure of himself… I hate it”.
“Why?”
“Huh?” She lost track of the conversation the moment she started thinking about Sotek.
“Why do you hate it?”
“Oh hell I dunno. he’s just so bloody… Aaarrrhhh”. She shouted out, due to her frustration at not being able to explain anything boiled over.
The Harbinger gave her a slight hug as he whispered to her. “Aela, Aela, Aela”. His voice always seemed to be able to sooth her temper as he usually found he needed to. He was always able to balance her emotions and calm her down even when she was just little except for the most extreme cases. “Do you think he’s able to take on work yet?” He whispered softly as to try to maintain the balance of calmness.
Aela slightly nodded.
“Yes but not by himself, not yet” she was speaking calmly again as her temper had now diminished.
“Good... Tomorrow you and Farkas have some bandits to take care of. I want you to take Sotek with you.” He then waited for the explosion which was her usual trait. But surprising him totally, she didn’t.
“Yes harbinger, we’ll sort them out, and we’ll go easy on Sotek.”She then turned around and headed to the hall.
Sotek was in the main hall sitting on the steps watching the fire pit so Aela approached him first. “No tasks for you tomorrow, your with me and Farkas. We have a bandit lair to deal with”. She then turned to Farkas calling out to him. “Get some rest, we leave early”. With that she made her way to her room to prepare for the assignment ahead.
Have you missed the previous chapter ?
Chapter 19: http://goo.gl/4PZwAZ
if you have any suggestions feel free to mention them in the comments and upvotes are appreciated.
Uceph you thieving scum. this is my story I started writing in December 2012. How dare you steal my work written for my wife when she was having cancer treatment.
I demand this story is taken down and that your account is banned from here!!!
Sotek Loyal Hound of Hircine
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