Aura was running frantically, her footsteps heavy, crunching the thick snow under her booted feet. The wind kicked up, blowing snow and ice against her pale face and pushing her hair tie out of her long white locks. She muttered something under her breath, but no one other than her would even understand what she said.
It appeared as though she was running from nothing, but after a few moments, a very persistant snow bear came barreling over the horizon after her. With trembling hands she felt she had the time to reach for her Falmer bow and ready an arrow. The arrow shot through the air, cutting through it like the sharpest knife.
Bullseye-- almost. The snow bear staggered for a moment, shaking off the arrow from its shoulder. It slowed down significantly, but it appeared determined to punish Aura for tresspassing near its lair.
A foreign curse word slipped past her lips, the bear getting closer. Why did she have to panic? Why did she have to run way from the one safe place she knew of? Now she was going to die here for no good reason other than her defiance! The past few months flashed before her eyes as she feared the bear would take her life. Even as the bear caught up to her and raised a paw to knock her down and finish her off, she shot one more arrow in desperation, not even sure if she aimed it right...
Pop! The bear fell over on its side. The last arrow had pierced it through the eye plunging deep into its brain, the fletching barely visible.
Aura sighed, falling onto her rump in the snow, catching her breath and setting her bow on the ground next to her. How far had that bear chased her? It felt like at least two miles. Actually, it felt like 10 miles because of the Paladin armor she had decided to "borrow" from Gelebor. It was a full set except for a missing helmet. Needless to say, it was heavy as Oblivion. She hadn't done a whole lot of sprinting when Gelebor was teaching her archery in the Vale. She was also carrying some animal furs; a Vale Deer hide and a Vale Sabre Cat pelt. She thought they might be worth something since Gelebor mentioned that they could only be found in the Vale.
She was, however, beginning to regret her decision to leave. She didn't completely believe her Falmer kin or Gelebor when they said that Skyrim was harsh and unforgiving... and she had a feeling she was going to discover more of that trait among not only the landscape, but the people.
But, it was too late to turn back. She had run so far east, she couldn't see the mountains on the West side of Skyrim where Darkfall cave was. She decided she had to keep going until she found some kind of shelter. So, she stood up and dusted the snow off her backside and picked up her bow. She sheathed it on her back for now, but she was on the lookout for any more bears or anything that would try to kill her.
Off in the distance, she saw a very strange looking bridge. It looked like there were also some buildings around it. There could be shelter there or she could be hunted like the rest of her ancestors.
She decided to head for the bridge and perhaps hide under it. It wasn't long before she saw some kind of skirmish happening. She kept her distance and went around the trouble. When she came to a carriage path, she pulled a hood up from under the collar of her armor over her snowy hair. She tried to nonchalently pass by a one-eyed Nord man driving the carriage with what looked like a child in tow. She was wishing that Gelebor had spent more time teaching her stealth. It was incredibly difficult not to stare, for she had never seen another race besides the Falmer or Snow Elf. Sure, she had seen illustrations of Ysgramor and his Nordic followers slaughtering her ancestors many eras ago, but never a real life...
Crunch...
She stepped on a hidden stick in the snow. Fearing she had been discovered (,though in all likelihood she was not as suspicious looking as she felt,) she made a beeline to the underside of the odd looking bridge. Looking over her shoulder a few times, she finally sat down, leaning against the cold stone of the rather awe inspiring structure. Nothing like the Dwemer ruins, but it was... pleasing to look at.
She said something to herself in her Falmer tongue, finally feeling somewhat safe to relax.
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