open // you wanna get out

[ISOBEL AURIEL .]

run run away, don't let him mess with your mind .

She had been running since Whiterun. If she hadn't been so tired she would have enjoyed the irony of that statement as she sank on to the steps of Vilemyr Inn. In her satchel were orders for the soldiers camped just south of Iverstead. She was glad that she'd made it to the inn just as the sun was setting. she could have pushed on through the night, but the Rift was home of the thieves guild. Isobel was not foolish enough to be wandering around at night just asking to get her satchel stolen. It was hard enough to keep a wary eye during the day, let alone when her vision was impaired at night. There were spells for that sort of thing, but they were hardly restoration spells, and would really only attract more attention. Once she had caught her breath, she stood. Brushing off her fur armor, she pushed open the door to the inn. She acquired a room for the evening. She dropped her pack in the room, but kept the satchel with the orders on her person. She was not about to leave those anywhere away from her. It had been a while since she'd been to Iverstead, and though she was tired, she was also restless. Out in to the cold Skyrim air she headed once again, She would just take a quick walk down the streets of the little village. It would be quick, then she would settle back on the porch of the inn till she was ready to sleep. She kept her grip tight on her shield as she walked. Her sword arm looped around the satchel just in case. East of Whiterun a majority of the people supported the Stormcloaks. Not that she was boasting her Imperial status, and for that reason, but she was clearly not the hunter she dressed like. As much as she tried to force herself to blend in, she carried herself like a soldier. The way that she walked, the way she stood, the cadence of her voice were all very indicative of her occupation. Thankfully it seemed to be a quiet night. Aside from the guards, who nodded at her as they passed on their patrols, she did not run in to any thing suspicious. When she had looped around the little village three times, she settled back on the stairs of the inn. Her body wanted her to go lay down and get a little bit of sleep, but her brain was still rapid firing. It would b impossible for her to get to sleep. There was nothing else really to do except sleep or sit here on the porch staring out at the night. One leg bounced nervously. No, her brain was definitely not ready to sleep yet. So sit on the steps and stare at nothing it was. It was not a bad way to spend the evening. If she still was not ready to sleep in a few minutes, she would resume her laps around Iverstead. She was just a little worried the guards would get suspicious about that.

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word count - 519. tag- open . blah, crappy first post .

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[Elmira Whitestone .]

Her day had been a long one.

Sitting on the back of her mare loosely, Elmira scanned the area while she rode into the outskirts of the small town of Ivarstead, locating each end every person she could see, the buildings and every other possible bit of knowledge she could obtain from her sight. Though she generally preferred solitude and the wilderness to any towns, Elmira was still human. Sometimes you really needed to make contact with something that would actually talk back to you, which unfortunately her animals could not.

But coming here fulfilled much more than the inborn desire for human companionship. Yes, Elmira had of course heard of the Greybeards that resided upon High Hrothgar though she had never actually seen the place herself. What she had grown up knowing had never really had any effect on her until the dragons started to show up again. Once they had, she remembered the whispers of these men knowing certain shouts and the like. Her quest was to become a member of the legendary Blades, though she wasn’t even sure they existed anymore. Exactly the reason she was making her way to High Hrothgar. In the back of her mind, was the thought that they might know where the Blades were…or if there were any left. If she was mistaken, then she would go a different direction in search for this long forgotten organization.

Unfortunately it would be dark before she managed to make it to High Hrothgar, and so she would need to stop somewhere for the night. Even if she would prefer to sleep out under the stars, Elmira couldn’t deny that she really was craving companionship, and Esper, her horse, was noticeably weary to the point of stumbling over things she normally wouldn’t. If nothing else, her mare could use a night of pampering, and so she would stop for the night before making her way up the thousand steps to High Hrothgar.

Reining the mare up when she made it to the inn, Elmira dismounted, resisting the urge to groan when her feet finally hit the ground. It seemed as if she hadn’t left the saddle in days. Standing beside her mare for a moment, Elmira patted the neck of her mare lightly, who promptly rested her head on her masters arm and sighed wearily. “We’ll get you a place to stay for the night mare.”, she said affectionately, before stepping back, removing her bow from where it was strapped to her saddle, and lifted it to string over her shoulder.

Dropping the reins and ground tying her mare, Elmira turned and made her way onto the porch of the Inn, her ice wolf trotting at her heels. While she walked, Elmira noticed the woman sitting there on the porch. Everything about her just looked…wrong, at least for the garb she was wearing. Being a huntress herself, she knew the type. And…well maybe she was just being paranoid. Nodding to the woman as she passed, Elmira turned to her wolf, “Stay.”, she commanded softly, watching the wolf obediently drop to its haunches and cock its head to look at her. Confident it would obey, she walked into the Inn to get herself a place to stay for the night.

It only took a moment for her to obtain a room and a place to stable her mare for the night. Storm would be able to bed down on the porch or in the stable with the mare, so Elmira didn’t have to worry about that. She walked back out minutes later, her wolf faithfully resting where she had left him. Patting its head on her way by, she motioned for him to come, before once more passing the woman on the steps and making her way over toward her mare. Patting the dapple’s neck again, Elmira shifted her gaze back to the woman while she started to undo the cinch to her saddle. What made her start talking, she had no idea, but while she lifted the saddle from the back of her mare and shifted to rest it on the ground, she did so. “Get anything on your hunts?”, she inquired softly, sending a glance over toward the woman sitting there, looking just a bit nervous.

Surely her wolf didn’t make her that nervous, did it?

Words; 833
Muse; Good!
Notes; None :3
Tags; Isobel
Outfit; Leather armor
Song; Sound of winter - Bush
Credits; template by twilightbright @ caution

[ISOBEL AURIEL .]

run run away, don't let him mess with your mind .

It was not the wolf that bothered her. Well, the wolf did bother her a little. What kind of savages lived in this land that kept wolves as pets? As a small child she had heard of the frozen lands of Skyrim that were frozen, wild, and full of barbaric nords, fair haired and much larger than humans ought to be. The fact that the woman with a wolf was a nord worried her. She did not have anything against nords, but she imagined that Stormcloaks were exactly the kind of people who kept wolves as pets. She tried to force herself to relax as the woman spoke to her. "Just attacked by a pack of wolves." She said with a frown. "Nothing I couldn't handle." It wasn't a complete lie. She had seen wolves on the road. She'd not bothered to stop and kill them. She could out run them on a bad day. Their teeth and claws only scratched up her shield, and she did not need that. "And you?" She asked. "Are you headed to Whiterun to sell goods?" The girl had a horse and was clearly prepared for a journey not a casual hunting trip. Why did the imperial couriers not travel on horseback? She had seen horses at the camps. They were large, cumbersome beasts compared to the lighter horses of Cyrodiil. She'd learned to ride there as most of the legion patrolled on horseback there. She could not imagine that riding a horse would be better for her here in Skyrim. They were too large and would get suck, with a Nordic horse she would be confined to the roads, the little shortcuts through woods and in mountain passes that she took would be unavailable. And combat from on horseback was not easily accomplished. No. Traveling on foot was much better. Traveling lighter and faster and a far more defensible position. She held her satchel tightly as she stood, considering entering the inn, maybe asking the woman if she would care for a pint of mead. Having real hunters as drinking buddies might not be a bad plan. She traveled through out Skyrim pretending to be a hunter, while systematically avoiding all contact with any actual hunters. Isobel could dress like a hunter well enough, but acting like one was a completely different challenge. She brushed off her fur armor as she stood and with a last careful glance at the wolf asked. "Are you headed in to the inn for the night? We could trade hunting stories over a pint of mead." That's what hunters would have done. At least what she imagined hunters were like. Though they were mostly solitary wandering around in the woods attempting to kill animals, but they had to interact with other hunters and people to sell their goods to. She still held her shield, just incase the woman was a Stormcloak and could see through Isobel's pathetic attempt to be a hunter.

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word count - 499. tag- elmira . sorry it's so short .

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[Elmira Whitestone .]

Tags: Isobel | Words: 743 | Notes: Finally got a pretty code | Outfit: Leather armor

[atrb=style, background: #373737; border: dashed #ffffff 4px; border-radius:50px 0px 50px 0px;] [atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, border: dashed #ffffff 3px; width: 400px; height: 500px; float: left; padding-left: 10px; padding-right: 20px; padding-bottom: 25px; padding-top: 25px;] Resting her saddle on the ground, Elmira asked her question and glanced at the woman sitting there on the steps. It wouldn't take a long time hunter to realize that she seemed just a little out of place. Perhaps she was new in this game? Game...not the right term to use here. There was nothing amusing about being a hunter, not if you were used to a fancy way of life. Straightening back up from resting her saddle on the ground, she turned back to her mare, running her fingers through her mane to pick out any tangles that had worked their way in. Though not all hunters had a horse to ride, everyone that was worth something knew that your life often relied on a sturdy horse. In order to keep a horse sturdy, even the tougher, more resilient horses of Skyrim, the rule was horse first, comfort second. Without a healthy horse, there were some situations you couldn't get away from without, and you definitely wanted to keep your horse healthy. While she untangled some of the snarls, she listened to the reply that this woman was going to give her. Wolves. Likely story since there were plenty of wolves in the area. Glancing at her own wolf sitting obediently on his haunches, Elmira had to lift her lips in somewhat of a half smile, though her attention to her 'dog' didn't last for very long. "Mmm, it seems as if Skyrim will never be completely rid of wolves." Having a moment to think, she shrugged a bit. "Can't say that I'm sorry about that." Despite them being a nuisance and having killed plenty in her lifetime, Elmira loved the rugged beauty that Skyrim possessed, right down to every Saber cat and wolf. What would such a rugged territory be without the presence of these animals? Whiterun? Quirking a brow, Elmira glanced between her saddle, which had her personal items in the saddlebags, back to the woman. "No.", she said shortly, almost allowing it to simply stay at that, before she decided that she should include some more. Lifting a hand to rub her jawline, she elaborated. "I've just come from Whiterun to climb the steps of High Hrothgar. I've heard stories and rumors of the Greybeards that keep to themselves up there, and...I would like to ask them some questions about the appearances of dragons that have been showing up.", she finished to explain a bit more. After the second question had been asked, Elmira gave her dappled mare one final pat and leaned forward to lift at the reins."I'll be staying for the night, since I cannot risk the mares health while climbing the stairs in the dark." Her suggestion caused Elmira to hesitate, once more glancing at the woman, who she had already decided had some other story than just being a hunter. No...there was something else there. Not that Elmira was one to judge, and she certainly wasn't one to pry. People's business was their own, and she wasn't going to go asking about what she was. If she dressed like a hunter and said she was, Elmira wasn't going to question it. Still, fellow hunter or not, Elmira needed some human companionship, and this woman seemed as good as any to associate with. That, and mead did sound like a good way to spend the night, rather than keeping to herself. She had almost every other day to do that. "Mead sounds good after a long travel.", she agreed. "I'll put Esper away and meet you inside?"

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TEMPLATE BY OH SO CHARGASMIC ! @ CAUTION 2.0

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[ISOBEL AURIEL .]

run run away, don't let him mess with your mind .

“High Hrothgar?”Isobel asked. “Atop the seven thousand steps at the Throat of the World as close to touching the sky as any man may get in Tamriel?” She had hardly been in Skyrim a month, but she had heard of the greybeards, even in Cyrodiil. Though she had always thought that the dragon speaking monks who lived in a mountain near the heavens were a fairy tale, like a magical god parent who bestowed gifts to a princess they would give advise to some hero with the ability to defeat all dragons. Dragonborn was not a real thing. Though the Emperors were once said to be dragonblood she doubted that had ever really been the case, they just said so to keep the throne in the family. The fact that the throne occasional lied did not make her  any less loyal to their leader. Being a jarl of a hold was probably a challenging job, but being an emperor would be much harder. She knew for certain that she could not do it. Lead a section of troops, yes. She was confident that she would be able to perform admirably as captain of a city’s guard, even a city as big as Solitude. But to make all the decisions for that city, that kind of responsibility was not for her. She almost laughed that girl’s suggestions that dragons had been showing up. “Have you seen a dragon? And was this before or after you were hitting the mead? Dragons are not real.” She doubted they ever were. More children’s stories. But the girl was a Nord. Nords were a superstitious people. They would believe all manner of things. She liked this girl, for the most part. She may have had her head in the clouds, but she was funny and she cared about her horse. “I would not climb seven thousand steps in the dark either.” She said as she turned, intending to head into the tavern, but then changed her mind and decided to wait for her new acquaintance. She leaned against one of the posts. She did not say anything for a moment, but tried her hardest to look like a hunter, not an awkward Imperial soldier trying to appear as if she were a hunter. Honestly sometimes she thought her job would be easier if she just killed every Stormcloak she passed. It was not as if there were an unreasonable number of soldiers in any given camp for her to best. She was a better fighter than she was at subterfuge anyway. It was then that she realised that she was eerily quiet, and thought it best that she pretend to make small talk. “Esper is a good name for a horse.” She said, rather suddenly. “My brother had a horse he called Chuck. I thought that was a terrible name. It wasn’t his horse, of course. It belonged to the Bravil city guard. He loved that horse. Esper is a much better name.”She wondered if the horse’s name meant anything to the girl. She knew that the name Chuck had no significance to her older brother. ”I’ve never been a horsewoman. Not that I can’t ride. I can, I learned when I was much smaller, but they just never really seemed to like me. My father always joked that it was my hair. It spooked the horses because it was the same color as the flame. When I was seven, I believed him wholeheartedly.” She smiled a little thinking about her life before the legion. She was probably going to die in this ridiculous civil war trying to save a bunch of Nords who did not want to be saved from killing themselves. But even that was better than marrying a blacksmith just so that her mother could see her grandchildren. Strange how her life had veered so far off of her mother’s course. She doubted anyone had pictured her traversing Skyrim. Somedays she still could not picture it.

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word count - 674. tag - elmira . sorry for the short post .

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[Elmira Whitestone .]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 366x; height: 190px; padding: 10px; background-color: #dcdcdc; border: #1c161e 30px solid;] I'll spread my wings and I'll learn how to fly Elmira nodded in response to the question about High Hrothgar. “That’s the place. I’ve never been atop it myself, though I’ve heard plenty about the place. Since I haven’t been able to find hints anywhere else, I figured that I should go there and see if I could find anything out.” Hesitating a moment, Elmira continued to care for her mare while she contemplated if she should continue with her explanation. Perhaps she should just leave it the way it was for the time being. If she really wanted to talk about her quest to find the Blades, she could do it later. After all, the more people she asked about it, the better. One could never tell when there would actually be someone with information about the topic they needed to ask about. Though this woman didn’t necessarily look like she knew anything about the dragon appearances or Blades, you could never judge a book by its cover. For all Elmira knew, this could be a member of the Blades. Elmira didn’t know what to make of the laughter over the statement about dragons. The slight difference in speech told the blonde that her companion was an Imperial. It didn’t matter to her in terms of how she would treat the woman who was passing off as a hunter, but it might explain why she laughed over the legend. Even the Nords had thought that the dragons were nothing more than a legend, passed down through the generations as a good bedtime story. Until they had actually started appearing. Because she’d heard the story countless times through the years, Elmira hadn’t had a very hard time accepting the story. But to someone that hadn’t been accustomed to it, she could see how she would be in disbelief. Even despite that though, Elmira didn’t know how she should respond, and so she simply remained where she was beside her mare. “I killed a dragon.”, she corrected. “Alongside a Khajiit. I hadn’t touched any mead beforehand.”, she finished, slightly confused. Finally, Elmira shook her head when she said that they weren’t real. “Every Nord grew up on their father’s knee, hearing stories of dragons past, but it was nothing but a story back then. But they’re as real as you and I. Mean too.” The conversation about her horse was a surprising one after the silence. Not that Elmira had minded the silence. In her past years, she hadn’t spoken very in depth with many people, and generally avoided any sort of social contact, rathering the wilds and beasts to the polished life in a city. Still, Elmira didn’t really mind the change in conversation. “She’s a good mare. Raised her from a filly.” Though she wasn’t that skilled at talking, she made a great listener. So while she brushed off her dappled mare, Elmira listened to the story of this woman’s brother. “Esper has always been a bright one, and seems to have a sixth sense for things. So much so that I rely heavily on her for a warning if there’s danger, so she earned her name.” This seemed so odd to Elmira. She wasn’t one for small talk, but oddly enough now that this woman was forcing her to do just that, she found that it wasn’t as hard as she had always thought it was. As long as someone else took the lead in the conversation of course. She even found herself chuckling over the story of the woman’s hair. Glancing over at it, Elmira nodded. “That could be it. Wear a hat if you need to ride one.”, she finished, before she clucked to her horse and started off. “I’ll go put her away and meet you inside.” Woman and horse moved as one, even without a lead to attach them together. It didn’t take her long to find the makeshift stable, where she put Epser, threw her some hay, and instructed her wolf to bed down there by the door. Used to obeying her every command, he did just that, gnawing on the hunk of meat that Elmira had given him previously. On weary legs, she started back to the Inn and the promise of sharing some mead. On her way in, she stopped to pick up her saddle and things, before stepping into the Inn, first obtaining a room to deposit her things. And finally she promptly walked to the table that the girl she had met originally was sitting. Some mead sounded fantastic after a long day. I'll do what it takes, 'till I touch the sky Words; 786 Outfit; Leather armor Tagged Isobel Notes; I swear I finally got the template I'll keep XD ELLE LIKE COOL of ESM

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