Skyler // Turnabout is Fair Play

[rubyfatale]

WEEP FOR YOURSELF, MY MAN
( • YOU'LL NEVER BE WHAT IS IN YOUR HEART• )

Skyrim was not exactly a kind environment.

Impassive mountain ranges, permafrost, thistles and weeds... You had to be hardy to survive in this environment. Anything that lived here, by necessity, was either very large or very small. There were little in between -- at least, if it was to be long-lived. Man and Mer were probably the exception, as they had a hand up (pun intended?) over the beasts and the plants. Their thumbs and dexterity made them smarter, and their intelligence (relative to the beasts) gave them an advantage. With hands, you could do lots of things. You could build fires. You could make tools...

You could hew from wood and bone a weapon. You could gut and dry intestines in the sun and weave it into a strong yet pliable string. You could whittle from bone and wood and stone projectiles and hook them on the string.You could delicately pull the gut string back, silent as stars, as you lined up your shot. And finally, you could...

Have your prey get sniped by some other hunter somewhere on the plains. The elk was shot perfectly in that spot near the withers that would puncture the vital organs. Immediately, it sprang forward but didn't move far. It was already dead and its nervous system was carrying out the last PANIC! orders. It fell to the ground, it's legs kicking for a moment before it finally died.

Merle remained hidden in the grass, his tawny hide leathers hiding him from eyesight. However, his curiosity soon got the best of him. The better part of him knew not to just go running into whatever it was that had stolen his kill, but he was absolutely starving and the prospect of getting attacked first and fighting them off the carcass was a fun prospect. Sort of.

That would not be the day for fighting though. He lowered his weapon and held the bow and arrow in one hand, using the other to push himself up off the ground. Now standing, he looked at the elk on the ground with the arrow sticking out of it. Where was the hunter? He didn't lower his weapon, but he wasn't brandishing it, either.

"Nice shot," he said somewhat loudly, hoping that the hunter would appear soon. His eyes scanned the horizon and then looked down to the carcass, hoping the direction of the arrow might tell him from which direction the hunter had shot.

WEEP, LiTTLE LiON MAN
( • YOU'RE NOT AS BRAVE AS YOU WERE AT THE START • )

W O R D S • 417
T A G G E D • alli!skyler
L Y R I C S • Little Lion Man - Mumford and Sons
T E M P L A T E • PANIC! ITS LAUZ of CAUTION
N O T E S • Mmm venison!

[skyler]

TAGGED merle/ruby <3 WORD COUNT 419

It was an unusually quiet day in Skyrim, at least out in the wilderness. Not many animals were out and about, but there was at least one predator: Skyler. She was low to the ground, taking each step with caution and care, making as little noise as it was physically possible. Her stallion, Haythem, was standing patiently next to a tree not far from her, waiting for his rider to call for him. There was no need to tie him up, he was a loyal friend and quite courageous for a horse.

Skyler’s eyes were fixated on an elk she had been stalking for a good fifteen minutes now. She had not gotten a clear shot just yet and was waiting for the right moment. With her bow in hand, she moved slowly whenever the elk would lower its head down to nibble on some shrubs. A bit of sweat formed on her brow and she was becoming more and more anxious by the minute, but patience was the key here. Hunting was always a rush for her.

She got into position and pulled an arrow out from her quiver; slowly and quietly, she nocked the arrow and held her breath, aiming for the vital organs of the animal. A second or two later, she raised and drew her bow and then let go. The arrow shot through the air and hit the animal right where she wanted it to. It jerked forward as if trying to run away, but stopped and fell short. It wriggled a bit, but it was dead all right.

Exhaling loudly, Skyler smiled and slowly stood up, but the sight of someone standing up out of the grass startled her, so she knelt back down. Lowering her bow, she stared at what looked like a male, but she was a good distance away, so she couldn’t see his face. Furrowing her brow, she stood up and jogged over to the elk, just in time to hear a familiar voice say, “Nice shot.”

“Thank you,” she said as she pulled the arrow from the elk’s hide and then approached the male, “...Merle.” A toothy grin appeared on her face as took his hand and pulled him over to the dead elk. “Now that is what payback looks like,” she chirped at him with a soft laugh. Kneeling down by the elk, she ran her hand over its soft fur and nodded her head, quite happy with herself. Looking back up at Merle, she smiled at him, and then looked over her shoulder briefly while letting out a loud whistle. Haythem came galloping over to her from the tree he had been standing under and stopped about ten feet away from them, nickering softly.

NOTES i haven't rped much in the past year or two, so hopefully i'm not too rusty. xD

[rubyfatale]

WEEP FOR YOURSELF, MY MAN
( • YOU'LL NEVER BE WHAT IS IN YOUR HEART• )

He could have died.

No really, he could have died. What if she had been a bandit? Or an Imperial soldier? Or a Stormcloak Soldier? What if it was some guard from Markarth that recognized the stylings of his leather clothes? What if it was just someone looking for a person to kill? He didn't really think it through, but he supposed that he would fight if the person who felled the beast wasn't friendly.

Thankfully, it wasn't a hostile person. It was a friend. As she popped up, he spotted her and immediately a smile came to his face, watching as she eyed him carefully. Did she not recognize him? She came over to the carcass, finally recognizing him.
"You are most welcome," he smirked, soon begin dragged over to the carcass. She gloated over her victory and he rolled his eyes a little, wrangling his hand out of hers, throwing them both up in the air.
"Fine, fine. At least we're even now." he teased. She soon whistled and her horse came trotting up, stopping several feet away.

Now, Merle loved all animals, but horses tended to be a bit skittish of him at first. And as such, he was always a little bit wary of them. He had met her horse before, though, and so it wasn't so bad. Animals tended to feed off of people's feelings. Stables of horses tended to sense his anxiety around the beasts and whenever he passed them the horses would get nervous and jumpy. Usually he trusted his friends' horses, though.


"I suppose if I ever need to see you, I should just start hunting. This can't be coincidence, can it?" he teased, rifling around in his satchel for a moment. He pulled out a length of strong, sturdy rope and offered it to her. He didn't know how much rope she carried on her, but the beast would have to be dressed and hanging it from one of the nearby trees' branches would probably be the best plan.


"I don't suppose I can convince you to both share a meal and cure some hides for me... So I'll just accept a dinner invitation for now." he said with a teasing grin, ready to help her carry the massive beast to wherever she was going to take it. It was probably a good thing he was here, because it was a fairly large elk... He knew he certainly couldn't carry the carcass alone... He'd have to drag it. And that was never very good for the hide.

WEEP, LiTTLE LiON MAN
( • YOU'RE NOT AS BRAVE AS YOU WERE AT THE START • )

W O R D S • 450
T A G G E D • alli!skyler
L Y R I C S • Little Lion Man - Mumford and Sons
T E M P L A T E • PANIC! ITS LAUZ of CAUTION
N O T E S • <3333 You're just fine

[skyler]

TAGGED merle/ruby <3 WORD COUNT 598

Skyler smirked along with him, thankful that he wasn’t some bandit or thief just waiting to ambush her as she observed her kill. He was a Forsworn no doubt, but she looked past that easily. They were both hunters and she wasn’t much of a judgmental person. Although, she was cautious, but someone who was friendly to her deserved the same right back, whoever they may be.

“Yeah, we’re even, until next time,” she teased him right back. This was the second time this happened, except the first time was when he ‘stole’ her kill instead of the other way around. She thought it was nice that it happened though; Merle turned out to be a good friend and someone she can get along with easily.

Standing up straight, Skyler approached Haythem and rubbed his velvety nose; he snorted softly and flicked his tail as he glanced over at Merle, not bothered by the breton at all. “I suppose if I ever need to see you, I should just start hunting. This can't be coincidence, can it?” Merle was teasing Skyler. She simply laughed at him and shook her head while taking the rope from his hands.

Returning to the dead elk, she began securing the rope around its legs. A big kill like this would take some muscle to lift and drag, but that was where Haythem came in. She also had an extra pair of hands to help her now. As Merle spoke again, she looked up at him as she began securing the ropes around the elk’s legs. “Well, I wasn’t planning on sharing anything I managed to get today, but...” she trailed off a bit and grinned at him, “I will, just for you.”

Skyler rummaged in her own satchel for a moment and pulled out a piece of cloth, which she used to tie her hair back in a high ponytail. Turning toward Haythem, she grabbed his reins and turned him around, backing him up toward the carcass. She then snapped her fingers and made a quick gesture toward the ground. The stallion immediately obeyed and buckled his knees, laying down, but he stretched his legs out so he could quickly stand up again. “This is how I carry my kills when I’m alone,” she said proudly toward Merle with a grin.

Since Merle gave her some of his own rope, there was no need to pull her own rope out. Without any hesitation, she grabbed the legs of the elk and was careful when she began pulling and tugging on the massive animal, dragging it on top of Haythem, who laid there with an unsure look on his face. “Easy there, Haythem...” she cooed as she moved to the other side of the elk and pulled on its front legs this time, pulling more of the body up onto Haythem’s back.

“This elk is huge...” she said between pants as she pulled some more until the entire animal was on the stallion’s back. If Merle had helped any, she didn’t really notice since she was concentrating on doing it herself. That was her independent side showing. She tapped the toe of her boot against Haythem’s knee and held onto the elk as the stallion stood up, making sure it wouldn’t slide off him.

As Haythem stood there, Skyler made sure the elk wouldn’t fall off and grabbed a hold of the reins. “I made camp not too far from here. Care to join me?” she asked Merle as she looked toward him with a smile.

NOTES her horse is pretty badass if i do say so myself C:

[rubyfatale]

WEEP FOR YOURSELF, MY MAN
( • YOU'LL NEVER BE WHAT IS IN YOUR HEART• )

Forsworn rarely left their camps, save to raid towns nearby, and even then most of the time they didn't kill anyone... unless they had to. And intruders to their camps were often dealt with similarly -- they would not chase them too far. If they tried to fight them on their own territory... then they probably deserved whatever fate that were dealt.

He was clearly amused at the thought of a next time, evidenced by his jovial smile and his hearty laughter. He was quite fortunate to have met her those moons ago, as friends were hard to come by in this harsh land. Merle, above all, needed friends since he had left his tribe and could not adequately integrate into most of Skyrim's towns because of his heritage. He'd always be that savage, and there was little he could do to change that. Sure, he could dress differently, but eventually the truth would come out and he would be run out of town, regardless of whatever good deeds he had done.

Of course, Merle was entirely too pessimistic and didn't trust any of the Jarls enough to bother risking his life on any of their little errands, so it wasn't like he was trying to integrate into normal society in the first place. Besides, he could make it out in the wilderness just fine. Having friends like Skyler just made it that much easier.

"Going to eat the whole elk in one sitting?" he teased. He knew that she couldn't possibly eat the whole thing in one sitting. She was probably going to eat some of it and cure the meat and package it to sell... which was fine and well, but he was starving. Thankfully, she couldn't resist his charm and allowed him the opportunity to eat with her. He watched her carefully pull the elk carcass onto the back of her horse, regarding her with a smirk. "That doesn't count. You aren't really alone now, are you?" he asked, moving to help straighten the carcass on the horse's back. As the great beast moved to get up, he helped as best he could, making the load a little bit lighter as the horse stood.

Seeing the beast was stable, he gently brushed his hand over the flank of the horse consolingly. Hopefully it wasn't too far from wherever she had made camp. "It would be an honor." he said in the haughtiest of voices he could muster, sounding rather silly although he did mean what he said. "I don't know how stocked you are with spices, but I've got plenty," he said, patting his satchel as they started off toward the camp. Finally, he shouldered his bow and put his arrow away before taking his walking stick off of the holder attached to his quiver. The staff was intricately carved and had quite a few trinkets dangling from it, mostly tiny animal shapes carved from bone and turquoise beads tied to it with strips of leather.

"So, are you headed anywhere in particular or are you just wandering?" he asked as they walked, choosing to walk beside her, sandwiching her next to the horse.

WEEP, LiTTLE LiON MAN
( • YOU'RE NOT AS BRAVE AS YOU WERE AT THE START • )

W O R D S • 559
T A G G E D • alli!skyler
L Y R I C S • Little Lion Man - Mumford and Sons
T E M P L A T E • PANIC! ITS LAUZ of CAUTION
N O T E S • xD Definitely!

[skyler]

TAGGED merle/ruby <3 WORD COUNT 666

It was kind of funny how Skyler could manage herself so well out in the wilderness, especially since she was born in the heart of Skyrim--Whiterun. It was a lovely city and she would find herself visiting it from time to time, reliving old memories and wiping dust from the trophies and paintings from her old home. She pretty much had a home; if she really wanted to, she could just live in that house in Whiterun, but she chose not to. She felt like she belonged out here, but it wasn’t rare for her to stop at cities to gather supplies or trade in all her goods.

Merle was all about teasing her, she mused to herself as he asked her if she would eat the entire elk in one sitting. “I’m hungry, but not that hungry,” she replied softly with a laugh, followed by a toothy grin. His next reponse make a whole lot of sense though--she wasn’t alone at all. Haythem had been her friend and mount for about seven years now. He was a big stallion, strong enough to carry anything she managed to take down, and he didn’t seem to mind. His trust in her was unmatched. “You’re right. I’m never alone,” she said with a smile as she stroked the stallion’s neck lovingly.

Nodding her head, Skyler began moving forward next to the horse. There was a smile on her face she couldn’t seem to get rid of--not that she would want to anyway. It was just nice having someone to talk to, especially someone she knew and cared about. “Spices? Hm.. I don’t know how stocked I am either. I guess we’ll find out,” she said a bit slowly, as if in thought. She looked over at him as he grabbed his staff, admiring it for a moment before looking forward again.

She smiled at his question, but only looked off into the distance. “I’m not actually. I might snag another elk and then head over to Riften,” she replied, glancing over at him, “What about you?” She was interested in wherever he may be headed, and if he wasn’t headed anywhere, maybe he would like to travel with her.

Camp wasn’t far now; Skyler could actually see it in the distance surrounded by trees. She didn’t have a tent set up, but her fur blanket was laying on the ground next to a small tower of sticks that were waiting to be lit up. Her pace quickened a bit and they got there within the next few minutes. She pulled Haythem close to the campsite and then stopped him, making the same gesture for him to lie down, which he did.

“You wanna skin him or shall I?” she said as she turned toward Merle, “The elk, not the horse.” She grinned and laughed at herself for making a stupid joke. Shaking her head, she pushed the carcass until it rolled off of Haythem’s back. The stallion, knowing his work was done, stood up. Skyler moved over to his head and removed the bridle, since that was the only piece of tack on him. She walked over to the tree where she had the saddle laying against and placed the bridle there. Haythem walked off to a patch of grass and began to graze.

Skyler looked over at Merle and smiled at him as she walked over toward her fur blanket she had on the ground. She pulled off her quiver and bow and set them down neatly next to the rest of her weapons. She glanced over at Merle and whether he decided he wanted to skin or not, she moved toward the stick tower and took a moment to light a fire. It was starting to get later in the day, so they would be eating dinner soon.

NOTES i think merle should skin the elk >:3 xD