My Random Skyrim Stories

Noticed (Vilkas) 4 Into The Reach

They did, in fact, find several game animals to hunt before they made camp for the night, and even ran across a saber cat. By the time they made it to Rorikstead the following day, they had a fair amount of pelts to sell, and even more meat than they'd be able to eat before it spoiled. The added coin seemed to put Inga in a slightly better mood and they set out into the Reach.

Vilkas had shown her his map, where Farengar had marked the place he expected the dragon to be... but they reached that mountain peak only to find no dragon. They hiked back down the mountain to make camp for the night.

Inga took her armor and mask off to sit by the fire and eat dinner. It was the first time Vilkas had really seen her without armor on, and even though her under tunic was not the least bit form-fitting, it showed more than her armor did and Vilkas thought she was a breathtaking sight. He also got to see her lovely face again...

But unfortunately, Vilkas couldn't enjoy really enjoy what he was seeing... because even in a slightly better mood, she seemed... broken... and it just broke his heart. That beautiful look of relief and joy he'd seen in her eyes the first time he'd seen her face was completely gone, replaced by a look of bitter sadness.

He longed so badly to cheer her up... to hold her, talk to her, make her smile, or even laugh... but she ignored most of his subtle attempts to start conversations.

Even his less subtle attempts only got short answers out of her... so he sadly sat by and let her be. He quietly helped her cook the game they'd shot that day and then quietly helped her clean up after dinner.

After dinner she just stared at the fire, looking lost in thought, so Vilkas quietly kept watch and continued to let her be.

The next morning they climbed up to the next nearest peak only to find no evidence of a dragon there either, so it was back down for another night of quiet camping.

When the third day went exactly like their first two in the Reach, Vilkas could tell she was beginning to seem more angry than sad. After they'd been up and down every peak in the vicinity of where Farengar had marked Vilkas's map, she was practically stomping her feet as they hiked back to set up camp.

She pulled off her mask with an angry huff and pulled out her map as Vilkas began to gather wood for the fire.

"Farengar's got horker shit for brains," she growled irritably folding the map back up.

Vilkas raised his eyebrow, resisting the temptation to smirk at the first real sentence she'd spoken in days.

"Apologies, Harbinger," he said sincerely instead. Despite his relief at the chance to accompany her, he did feel bad for dragging her out on this apparent wild-goose-chase.

"Not your fault," she grumbled, "you at least tried to get some reliable information..." she kicked a rock forcefully away from a spot near where Vilkas had begun building the fire, "if Farengar could just read that fucking stone tablet I got sent to fetch for him..." she kicked another rock, "'Secret-fire,'" she rolled her eyes and sat down to rummage through her gear, "I bet he calls his magic shit 'secret' to cover up the fact he can't actually do anything with it."

Vilkas let out an amused laugh at that. He knew she was grumpy, but he was just happy she was speaking. "He does seem to be better acquainted with the hypothetical than the practical," Vilkas chuckled in agreement.

Inga nodded at that and glanced up at him just briefly with a hint of a smirk before turning back to her gear.

That lifted Vilkas's spirits even more. For a moment he just watched admiringly as she pulled out her dagger and set to skinning the rabbit she'd shot on the way down the mountain. She'd normally been doing things like this with her mask on... Vilkas was thrilled to see her face with an expression of concentration instead of the look of depression and apathy that had become her usual for staring into the fire after dinner.

Then he turned to ready the stew pot before she could look up and catch him staring, pulling a potato and some garlic from his own enchanted pack.

She pulled her map back out as their stew cooked and Vilkas saw her brow furrow as she looked over it.

"I'm guessing the 'talk' you heard didn't also come from Farengar..." she said suddenly looking up at him.

"No," Vilkas shook his head, "I heard it from the guards and the carriage driver."

"Which means it's probably out here somewhere," she said looking thoughtfully back to map.

Vilkas nodded, watching hopefully as she continued to scan her map.

"Fuck it," she grumbled several moments later, and she folded her map back up. "I say we're just going exploring until we find the damn thing. I needed an extended trip anyway." She shook her head as she tucked the map away.

Vilkas's heart clenched a little at her mention of needing the extended trip... but then she looked back up at him with a softer expression.

"At least that's if you don't mind this plan," she added uncertainly.

"I don't mind, Harbinger," Vilkas smiled, "the others can manage with out us a while yet, and I'm honored to accompany you."

His heart leap with sudden hope as he saw her face light up with a genuine smile. It was a small smile, but it reached her eyes and gave her whole face a warmer look. He couldn't imagine how anyone could not think she was gorgeous.