My Random Skyrim Stories

A Simple Dragon Fight (Vilkas) 6

Vilkas tried to keep his hands steady as he helped her sit up so he could wrap the makeshift bandages around her. He'd saved the very last drops of the potion for disinfecting the thick padding he put directly onto the wound, and then cut what was left of her tunic into long strips so he could wrap and tie around her. She was hesitant to actually lift her arms enough for him to actually reach around her to wrap them though.

"I... I can probably wrap it myself," she said hesitantly, making Vilkas pause and look her in the face again...

He'd been so focused on the wound he only just realized there was a noticeable blush across her face. Vilkas's heart jumped a little... he'd never seen her blush... seeing his fearsome Harbinger actually blushing and looking shy was a rare sight indeed...

"I doubt you could pull it tight enough in your condition," he smirked, "besides, I've never known you to be so shy," he added teasingly.

"You've never known me to sit around shirtless either," she grumbled, not willing to look him in the eyes.

"Aye," Vilkas agreed, then he decided to push his luck... "bit of a pity, honestly," he shrugged.

Kirstrid's eyes snapped to his at that, looking up at him in uncertain surprise.

"I could have asked about more of these scars," he added, trying to sound casual as he dropped his gaze to a long thin scar he'd noticed earlier between her breasts... clearly from an injury that had narrowly missed her heart. He looked back to her face for find her just watching him, watching where his gaze travelled, seemingly waiting to see what he'd do...

Feeling a little emboldened by her expression, and the fact she hadn't slapped him yet, Vilkas looked back to the scar on her chest... "I'd like to murder whoever the bastard was who gave you this one," he said quietly, reaching out to gently run a finger down the old wound.

Kirstrid's breath caught in her throat as he touched her which made Vilkas look back to her face again. He wasn't sure if he imagined her glancing to his lips, but he hoped he hadn't. And she still hadn't slapped him...

"He... he's dead," she mumbled self-consciously, as she wrapped her arms over the top of her chest. "I killed him."

Vilkas regarded her thoughtfully... he couldn't remember her ever acting this nervous around him, and despite moving to cover her chest, she hadn't leaned away from him...

"I guess I should be more surprised if you hadn't," he nodded, then deciding not to push his luck further, "let's get you bandaged so you can relax and tell me about it then," he suggested calmly.

"Not much more to tell," she grumbled softly, "just the misguided antics of my youth," she added as she straightened up so Vilkas could actually finish bandaging her.

"Ah," Vilkas nodded, "was that in the Thieves' Guild then or the time you almost got caught up with the Dark Brotherhood?" He asked curiously.

"The Thieves' Guild," she replied, sounding disgruntled, "what started the lead-up to me leaving actually..."

"Ah, the traitorous former guild master," Vilkas said with another nod. He'd heard this story before. "You never told me he'd given you such a grievous injury though...?"

Kirstid shrugged slightly. "I said he nearly killed me," she grumbled.

"You did," Vilkas nodded, "I guess I was just imagining that he'd almost bested you, not that he'd actually run you through."

"Oh there was no 'almost,'" she shook her head, scowling at the memory. "Not then at least— I never got the chance to fight back when that happened," she said, looking down at the old scar now too. "He betrayed me and then ran me through while I was paralyzed. I only lived to hunt him down later because the paralysis poison slowed my heart enough that I didn't bleed out, and because he didn't stick around long enough to realize he'd missed my heart."

Vilkas just nodded, his brow furrowing again... he was glad he knew she'd gotten her revenge and given the man the death he'd deserved, but seeing Kirstrid's scar now was making Vilkas feel a little frustrated he couldn't wring that bastard's neck himself.

As he finished tying off the makeshift bandage, Vilkas let his eyes travel subtly over the exposed skin he'd never seen before... most of her skin was surprisingly smooth, but there were what looked to be faint lightning-burn scars across most of one arm, and several more burns along one hip, obviously extending to where her pants covered...

"So how many of your other near-deaths did you downplay so much?" He asked curiously, ghosting his fingers across the faint scars near the top of her hip. Though as he did he noticed (unsurprisingly) that her pants had gotten rather soaked in blood as well... the normally tan fabric was dark red and still wet to the touch...

Her breath caught at his touch again, making Vilkas turn his eyes back to hers. Her cheeks were colored with a dark blush now and she was watching him... seemingly thoroughly flustered...

Vilkas smirked. He'd never managed to fluster her before, she'd always been so completely oblivious to the way he looked at her and the glances he stole... had she finally noticed? Or was it just the blood loss?

He cocked an eyebrow at her questioningly...

"Well... y'know," Kirstrid shrugged sheepishly, "there was one dragon priest that almost did me in... and Alduin liked to shout meteors that smash and burn things."

"How far did this burn extend?" He asked curiously bringing his fingers back to her hip.

Kirstrid took a slow deep breath, looking down at her blood soaked pants. "There's reasons I never show my legs," she grumbled.

"Well..." Vilkas said slowly, touching the still wet fabric and showing her the blood on his fingertips, "I'll be careful not to look if you don't want me to, but I don't imagined these will be that comfortable in your bedroll."

"Oh gods..." Kirstrid groaned looking to her blood soaked pants, "how much stuff have I ruined?"

Vilkas chuckled, "Tilma can get blood stains out, I was more worried about you getting cold and then uncomfortable... not to mention making a horrible mess of the bedroll."