The World-Eater's Eyrie

Ullr; Suppression Disguised As Control

When Ullr had found Cerise in the post-drunken state that she was, the girl had half a mind to get up from the table and leave. The huntress had never had anything nice or even slightly amicable to say before, and she doubted her words would be any better with a tongue loosened by ale. Her prediction had been correct in that the other woman would speak illy to her. Her tone was scathing, and while Ullr did flinch at it, the question left her with a bitter feeling.

Yes, any other time, such a thing might have sounded ridiculous, but its reality had made it a far more pressing threat to the small orc halfling. One that loomed and breathed down her neck and sent shivers down her spine.

In Cerise's defense, the topic of dragons was almost ancient present day, considering their speculated disappearance and/or extinction. But if one truly thought about it, a dragon attack, by the time the huntress had learned of it, was not a ridiculous notion. Given the week of travel it took Ullr to reach the town of Riverwood alone, word must have traveled at that point – there was no way it couldn't have. Afterall, the spread of gossip is impartial of tongue; even the most disbelieving unwittingly forward its progress, and thus the news is spread. Surely, Cerise must have heard it in passing in Riverwood at some point in time.

Even still, disregarding hearsay, if a city as large as Whiterun were concerned about the threat of dragons, it's unusual that such a thing wouldn't raise any red flags. The idea of any number of the aforementioned winged beasts being alive was, in fact, ridiculous, and as such it is hard to believe that the jarl would use such an outlandish notion as an excuse and hope to 'get away' with it, especially if it were being used simply to tighten security.

Of course, none of these thoughts made it past the tip of Ullr's tongue, Cerise had moved on already anyway, and they rose up before faltering again, left to broil beneath the surface.

She didn't realise it, but her hands had closed into frustrated fists at the huntress's words. As if she were the only one who'd been thrust into a startling reality and forced to brave some perilous journey to meet the Greybeards. Unfortunately, however aggrieved the nord's words might have made her feel, there was a truth in them that she had to acknowledge. If anyone were to die on such a quest, the orismer thought, it would be me. Ullr had come close to death twice now, since the attack on Helgen, and remained helpless each time. It was frustrating – incredibly so. Infuriatingly so.

The orcish girl gave no response as Cerise rose and left for the room she'd paid for earlier, sitting and thinking and worrying. The mention of the other woman's family had stirred up thoughts of her own, and she wondered at their safety and overall well being. '...If they are still alive at all.' Ullr did not let herself continue that train of thought; she wasn't ready to swallow that pill just yet.

– – – – –

When she finally did make her way to the room, she hesitated at the sight of a single bed. Cerise had already claimed her side, fast asleep by the time the halfling had decided to turn in for the night. It was slightly awkward to lay quite so close to the huntress – their nights in the woods had left the two with plenty of space to spread out from each other. Fatigue soon made the decision for her, her body too tired to dwell on trivialities for very long.

Sleep did come, but not easily. It was uncomfortable and spotty in certain places, and as the sun's rays woke her, the orismer halfling felt as though she hadn't rested much at all. But sleeplessness had made way for contemplation on a number of things, including their journey and her companion's words.

Almost always the second to wake, Ullr was not surprised to find the bed empty come morning. However, it wasn't difficult to discern and locate Cerise. The olive-skinned girl found her with the horses. Ullr greeted her with a muttered good morning, but the two prepared in silence otherwise. It took a moment for the halfling to motivate herself and say what she wanted; it almost always did.

"I want to fight," she announced, thumbing at the knife clasped to her waist and hesitantly meeting Cerise's eyes, "er, rather, learn how to. This journey...it will be dangerous to say the least, and it'd be well to learn some sort of self defense. I can't always depend on you or Bruse to come help." Once the words were spoken, Ullr waited patiently for a response, hoping that no matter how callous the words spoken, it would be an offer to teach. Or find someone who could.