[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 400px; background-color: #171818; padding:20px; border-top: 10px #171818 solid; border-bottom: 10px #171818 solid;] Save me I’m buriedalive this time {WORDS } 745 {TAGGED } Fillim! {WEARING} Something! “No Recon, you stay inside for a bit.”, she said soothingly while the brown dog whined at the door. Though she did wish that he could come with her, Aaralyn didn’t want the prey she needed to catch wind of him. And she did need a certain creature’s lard to complete the potion she had been working on creating. That meant her pooch had to stay inside the house for a day while she went off to get the ingredient herself. “Leaving him in?”, a friendly neighbor woman asked with a smile as she strolled by. Blushing slightly, Aaralyn ducked her head. “Yes ma’am.”, she said softly, before she quickly started in the opposite direction. Despite the friendly look the woman had given her, the young Bosmer still didn’t want to get into a conversation. She had things to do today, and that didn’t include having to talk to a bunch of people. Thankfully she managed to escape the town of Riften without any other attempts to start an actual conversation. No, all she got was a few people’s greetings as she hurried by. She was able to breath when she finally escaped the confines of the cities walls and stepped into the wilds. With a delighted smile up on her features, the girl slung her bow on her back, held securely to her body with the string across her chest. Her bag of items and ingredients – nearly all she was really attached to, hung on her hips along with her dagger. She was prepared for a day of gathering! And how good it felt to be out here, free from the prison like city. Perhaps she would see Aleks out here too. After all, he had taken his bow and told her that he would be hunting that day. For a moment she felt those same nagging doubts that he was actually doing what he said he was doing. Aleks had been…strange about hunting lately. How one could give them such a nice home and things as a hunter was beyond her. But what else was there? Surely nothing…bad, right? Worried thoughts plagued her. Ultimately she tried to push it out of her mind. Aleks was twenty years old…he would be able to care for himself and make his own decisions in life. But she still worried. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hours later and many miles away, Aaralyn was finally getting close to stalking down the smaller animal she was hunting. Crouched down, with one knee on the ground, the young girl pressed her fingers lightly against the indent of the ground. The tracks were fresh. Good, she was on the right track. Pursing her lips, the girl glanced over her shoulder and proceeded onward, careful to make no sound as she did so. Her move forward finally led her right to the entrance of a cave. Crouching down once more, Aaralyn tucked a few stray strands of hair behind her uniquely shaped ear and once more peered at the tracks of the animal she was following. She had tracked it until the ground became too hard, turning to rock instead of the dirt that it had been pressed into previously. Despite knowing that her prey was inside, Aaralyn hesitated, wearily looking at the darkness within the cave. She’d never been particularly fond of places such as this, but…well…she supposed she could go inside. With a hand resting on the rock to the side, all of a sudden her skin started to prickle. Why did she feel like someone was watching her? Sparing another glance over her shoulder, she scanned the area. Nothing… But why was that odd feeling there? {NOTES} Yaaay

table by CALIFORNIA DREAMING of CAUTION 2.0, lyrics by maroon 5

Tagged : Aaralyn | Words : 680 | Notes : She'll so enjoy going through this again. >>

He’d been her shadow since her exit from the city, but regardless of the hours he would be forced to wait for her to work herself into a corner, Fillim was willing to remain a shadow.

Still, she annoyed him, flitting around with her nose to the ground like a deer. She’d be to Oblivion by the time she finished her ludicrous pursuit of the creature producing the tiny tracks that trailed alongside the girl’s larger ones. Was trailing along behind one damned animal all this girl had to do with her life? The blood money that her brother was earning through the guild must have freed her to waste her life away however she chose. How pathetic that she would spend hours on end trailing behind one animal, regardless of the fact that she was another wood elf. The thought made him, as Fillim took his eyes off of her for a few moments from behind his cover of foliage, look up to the sky where Foroch kept up a consistent circling motion above the girl’s location, only occasionally swooping down to take a rest in the trees. Fillim’s sharp eyes and tracking skills, along with Foroch’s use as a beacon, ensured that Fillim wouldn’t have any chance of losing the girl, if there was any chance to begin with. She was linear and predictable, and Fillim almost wanted to break off from his cautious plan of waiting until the girl found herself in a very isolated place, in favor of more aggressive and sudden action. He did not, getting to his feet and continuing to rest his cold eyes on her as he followed her forward. He’d have his prisoner before the day was over, that much he knew.

Fillim knew these woods well, and in his knowledge, he was aware of the cave ahead before the girl even crossed to it. Though he could not see the tracks of the creature from such a distance, judging by her inspection of the rocks that led to the lips of the cave’s maw, the tracks probably led within. If so, Fillim would have her in perfect position to take her without any chance of outside interference. But she continued to waste time, giving Fillim’s frustration with her a reason to consistently grow. Already, her mere familial association with the thieves guild was enough of a reason for him to dislike this creature that he was only witnessing from a distance. She was only yet another person who snatched what she could out of the hands of others, even if she was not doing the snatching herself. The girl was privy to the actions of her brother and the brother to the actions of their entire organization. In Fillim’s eyes, she’d committed as many crimes as the rest for benefitting from guild blood money. Fillim had seen her home. The girl had all she would ever want or need…until today.

She shifted, looking over the woods in Fillim’s general direction. Narrowing his eyes, he ducked subtly but remained motionless. She saw nothing, as her eyes never settled on his specific direction. Fillim knew that her next move would be to enter the cave. Once her eyes shifted far enough away to ensure that he was out of her peripheral, Fillim carefully began moving to the far right, sweeping around through the trees to try and put himself within range of the cave’s entrance. About the time he reached some of the rocks that could conceal him for a little longer, all signs of her were gone as she entered the blackness of the cave. Fillim didn’t need to wait any longer now. Glancing up at Foroch as the hawk descended to perch on one of the rocks, Fillim crept forward to the edge of the cave, turned his eyes inside for a few seconds to make sure she wasn’t watching closely after her, and crept in behind, keeping to the shadows as a nervous intensity clung to every muscle – one he disregarded as simple anticipation of what was to come.

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 400px; background-color: #171818; padding:20px; border-top: 10px #171818 solid; border-bottom: 10px #171818 solid;] Save me I’m buriedalive this time {WORDS } 623 {TAGGED } Fillim :3 {WEARING} Something! Eyes roved the landscape behind her. Even as she did, Aaralyn edged slightly closer to the mouth of the cave that she had stopped beside. She hated being watched by anyone, even if it wasn’t meant in animosity. That feeling of eyes on her sent that prickle down her arms, but-…she had nothing to base that feeling off of. After all, she couldn’t see or hear anything out of the ordinary. If it weren’t for that familiar feeling, that knot in the pit of her stomach, the young Bosmer would think nothing odd about the moment. Now she was beginning to wish that she had decided to bring Recon along. Even if he alerted the animal she was tracking to her presence, Aaralyn would feel much more safe if the brown animal was indeed beside her. Though her eyes flickered here and there however, Aaralyn saw nothing. Despite the fact that it went before her better judgment, she decided to let it go. She must just be hearing things. Finally she forced the apprehension from her mind and returned to the focus at hand. Removing her gaze from the landscape behind her, Aaralyn once more peered into the mouth of the cave that she was standing in front of. Despite having been in caves before, she hadn’t ever particularly enjoyed doing so. Not that she was afraid to do so, just…weary. Usually it was accompanied by darkness and a tightness around you. It was that lack of freedom that frightened her, along with the blackness that seemed to want to try and swallow you up. Shouldering aside those feelings, Aaralyn patted at the bag tied to the belt at her hips and cautiously made her way inside the cave that was there in front of her. Instantly the dark settled around her. Resting with her back to the wall, she remained where she was to allow her eyes to adjust to the dark. There was no sense in continuing on if she could see nothing. The change came much more quickly than one would have expected, and soon Aaralyn found herself wearily stalking deeper into the cave. Was this one creature really worth it? It didn’t take her long to come across an underground spring. With a smile on her face, Aaralyn studied the softer ground around the water. The creature she was stalking had been here, and recently. That meant that she was still on the right track. The bubble and gush of the water dulled the sounds around the young bosmer even as she decided to crouch down and take a drink of the refreshing liquid herself. Though her weary eyes flickered back and forth ahead of her, she failed to look behind her, thinking herself safe right at that moment. How wrong you could be. {NOTES} Mwuahaha He's a...uh...totally nice guy?

table by CALIFORNIA DREAMING of CAUTION 2.0, lyrics by maroon 5

Tagged : Aaralyn | Words : 600 | Notes : She'll so enjoy going through this again. >>

The quietness of Fillim’s steps could never prove enough to suit him. Every one, as he stepped along the grainy ground of the cave in the dark, seemed a crack of thunder in his own ears. The girl – up ahead at a great enough distance to allow Fillim to hide should she turn around – didn’t appear to notice, though. Thus, Fillim kept picking his way along the wall, bare back uncomfortable against it, while painting each of her actions with his eyes. She trudged along with a purpose, and in spite of his built-in dislike for her, Fillim could give her credit to her… “courage” even if she was completely foolish not to watch over her shoulder. Let her never care about what could be lurking behind her – it would make Fillim’s task much easier. Though compared to him in a fight, the other elf would be completely overmatched, Fillim still wanted to make clean work of taking her. Luck could factor in if he gave her any chance to slip free from him. She would never outrun him back to her home or even to any safe haven, but travelers could pass the nearby roads and hear. Fillim wanted the first thing anyone knew of this girl’s disappearance to be from the primary source – Fillim himself – so the guild would be left clueless and, if he had his way, as moneyless as he could manage.

The sloshing of a watering hole in the cave reached Fillim’s ears. His eyes spotted the light reflection it made against the wall only a moment later. Before he could bet with himself that the girl would stop at it, she did. This was his opportunity, with her eyes taken by the water, her ears occupied with the lightly frothing water, and her head probably dipped towards the water to inspect the creature’s tracks or to partake in some of the water. Fillim abandoned explicit caution to speedily pick his way from cover to cover until he was finally at a rock that sat no more than ten feet behind the girl. Looking off towards the other end of the cave and taking in a deep, too nervous breath to prepare himself, Fillim eased the weapons on his belt down into the dirt, keeping only the dagger concealed around the back of his waist. He shifted only enough to see her from around the edge of the rock. She was taking a drink. Fillim planted a torn boot into the ground to prepare to rush around the end and grab her, but some unknown force kept him rooted in place and made his breathing prematurely frantic. A split-second later, though, and Fillim was silently overtaking her from behind.

Another split-second, this one of indecision that had him wondering how to go about disabling her, made his approach rather awkward. He settled, once the moment was upon him, on throwing his weight against her back to try and pin her to the ground. The motion caused him to bump her forward and partially into the water while his hand reached up to try and search for her mouth to silence her. His other arm, once he made sure he didn’t completely fall over and off of her, struggled to clamp down on her left at the elbow in the shallow, dancing water. If Fillim hadn’t been keeping his focus on trying to keep the girl from becoming a flailing assault of limbs, he would have been cursing himself for being such a damned inefficient goat. As it was, he had the girl, but not well.

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 400px; background-color: #171818; padding:20px; border-top: 10px #171818 solid; border-bottom: 10px #171818 solid;] Save me I’m buriedalive this time {WORDS } 745 {TAGGED } Fillim{WEARING} Something! After she’d taken a drink of water, Aaralyn crouched down and stared at the water for a few moments. Something about water was mesmerizing. The way the drops rippled and danced easily lulled any observers into a serene state, as it had done to her. Many times after nightmares when she was in Riften, Aaralyn had clambered out the window of their house and snuck across the city to the docks just to dip her toes in the refreshing liquid and stare out over the sea. Something about the waves and the reflection of the moon always served to calm her, as this water was doing now. Lulling her into a false sense of security. The discomfort of her bowstring drawn taunt against her chest was the only annoyance. To rid herself of it, Aaralyn removed the weapon from her person, as well as her quiver of arrows. Lying them off to the side, the young Bosmer had just stood up when something slammed into her from behind. Reeling forward, Aaralyn tried to catch herself as she was falling forward from the object. The moment she felt the hand clamped onto her elbow, Aaralyn sucked in a large breath to start screaming. As soon as she did so however, the second hand clamped over her mouth, cutting that sharp shriek into nothing more than a muffled choking sound. Instinct drove her actions when she started to fiercely struggle against her assaulter. Throwing her head from side to side, Aaralyn attempted to rid her mouth from the hand clamped over it, but had no luck. It only took a few seconds for her to realize that she wouldn’t be able to overpower this man. When she did, the Bosmer changed her tactics. Despite the terror she was feeling – or perhaps because of it – Aaralyn started to actually think. Desperately she thought of everything her brother had told her about self-defense and fighting – as little as it was. It wasn’t training that led her to pull her lips back and sink her teeth down as hard as she could on the fingers of the man. It was, however, training that made her hurl herself toward the ground. Her weight was enough to break the hand from off her mouth as she fell forward. Unfortunately the man’s hand was clenched onto her elbow still, and Aaralyn ended up stumbling and falling to her knees in the water that she had been standing beside. Her second intake of breath to attempt another scream was let out in a ‘whoosh’ from the shock of the cold water splashing on her body as well as the pain from her arm being bent back in an odd way – the man still attached to her elbow. “Let me go!”, she shouted in a mix of tones – both demanding and pleading. Scrambling back up to try and get rid of the pain, Aaralyn’s foot slipped on a rock and once again she fell to her knees in the water, her arm twisting back again. This time it got her wet all the way up to her hips. While she tried to catch herself, a red streak appeared on her palm where a rock had cut her. The pain made a whimper escape her lips. And yet still she had a hand attached to her. Fear gave her the adrenaline she needed, which in turn gave her extra strength. “Please!”, she begged before she once more tried throwing her weight to her right and away from her assaulter. {NOTES} Okay...I wasn't going to post any tonight, and then I finished the Bourne movie and it had me all pumped up for action scenes-...because Aaralyn = Jeremy Renner? <-- I dunno D: *flees away*

table by CALIFORNIA DREAMING of CAUTION 2.0, lyrics by maroon 5

Tagged : Aaralyn | Words : 601 | Notes : She'll so enjoy going through this again. >>

His hand found a pair of lips and, to the best of his ability from his angle, clamped down on them. By the muffled noise and breath that went into his palm, Fillim hadn’t silenced the girl a second too soon. Not foolish enough to think that his soon-to-be captive would submit, though, Fillim, through pure will of force and a miserable scraping of his knees, dragged his legs forward and his knees underneath him to give him better leverage against the girl as she started to sling her head back and forth, pulling back on her neck slightly to discourage her from doing so, lest he really wrench her head back and cause damage that would be far worse than getting kidnapped. Fillim started to situate himself to wrap her up more tightly and immobilize her totally, adrenaline starting to die down and his thoughts clearing, perhaps too well as he was reminded that this was a female elf that he was in such close proximity of. He frowned deeply at the thought.

For better or worse – his mind immediately deciding worse – his clearing mind spiked to wild, violent instinct again as he felt a sharp pain ignite inside of the palm of his hand. A chorus of half-spoken swears had already left his lips before the girl wrenched away and he lost his grip on her face, having to almost turn onto his side to remain attached to her arm. Fortunately, the action made it so she wasn’t going any great distance either, so Fillim quickly recovered back onto his knees and kept an almost desperate hold on her elbow. A loss of grip could mean she’d have an easy run back to the front of the cave, and while Fillim was confident that he could catch her, he wasn’t going to waste his opportunity. The anger from before – an unattached anger at the time that had only been born of the girl’s association with the guild – turned to a greater rage at her for even believing that she could escape him, and her yelling at him didn’t add any hint of sympathy in the Bosmer’s chest. Fillim wrenched her back once she was to her feet, hearing the satisfying sound of her crashing into the top of the water not long after.

Now Fillim had to secure her again. Pushing himself forwards off of the rocks and into the water beside the girl, Fillim withstood another one of her attempts to pull away. No more of her pestering him like this. Driving himself into her again, he worked to push her down, using all of his weight, fully into the water and, moving his grip up to her shoulder, worked his way around behind her. The same arm moved to wrap around her neck, clamping down and pull her back up as the other retrieved the dagger that was still fortunately attached to the back of his belt. Keeping his grip as it was, Fillim brought the dagger to bear towards her face, the blade angled in at her nose. There he held it. ”You’re going to stop fighting me,” he threatened, giving her neck an extra squeeze to reinforce the point. An uncomfortable and extremely unfamiliar feeling weaved its way through his whole body, possibly making him twitch slightly, but that feeling was of no concern to him at all at the moment. He just wanted his confirmation from her – however that confirmation came – that she was going to be a good elf and stop thinking she somehow held any sort of power over someone like Fillim.

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 400px; background-color: #171818; padding:20px; border-top: 10px #171818 solid; border-bottom: 10px #171818 solid;] Save me I’m buriedalive this time {WORDS } 646{TAGGED } Fillim {WEARING} Something! After she’d thrown herself to the side, Aaralyn had figured that she might be able to escape his attack. Adrenaline was continuing to fuel her movements, and while she was by no means strong, she was also lithe from her time spent on foot traveling the area surrounding Riften. As soon as she did throw her weight to the side the second time though, she felt the jerk on the elbow still attacked to her attackers hand. One more barely audible gasp was wrenched out of her mouth from the odd angle her arm was in. Only then did Aaralyn feel herself come more emerged in the freezing spring fed water. The slight gasp became more drawn out when she felt that same water settle all the way up to her waist, before a pitiful little moan followed. Instantly she attempted once more to get up and out of the liquid that would slow her movements and dull her abilities. Her assaulter had other ideas though. She found herself pushed further down into the cold water when he did so, unable to combat his superior strength. Aaralyn coughed when she got a mouth full of water, before struggling and arching her back in a sort of defense. It didn’t help her case much, but she felt the same urgings to fight him as a wild animal caged did. She only sputtered for a few moments before he decided to withdraw her from the water that she had been resting in. With the arm around her neck and more of her body out of the freezing cold, Aaralyn felt more of a desire to once again fight his power over her. Wrenching one of her arms loose, Aaralyn tried to pry his arm away from her neck, but couldn’t quite seem to do so. Aaralyn ceased her wild struggling and felt her own hand still from trying to wrench his arm away when he produced a dagger and threatened her with it. Feeling her own heartbeat thud against her chest, Aaralyn’s lips parted somewhat and her eyes opened in fear. As a reaction she shrunk away from the dagger he had angled onto her nose, only to find that when she did, she was pressed more firmly against her attacker. Reacting as if she had been burned, she drew back away from her attacker and honed her eyes in on the dagger that was threatening her. It wasn’t courage that compelled her to stay quiet and still, but rather the enormous feeling of fear that had welled up in her chest. Her rapidly beating heart sounded as if it were going to escape its warm prison while she stayed completely still. She wasn’t sure just why he was doing this, but she somehow figured that she was going to have to at least try and be courageous. Unfortunately her body had other ideas. Chilled from the cold and the fear she was feeling, her body betrayed her and she started to shiver. “I don’t have any coin.”, she tried to explain to him while he held her there, disgusted at the fear in her own voice. {NOTES} I FINALLY POSTED AGAIN! *Dies*

table by CALIFORNIA DREAMING of CAUTION 2.0, lyrics by Evan’s Blue

Tagged : Aaralyn | Words : 545 | Notes : She'll so enjoy going through this again. >>

She wasn’t a complete fool if she knew to stop pulling at his arm once she had a dagger poised for her face. Fillim felt a hollow satisfaction at the sudden stillness that overtook the both of them, him able to hold both girl and weapon in place and her finally realizing – if she had half a brain in her head – that her life was firmly in the hand of his that held the dagger. Now she was finally starting to act like Fillim had the control here, and he doubted there was any reason for her to believe otherwise by this point. He’d have her out of here in no time, and they’d be miles from Riften before sundown. Fillim chanced a glance over his shoulder towards the cave exit.

His eyes quickly returned to the matter at hand, though, just as the girl turned into a leaf under the pressure of his arm, apparently giving way to the chill in the water they were standing in. A low growl of frustration rolled in his chest. She could have either not bitten or fought him to begin with or gone ahead and acted properly timid as she was now. His job would have been a whole lot easier.

Another growl came at her attempt to talk him down. Fillim rolled his eyes slightly, starting to try and pull her backwards out of the water. If she didn’t want to move her legs, it was her own fault and her own cost to herself. He sat up against the bank, holding the dagger steady and starting to heft her up beside him. ”I know that’s a lie,” he said to her comment about having no coin. This wasn’t about her money – not any money she carried that he was looking to steal, anyway – but it was about the blood money of the thieves guild, that he knew this girl was partaking in due to her family link to the miserable organization. She did have coin, one way or another, and it was coin produced from the sweat of the good men and women of Skyrim. ”You have all the money you’ll ever need. I don’t want it.” She could make of that comment whatever she wished.

Continuing to pull her free of the water, Fillim tried to fully recover to his feet without giving her a glimpse of a chance to pull free. He would appreciate it if she would just walk in front of him with the dagger to her back, but with him having already made several mistakes, he wasn’t going to take chances even if it caused him grief. Awkwardly trying to turn her around and face her towards the front of the cave, Fillim was dead set on reaching the dim light outside…before he recalled his weapons were still waiting behind the rock by which he’d taken cover. He tried not to tip the girl off to the inconvenience, but surely the small yank he gave her to lead her back towards that rock indicated some frustration. He pulled her down beside him once there, still partially maintaining a headlock on her, and held the dagger over her. ”You don’t get ideas. If you do, this will be in your neck.”

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 400px; background-color: #171818; padding:20px; border-top: 10px #171818 solid; border-bottom: 10px #171818 solid;] Save me I’m buriedalive this time {WORDS } 712 {TAGGED } Fillim! {WEARING} Something! It was clear to her that she wouldn’t get any pity from this bosmer. The first few moments she had dared to hope, since he was the same species as her, that he might show her a little bit of compassion. It didn’t take long to still that thought, and Aaralyn now fought to keep herself composed. She had too much pride to admit she wasn’t doing the greatest job there either, and blamed the cold water that had drenched her entirely for the state she was in. With a slight shake of her head – barely distinguishable as anything more than her shaking – Aaralyn denied what he said. “Bu-..t we’re not rich.”, she chattered out, trying to still her body. A moment later she sucked in a breath of air again when he decided to try and drag her out of the water. It pained her to have to do so, but she had to half twist in his arms and grip his bicep with her hand to try and scramble out after him without being dragged the entire way. Almost now she could feel her legs start to get cooler and clumsier. The most challenging part of the ordeal was when he decided to drag her onto the bank after him. Despite wearing pants and no skirt, Aaralyn was still shaking from the fright and cold, and found it hard to assist him with getting herself up on the bank at the point that he’d decided to go out on. Thankfully instinct kicked in to outweigh her muddled brain, and she managed to help him a little instead of simply being dragged around like some dead fish. In the meantime she heard once more him make a comment about her having all the money in the world. Yet another lie. She had enough, yes, with her brother’s hunting business and her potions and herbs, they made more than enough to be able to live a comfortable life. Sometimes she wondered how he got so much money…but, he was an excellent shot. Once on the bank, Aaralyn had a split second where it seemed that escape might yet again be possible. Physically she stilled in preparation to make yet another attempt at escaping her captor, but common sense won out when she realized that her ability to run faster than him was never very good to begin with, and her frozen limbs didn’t help her situation at all. Instead she focused on getting to her feet. No sooner had she started when he was there again, holding that dagger to her neck and then ushering her along. She had no choice but to obey that usher, and soon found herself seated on a rock, the same weapon still there, ever threatening her in case she got any ‘ideas’. Well…she had plenty of ideas, she just needed the right moment now to execute them. Flickering her gaze toward her possessions resting still on the bank, a bow, her quiver, and her bag full of alchemy supplies, she wet her lips and hugged herself to try and get warm again. “Please…my things.” She tried to still her voice and sound not so scared as she was when she asked her next question. “If you don’t want any coin…” Aaralyn swallowed hard, her eyes misting with tears she wanted to shed and yet held back. “What do you want with me?” She feared the answer to that question, especially with a male bandit – or so she assumed - such as this. She had, after all, heard plenty of stories about what had happened to women. Directly after the thought, she shivered furiously once again. Her throat felt like it was constricting while she waited for an answer. Why was life so cruel? {NOTES} Found my Aaralyn muse!

table by CALIFORNIA DREAMING of CAUTION 2.0, lyrics by Evan’s Blue

Tagged : Aaralyn | Words : 718 | Notes : He can so not handle this.

With the strange feeling, mixing his nerves and excitement, still clinging to his body while he remained in this situation with the girl, Fillim had a difficult time allowing himself to think considering the high. When she mentioned that she “wasn’t rich,” though, Fillim allowed himself a short burst of rational thought. Maybe she wasn’t lying. Maybe her brother was such a blighter to this green Tamriel that he was keeping the money even from his own sibling. Fillim’s rationale informed him that he was undoubtedly reaching for the moon and that whether or not she received any of the brother’s blood money for herself, he still needed her for his repayment to the guild. His grip on her, despite her shivering that only added to the strange feeling that he was partially focused on controlling, never went lax.

Maybe she was starting to realize that her chances of escape were slim, even as much as she begged. Fillim ended up not having to drag her out, but having her twist and almost hold to him to try and crawl her way out as well. The feeling gnawed at him again. It was in her own interest not to have him drag her across the rocks that formed the pool, naturally, but nonetheless he couldn’t help but think he’d already won this “fight” with her, whatever it was worth to him beyond gaining her as his prisoner. His satisfaction, too, was only a dull one, though deep down he did feel the same focused anger in knowing that his revenge, after all this time, could finally begin.

It could begin once Fillim had fetched his weapons and made sure that, while he grabbed them, he didn’t have any more reason to become infuriated with the girl. She seemed to take his threat, once he’d lowered her, as reason enough to remain motionless. Fillim allowed the dagger to return to his trousers for a moment, reaching to slide his stolen sword back into its sheath and grab his bow and other belongings, awkwardly fitting it back around his shoulder with his one free hand. After only a few seconds, Fillim had himself in the same state he’d entered the cave, and started to stand to lead the girl out.

Naturally, she had to ask about her own things.

Fillim swung roughly and glanced them, thinking for a second that he’d just continue dragging her out and not care about what she wanted. He considered the possibility of keeping her quiet, though, as best he could. As much as he didn’t want to appease her in the slightest, he supposed what little gain he could make in keeping her from throwing another fit and trying to escape was worth going a few feet back to grab her stuff. ”Not the quiver,” he told her firmly as he started pushing her over, not interested in her having access to anything sharp so long as he could help it. The bow and other supplies wouldn’t matter, lest she had poison, and that he could check for. He cursed himself silently for allowing anything, but ultimately convinced himself that a little appeasement was worth the effort to see his plan through.

As he led her over, he listened to her next question and rolled his eyes. ”I want you for payment,” Fillim answered her, still impassive. He had decided long before reaching her that he planned to keep his purpose as vague as possible, while making sure to communicate to the thieves guild that he did have her and he would be keeping her until he got what he wanted.

They reached her things, and Fillim, still with the dagger, inched down with her after kicking the quiver over and into the water to make sure she didn’t get grabby hands for them. He also took her satchel himself, leaving only the bow for her to pick up. ”Grab it now or we leave without it.” No more delays. Fillim was going to leave this cave, get her secured with the ropes he’d left nearby in the shrubbery, and get her back to the camp he’d prepared to hold her for the night. And then he could really get to business with tearing down the thieves guild in whatever way he could manage.

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 400px; background-color: #171818; padding:20px; border-top: 10px #171818 solid; border-bottom: 10px #171818 solid;] Save me I’m buriedalive this time {WORDS } 873 {TAGGED } Fillim{WEARING} Something! Oddly enough it was more terrifying to have him be silent. Sitting on her perch on the rock that he had set her down on, Aaralyn tried to still the shivers in her body while she rubbed her hands up and down her legs to try and chase the numbness away. Even though she had stopped her idea to escape for the time being, if she did get an opportunity to run from him, she would take it. If she did indeed get that chance, she couldn’t have clumsy or numb legs, and so she worked at her frozen muscles. Her reward was the gaining of feeling back slowly. At the same time her worried eyes flickered from her captors movements to her things resting where she had deposited them for a moment. When she saw her the bosmer slip his bow over his shoulders, she wet her lips and swallowed hard. He seemed much more intimidating while he was quietly stewing than he had when he was ordering her around. Perhaps she shouldn’t have pushed it by asking about her things, but she also had to give it a try. Her own weapons were there, and if she was ever going to escape him, she would need them. Her bow yes, she was an excellent shot, but she also had a dagger in that bag of alchemy supplies. If she could only reach it…even if he tied her up – which she didn’t doubt he would – she could be able to perhaps free herself in the middle of the night and escape him. If she could do that, she could slip away without harming him and make her way back to Riften. Once there her brother could protect her. But…if she had to go further to free herself, she would be able to do that. It wasn’t so hard, after all, to harm someone in self-defense. He surprised her though, when he actually agreed to give Aaralyn her things, or at least part of them. She had hardly any time to adjust to that before he was once more pushing her along over toward her things. Despite her still numb legs, she tried to gingerly but quickly pick her way over to where her things would be. Momentarily she was sidetracked when he mentioned what he wanted her for. That didn’t appease her in the slightest. What did he mean ‘payment’? Did he mean that her brother was going to pay a ransom? Or did he mean…in some other form of payment? Once more the stories of what male bandits did to women flickered in her mind, and she shrunk away from him in fear. Still, she doubted from his expression that he wanted more questions, and while she wanted to scream and fight and demand that he tell her what he was planning to do with her, she held her tongue and kept her somewhat blank vision turned onto him as if she was hoping to stare his secrets right out of him. Her eyes changed when he kicked her quiver into the water, and she found it hard to keep herself standing still instead of jumping in after her quiver. She’d had that for some time after all, and with that went a good part of her ability to escape if need be. Still, she held her tongue and her eyes watched his every movement. Despite mourning the loss of her quiver however, Aaralyn hoped that he would allow her to carry her Alchemy bag. If she could only reach that dagger… Unfortunately he picked that up as well and left only the bow for her to carry. Her shoulders slumped a bit in disappointment. His snapped out comment urged her to quickly crouch down and pick up her weapon, trying to balance on her numb legs and keep an eye on him at the same time. Straightening quickly, she fumbled with her fingers to string the bow over her own shoulder. At least she had some sort of weapon if he decided to attack her or…take other liberties. With a dry mouth, she avoided that thought and instead thought of all the ways that she could harm herself if he did indeed threaten her any more than he already had. Of course she could bash him in the head if he did, and…other places that she was sure would hurt. Eying the string, she also decided that she could choke him with it if she really needed to. “Okay I have it.”, she said needlessly, shifting between her feet once more and eying her bag enviously. If only she had that dagger… {NOTES} Got Aaralyn muse all of a sudden

table by CALIFORNIA DREAMING of CAUTION 2.0, lyrics by Evan’s Blue

Tagged : Aaralyn | Words : 707 | Notes : If I went too far for you to work with, lemme know!

”Look where you’re going,” Fillim warned darkly, when it seemed as if the girl was intent on keeping a bland gaze on him as he led her over to her equipment. Already Fillim had decided it was best that he never look anyone that he ever attacked in the eyes; his attempt to strip a small, traveling wagon free of its supplies had taught him such a lesson, as he remembered the stab that he’d sustained well when he’d hesitated. He resisted the urge to rub at the scar, present on his chest, for favor of pushing his dagger hand against the girl’s cheek roughly to make her face the other way. He hoped she got a good view of the dagger directly in her vision as he did it. At least she’d not proven to be a complete annoyance so far. He only hoped that she wouldn’t take fetching her things as an excuse to try and cause him trouble again. He was still upset about the teeth marks on his hand, his face twitching with momentary anger as he thought about her biting him again, but he stilled his storm. The calmer he was, the easier taking the Bosmer girl would be.

Fillim watched her closely as she pulled her bow from the ground, ensuring she made no curious movements as she strung it back over her shoulder as any decent Bosmer would. Her vocal confirmation was unnecessary, but Fillim couldn’t help but be pleased when she chose to report to him that she had it. To him, it was the sound of her admitting that she was under his command now. To that end, he did peacefully allow her to stand to her feet under her own power before he angled her back towards the cave exit, her balance be damned. Poking the dagger lightly against the short of her back, he inclined his head towards the dimming light of day though she couldn’t see him make the motion. ”Start walking,” he ordered, starting forward himself despite her choice to obey him or not, as he shifted his arm to make sure the satchel didn’t fall from his shoulder.

And so Fillim had her. A short, coursing burst of enthusiasm crossed him – a less awkward feeling than the occasional, uncomfortable bursts of unknown reaction he was having to the girl – and Fillim held his head high as they both walked their way to the exit, where Foroch was still sitting and waiting for his master to emerge. The hawk seemed curious to see that his master had brought out another Bosmer with him, triggering a cocked head and a few shifts on his perch. Fillim made a sharp half-whistle, the bird taking the order and immediately flying from his perch to take to the skies again and start scouting the area for his master again. The bandit only spared Foroch a glance before slowing up with his prisoner and leaning forward towards her ear. ”You won’t try to run away, you won’t fight back, and most of all, you won’t scream if you don’t want to die,” Fillim paused to let the words sink in, before he continued. ”I am going to cover your eyes, and I am going to bind your hands.” As he spoke the words, he’d already started to work to ease her stomach against a rock off to the side, pulling a small, short rope from a loop in his trousers and holding it in his teeth until he had her situated. ”If you don’t do what I told you not to do, you can walk the whole way without me hurting you. I’m also not above carrying you.” He didn’t mention that he hadn’t brought enough rope to tie up her ankles if it came to that – his remaining rope was back in his camp. He took one wrist roughly, pulling it down to her back. He physically rebelled, with a bite of the inside of his cheek, against the feeling that taunted him again as he did so. ”You can give me your other hand and save yourself pain, also.” He gave the arm he had another quick yank as he made the warning, just to encourage her.

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 400px; background-color: #171818; padding:20px; border-top: 10px #171818 solid; border-bottom: 10px #171818 solid;] Save me I’m buriedalive this time {WORDS } 756 {TAGGED } Fillim {WEARING} Something! Aaralyn did learn something about her captor from studying him, though it was no physical trait. No, it was his sharp comment toward her when he did catch her watching him that gave her the clue. He didn’t like being watched, obviously. And though she could do nothing but obey him – for now – at the same time, Aaralyn did have a certain amount of power over him if she could keep him unsettled and on edge. IF she could get him to second guess his own actions, she might have a chance to get him off balance and find a way to escape despite her inferior strength, and more than likely inferior ability to handle weapons as well. Her brother had taught her well with her bow, and while she had a steady hand and keen eye, that wouldn’t help in a situation where she would have to rely more on instinct than anything else. Her own inexperience in such situations would make her hesitate and give him the edge yet again. She couldn’t let him get any upper hand again when and if she ever did get a chance to run. And given any chance, she would take it. It wasn’t stupidity or stubbornness that made her determine that, but pure need. Though he had yet to seriously harm or compromise her, from what Aaralyn had heard of wanderers like this, it was only a matter of time before he did one or the other to her. And so she kept her eyes steadily on him, and though she remained quiet and didn’t say anything, Aaralyn’s eyes – though still full of fear, had now sharpened to take on more of a defiant – if still nervous – gaze while she picked up her bow and carefully strung it over her shoulders. It felt good knowing she had something that she could use for protection – as little as it was – against him, and she didn’t want him to take it away because of any suspicious movements. Still, she wanted her dagger more than anything, tightening her hand around the wooden portion of her bow as if imagining that it was instead her dagger. The dagger pressed against her back did nothing to still the quick tempo of her heart, and a moment later Aaralyn forced her wooden legs to start to carry her back toward the entrance of the cave. Thankfully she could feel her legs start to become easier to move and less clumsy in her movements. Despite still feeling chilled all over, she couldn’t help but feel a burst of relief that she could at least move if the opportunity to run presented itself. When it did come, she would have to move quickly. And yet, she was forced to once more endure the nearness of her captor – though her eyes were downcast to avoid looking at him – while he once more attempted to lay some rules for her. She would obey them for the time being only because she would be forced to, but she would not do so happily. Still, his touch made her sharply try to draw away again, her mind overruled by the terror that gripped her heart. What was he going to do with her now? A covered eyes? Bound hands? “No, please, I promise not to scream.”, she softly begged, before she found herself stomach down against a rock. She could feel her own quick heartbeat against the surface while she did so, and battled tears again while he wrenched her wrist to tie. Despite her best efforts, one did escape to dampen the boulder she was now plastered to. No more though, as she quickly battled that down. She had long since retreated into the shell she had created after the death of her parents whenever she was faced with situations unfamiliar or terrifying. On reflex and perhaps a bit of defiance, she had curled her second arm up between her chest and the boulder when he had pulled on her first arm. Though she didn’t want to give her second arm to him, the wrench on her first determined it for her, and she quickly moved to do so. Still, she couldn’t keep the hurt from her voice when she questioned him. “Why do you tell me to do something to avoid pain, and then inflict pain to encourage me to avoid it?” Her voice echoed the defeat written across her features. Only her eyes had that spark of defiance within them. {NOTES} My Aaralyn posts are always so wonky

table by CALIFORNIA DREAMING of CAUTION 2.0, lyrics by Evan’s Blue

Tagged : Aaralyn | Words : 561 | Notes : Again! If I went too far ahead, say the word. :3

”I’m sure your promises are worth so much,” came Fillim’s sarcastic answer to the girl, before he situated her against the rock. It did not connect in Fillim’s mind for anyone associated with the thieves guild to manage any sort of honesty at any time in their lives. They made their living off of treachery, and their families benefitted from that treachery at the expense of other families.

At the behest of these thoughts, Fillim was sure he grasped her arm with more frustrated strength than he had initially intended as he yanked it back to tie up. He started to reach for the other one to yank it back to him, her having it pinned between the rock and her body being of no concern to him if it meant he got her tied faster, when she finally decided it would be wise to give it to him peacefully. Again, he thought it well enough that she wasn’t a total fool trying to best him at every step and only causing him more and more frustration as the resistance continued; he also thought she was clever enough to try to pull something if he wasn’t careful. Taking her wrist and continuing to curse his own body’s weakness, he pulled that wrist just enough so that it’d be uncomfortable, but not painful, where he eventually tied her hands down past her waist. Despite the fact that he wished she’d simply be silent and make this easier on both of them, he responded to her calmly. ”Why do you ask questions that won’t change anything?” Pulling the rope tight once he had it secured, he pushed on her back lightly to make sure she remained in place, and pulled a small piece of damp cloth, courtesy of their tussle in the water, from his trousers and brought it around the front of her face, over her eyes. He tied it in the midst of her annoyingly long hair. ”Next is a gag, if you’re not quiet.” Once his work was done, he pulled her back straight up onto her feet, keeping hold of her by the elbow to guide her in her blind state.

Foroch hadn’t made any concerns known to Fillim, so he started easily leading the girl across the forest floor, deciding that it would only waste his time in getting back to camp if she was constantly tripping. He slowed her when they approached the first upturned root, kicking it with his foot roughly to let her know it was there before leading the way over it. Fillim felt a strange urge to speak come over him, in spite of how badly he wanted both of them quiet. He did want – and need – information, however, and he thought it best that he ask her now so she wouldn’t be too chatty in the camp. Glancing to her with his jaw set, he studied her features a few seconds before turning back to the trail. ”How many know you came here?”, he asked, knowing that the more were aware and the more that were expecting her back, the more frantic people would be. If Fillim could ignite even a small panic among her fool brother in the thieves guild and anyone involved in his life, it would be worth speaking to her. ”And where did they expect you to go?”

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 400px; background-color: #171818; padding:20px; border-top: 10px #171818 solid; border-bottom: 10px #171818 solid;] Save me I’m buriedalive this time {WORDS } 710 {TAGGED } Fillim {WEARING} Something! She was quickly realizing that nothing she said was going to change his mind or make him treat her any better than he was currently doing. Having always tried to live her life where she did speak the truth and live honestly, Aaralyn was hurt at his sharp words that she was not to be trusted - though she told herself it didn't matter what anyone thought of her, let alone this barbaric wild man that would probably kill her quickly. Why he had kept her alive for so long she wasn't sure, unless it was to serve his physical...desires before he did so. That out of anything terrified her, and if faced with that situation she was determined that she would find a way to end her own life instead. But instead of saying anything, she ground her teeth together and put a bland look on her face - one learned over time - so that she could attempt to make herself noticed as little as possible. Perhaps he could just kill her and get it over with quickly. Still, the jerk on her arm was painful, and perhaps would have made her cry out had she had any less control over her body. Her pride was bruised more than her body though, which might have been what led her to ask her question on why it was that he was treating her like he was. If he wasn't going to kill her right away - which she almost wished he had done - then why go through the trouble of tying her up and doing this? It didn't make any sense. His answer too, w,as less than satisfying. Truly not sure why she had questioned him, Aaralyn's eyes dropped down. "I don't know.", she said honestly in response, before watching the piece of cloth inch closer to her face, though she was unsure of his intentions until he had started to place it over her eyes. She didn't like the dark very much, and so she reeled back slightly - stopping when she ran into his body that was obviously not moving anywhere and giving her no space to do so either. "Please, don't.", she softly begged before that too was placed over her eyes and she was cut off from the light. Still, as terrifying as being in the dark and having to rely on this man to lead her, she fell silent when he threatened to gag her, the next moment pulled back until she was standing nearly free of him aside from a hand on her elbow - no doubt to guide her. As much as she needed the guidance, she didn't want him to touch her, not at all. Unfortunately though, she was forced to rely on him when he started to lead her forward. Walking as carefully as she could under the circumstances, Aaralyn still caught her foot slightly when they went over the root, quickly correcting herself so he wouldn't jerk her around or get any angrier with her. For now there wasn't much she could do except to submit to his demands...later though, perhaps in camp she could figure out a way to get away. It would take some time to get to Riften of course, but...no doubt her brother would be out looking for her by that time. She was somewhat surprised when he asked her a question, but that only led to a bit of a sinking in her heart. Who all knew where she was? The people in Riften knew that she normally was out at all hours of the day and sometimes evening, and they knew she was gathering different things she needed, but she also realized that they never knew exactly where she went. Even she didn't know exactly where she was going to go. Her brother...he would know when she was overdue and come to look for her, perhaps even bringing other people with him, but aside from that, she didn't know if anyone cared or could do anything about it. And even her brother wouldn't even know where to look for her...could he find her? It was a terrible feeling to realize that you were on your own with a bandit that had you tied up and when you didn't know what he would do to you. "I don't know.", she answered once more honestly in defeat, but not allowing that to creep into her soft voice. She didn't know whether to lie or tell the truth...what did he want? If only he would show more expression or tell her something...anything. "What do you want me to say?" Despite her first thought being to lie and tell him tons of people knew, she wasn't quite sure if she should say something like that. {NOTES} ONE DOWN...and two more

table by CALIFORNIA DREAMING of CAUTION 2.0, lyrics by Evan’s Blue