All Roads Lead To You (A Skyrim Romance Mod fanfic)

Chapter Seven

*Author's note: Thank you very much to everyone who has been reading, and sorry for the wait. Now, let's see if I can update this more regularly.*

He jogged to catch up to the woman and fell into step beside her. He reached into his pack and fished out a wad of cloth, which he wordlessly handed to her. She gave him a nod of thanks and used it to wipe blood from her eyes, then pressed it tightly against the cut on her head. They walked in silence for a long time, and neither likely would have uttered a word had Karnwyr not suddenly trotted up behind them. Bishop looked over his shoulder at him and frowned.

"Where have you been?" he scolded the wolf mildly, "you missed a hell of a fight."

Aruna looked back to see who Bishop was talking to, and when her eyes fell on the wolf, trotting quietly behind them, she raised her eyebrows. She met Bishop's eyes and he shrugged.

"This is Karnwyr, my best friend and the laziest wolf in all of Skyrim," he said.

Karnwyr huffed as if offended by this introduction and quickened his pace, moving around them and ahead of them so that he was leading the way.

"Don't be like that," Bishop called after him. To Aruna, he lowered his voice and said, "he is pretty lazy. I should probably stop sharing game with him. I'm turning him into a house dog."

She smiled and Bishop looked away.

"How long has he been with you?" she asked.

"Since I was about 17," he answered, fondness softening his features as he watched the wolf, "no one I trust more in the world than that animal."

Aruna gazed at Karnwyr thoughtfully for a moment then nodded as if she understood.

The three of them reached Rorikstead just as the sun dropped behind the mountain peaks and the air became colder. They climbed the steps of Frostfruit Inn wearily and were all greeted by a rush of heat from the hearth fire in the center of the tavern. Bishop offered to order for them and Aruna accepted gratefully, settling onto a bench near the corner farthest from the bar.

 Karnwyr followed Bishop to the counter, his tail waving hopefully at the smells of seared meat. Aruna rested her head in her hand and watched Bishop as he talked to the innkeeper. She wondered why he'd stayed to fight the dragon with her when he could have easily just run while it was distracted. For that matter, why did he help when the fire dragon had attacked a few nights before? She was beginning to accept the fact that dragons would now seek her out wherever she went, and with every victory she learned something new about fighting them. She hoped that it would get a little easier over time. However, she didn't expect anyone to stick his neck out to help her. Sometimes local guards or villagers would assist, even when a dragon attacked outside their village or town, but this man had aided her twice now. It didn't quite match the impression she'd first gotten of him from speaking to locals in Riverwood, who loved to gossip about anything and anyone. The guards especially had a lot to say, partly from all the interesting run-ins Bishop had with them, partly because most of the time, guard work was boring work unless the town was attacked by dragons. No one had mentioned that the ranger had a philanthropic streak, and he definitely hadn't given Aruna that impression the night she'd drugged him. She cringed. She really hadn't thought he'd actually track her down. This was going to be one awkward apology.

Bishop returned with two tankards of ale, two bowls of steaming beef stew, and a slab of seared beef, all balanced precariously on a wooden tray. Karnwyr was close behind, eyeing the tray in Bishop's hands intently. Bishop set the tray down on the table, slid a bowl of stew in front of Aruna and set a tankard of ale deliberately next to it, catching her eye with a meaningful glare. She smiled sheepishly.