Small Town Girl

Oh! Hi, there! Sorry, don't mind the smell. It's just the goats. You need directions? I know all the places to stay nearby. And all the names of the shopkeeps. And the-- ..Hello? || About || Elder Scrolls role play blog. Mod is 18+. No crossovers,...

[ladyashknight]

“You’re flustered? You chased me halfway out of Whiterun just to tell me I could hit people.” Icona wasn’t sure of her next step, either. Everything was so far removed from Daggerfall, from her life with the knights, from even the caravans. She didn’t like when rules changed too fast. She wanted to know what to expect, and this was very much not expected.

“I don’t have anything to bribe you with.” Icona hedged. Maybe that was it. She was a new blood in the guard, heard people handed out coin to keep themselves out of jail. Icona had a few septims, but certainly not enough.

[ram-shield]

“I don’t want you t’pay me!”  Briet panicked.  “That’s not what I meant!  I don’t want money.  Or anything.  I just-- Wanted to make sure you were alright.  They can be asses, right?”  She scratched the back of her neck and let her gaze slide away for a moment, before she chanced a glance back at her face.

“And a lot of us take it out on elves when we shouldn’t. So... I just...”  She trailed off.  “Wanted to make sure y’knew that you didn’t have to put up with it.  Not here.   I don’t like people being bullied.  So I’ll help you if I can.  That’s what I’m here for.”

[ladyashknight]

What was she on about? “You’re telling me, I can hit people. And you’ll hit them, too?” If this was a trap, it was a weird one. What was she thinking? “Look, I don’t follow. What kind of guard are you, even?”

[ram-shield]

“My name’s Briet,”  She clumsily interjects just as the Dunmer questions her.  Briet bites her bottom lip, embarrassed, and then glances around to ensure that there’s no one around to see this.  She looks the Dunmer woman straight in the eye.

“A good one,”  She insists.  “Just not-- You know, one who thinks every rule needs to be followed all the time.  For good reasons, though, only. Anarchy.”  She laughs, and then quickly quiets herself. “This isn’t fair,”  She complains after a moment.  “I’m flustered.  I don’t know how to talk when I’m-- Flustered.”

[ladyashknight]

Icona’s confusion muddled over her apprehension and anger. Backing up from the Nord, she stalled, waiting for her wind to come back. “Then what do you want?”

[ram-shield]

“I don’t know!”  She complained after a long pause fell between them.  Briet hated uncomfortable silences.  “I don’t know!  Because--”  She mumbled to herself, and felt a hot rush rising up her neck, and filling her face.  “I just don’t want to see you in trouble,”  She mutters, barely audible.  “That’s all.  He was bothering you.  And I have to try to go with the law, yeah?  But if someone tries to talk shit to you again, you can hit them. And just let me know.  I’ll hit ‘em, too.”

[ladyashknight]

Icona finally halted, breathing harshly. “Why you think I’m running?” She barked back, throat dry. What could this guardsman want? “You think I’m gonna trust you or something?”

[ram-shield]

“Well--!”  She began before she could stop herself, voice clipped.  Realization came later;  Why should this woman trust her?  She shut her mouth with an audible click of her teeth, and crossed her arms across her chest.  Stubbornly, she muttered out a quiet:  “No.”

[ladyashknight]

Icona is good at running, but there’s only so far and fast one can go in heavy armor. And this guard is damn persistent. What in Oblivion is her deal, anyway? She’s too invested in catching a Dunmer red-handed. Literally red-handed, if the smear on her knuckles is anything to go by.

“Like you?” She calls back, but she’s running out of steam. She could walk all day in this armor, but it’s been a long day, and now she’s tired. “Fuck off, Nord!”

[ram-shield]

“I don’t fuck anywhere!”  Briet yelled back.  The Dunmer was slowing down, and it was a good thing, too.  Briet was running out of breath, and she was panting by the time she caught up.  Her arms felt limp when she reached out to steady the Dunmer, and then thought better of touching her and simply cut her off instead.

“Stop!  Wait, stop.  I’m not going to arrest you.  Why are you running?  Doncha know how to listen?”

[ladyashknight]

Icona doesn’t trust this woman, not one bit, but what’s the worst that could happen? She’s spent time in jail before. And she really wants to punch this guy.

Without warning, or fanfare, she winds up and sends her fist square into his nose. She’s not lucky enough for bone shards to get in his brain, it seems, as by his squeal and flailing, he’s very much alive.

Good for him. Icona has more immediate concerns; she takes off running.

[ram-shield]

“Hey-- Wait!”  

This wasn’t the outcome she’d planned.  As far as Briet figured, this Dunmer would give this idiot what was coming to him, they’d make their peace, and that would be the end of it.  But when the girl fled, instead, Briet was compelled to give chase.

She isn’t the fastest runner, but she has endurance.  She also knows Whiterun quite well, and in time, nearly catches up to the fleecing Dunmer.  “Wait!” She calls again, breathless.  “Why are you running?  You keep running, someone is gonna stop you!”  Whether because they were suspicious or were afraid she was running from something, but someone was likely to grab her.  “Stop.”

[ladyashknight]

“I’m not gonna repeat a half hour of slurs and ‘suggestions,’” Icona barks. “I’m just gonna shove my fist down his throat and be on my way.”

[ram-shield]

She looks at Icona, and then the Nord man.  She glances back and forth, and then steps back.  “Okay,”  she says simply, much to the Nord man’s confusion. As if to emphasize what she means, she jerks his head encouragingly in his direction.

“Go on.”

[ladyashknight]

“Officially? Officially this ass decided to harass me all evening. Officially, I got sick of it, and decided to officially remove his teeth from his head.” Icona spits back, not at all concerned about the eyes she’s drawing. “So if you could get out of the way and mind your own business, I’ll get right back to it.”

[ram-shield]

“He was---  He was?”  All aggravation seems to leave her at once, arms relaxed at her side as she turns to look over her shoulder at the Nord who’s still, mercifully, standing, blood streaming down from his nose. “She’s lying--”  He begins, and the guardswoman immediately holds up her hand to silence him as she looks the Dunmer in the eye.

“What did he say?”

[ladyashknight]

“Tell you? Tell you?” Icona is yelling, too. She doesn’t calm down. “Why should I think you’re any better?”

[ram-shield]

“Because I’m talkin’ to you instead of hauling you off to jail!”  She hollers back, hands clenched at her sides.  Their shouting is starting to draw some attention, and she ignores the stares they’re receiving as she forces herself to calm down.

“So.  Just.  Tell me what happened.”  She clears her throat.  “Officially.”

[ladyashknight]

“It was gonna be!” Icona lashes a kick out at the Nord she originally sent flying to the floor. “What do you think happened? Huh? What do you think would make some Dunmer attack some Nord? It wouldn’t be the thought she’d get treated right by the guards!”

[ram-shield]

“If he did something I should know about, tell me!”  She’s still shouting, and she doesn’t know why.  Must be the adrenaline rush.  She relaxes, and then crosses her arms, face still pink.  “Instead of beating him into a bloody pulp.  How am I supposed to know how it started?  Hey!”  She points at the downed Nord.  “You don’t leave, either.  Stay there.”

[ladyashknight]

“You jumped into this fight!” Icona finally found her words and roared them at this Nord, furious, trying to bite against the palm on her face, keep it away from her nose. Her hand did release the woman’s hair, but then she shoved, hard. Let go of her? The woman had the mer around the middle. “You let go of me!”

[ram-shield]

“I’m a guard!  S’what I’m supposed to do when you come in here all fur and fangs like a sabrecat!”  She yells back, and finally releases the Dunmer.  She stumbled back and to her feet, face flushed.  She planted her feet, and pointed at the Dunmer where she lay.

“Explain what happened.  Now.  Why are you starting fights in a tavern?  That’s against the law!  That wasn’t a brawl!”

[ladyashknight]

The little woman is smaller, and her lower center of gravity is just enough to unbalance the mer. She crashes to her ass, dragging the commanding Nord down with her. Of course no one would take Icona’s side. Of course they’d side with the lout she punched.

Fury rips through her, and she yells in fury as the Nord tries to gain control of the situation. Rather than stop, she thrashes, pushing at the woman. Her adversary is strong, sure, and Icona might be weighted down by armor, but she’d been in plenty of scraps before. She isn’t afraid to fight dirty, and a gauntleted fist goes for Briet’s hair.

[ram-shield]

Briet yells loudly as that hand grasps hold of her hair.  She reaches out blindly, the heel of her hand shoving up against the Dunmer’s face as she tries to regain control of the situation.  She knows how to scrap, and likes to scrap, but this is unprofessional.

“STOP!”  She hollered, voice muffled against the floor.  “What’s the matter with you!?  Do you want to get arrested!?”  As much as Briet liked upholding the law, that didn’t mean she liked to punish people for it.  And it didn’t seem like this woman was getting the point.  “Let go of me!”

[ladyashknight]

Icona is not in the mood to be told to stop. Not when this shitstain of a human had been giving her grief. She’d tried to ignore him. Tried to enjoy her ale. But no, no, he hadn’t let her. Now she’s knocking out his teeth, and she’s the one getting yelled at, dragged off of him?

Figures. Nord trash will stick together.

With a wordless yell, she spins on the woman holding her, a punch aimed for her face.

[ram-shield]

The first  connects with her jaw, and Briet utters a loud yelp of surprise.  She staggers backwards one step, hands slapped over the wronged area as she stares at the Dunmer woman with an expression somewhere between incredulous and outraged, all wide eyes and a wrinkling nose.

She gave no warning before she lunged, yelling as she went.  She didn’t aim so much to punch as she did to tackle the woman to the ground, her arms wrapping around the mer’s waist.  People scattered quickly enough, but no one seemed to be running to get reinforcements, and wasn’t that just typical?  No one followed the rules but her.  

“Hit me again!”  She dared, voice breaking in her irritation.  “Hit me again, and I’ll knock the snot out of you!  Stop squirming!”

[ram-shield]

ladyashknight said: The Dunmer doesn’t even seem to notice the Nord yelling at her; instead, she’s trying to pummel the sprawled man into the ground. She’s not making any real sense with what she’s saying, unless an onlooker can translate Dunmeris. She’s very angry.

“Hey?  Did you hear me?”

It becomes quite apparent, quite soon, that the answer is no.  Briet is shouting, and the Dunmer woman still doesn’t seem to comprehend a word she’s saying. Maybe she’s deaf?  

Whatever the reason for her refusal to stand down, she’s run out of chances.  Without another word, Briet lunges forward, and grabs the Dunmer off of the poor, sputtering Nordic man.  She’s stronger than she looks, and she’s no waif to begin with.    “I said,”  She growls through her teeth,  “Knock it off, or you can cool off in prison!”  Her face is pink, body tense and ready just in case this woman decides to try and take her ire out on Briet next.

“Got it?”

[ram-shield]

Briet didn't want a quiet night, did she? Hopefully not, because her patrol is going to be interrupted by a Nord being hurled bodily through the inn door, followed soon by an irate Dunmer in armor, shouting the filthiest Dunmeris.

She’s on her feet in an instant, ale sloshing from her mug.  She’s on break herself, and it’s only just begun.  Technically, that means she’s off duty, but crime never takes a break.  And this time, it appears to have found her.  Excellent.

“Oi!  Hey!”  For being so short, her voice carries, and she almost strikes an imposing figure as she rests her hands on her hips, hair sticking out in every direction from being smashed beneath a helmet all morning.  “What do you think you’re doing, starting trouble in the tavern?  Explain yourself!”

[poisonanddiamonds-blog]

Stop in the name of the law! (Marina & Briet)

[poisonanddiamonds-blog]

“Oh, I had no idea! The guards just let me through without a second glance!” She pouted, “I’m a herbalist by trade, I thought I could try selling my mixtures out here in Whiterun, they said it was where everyone bought and traded things, and I thought I’d do something different. Oh, I knew I shouldn’t have listened to Septimus– my brother, I love him but he is too money hungry!” Partly true. Mostly true. She hoped it seemed true enough.

“I’m so sorry miss, I really hadn’t the slightest idea! Can you take me to where I need to get a permit?” It wouldn’t hurt, of course. She was just a distraction. Where on Akatosh’s gilded little feet was Delvin?

[ram-shield]

...Oh.

Most thieves and snake oil salesmen didn’t ask where to buy a permit.  They ether just picked up their wares and moved quietly elsewhere, or they tried to make excuses.  Briet was aware of the other guards turning to look at her, and she suspected they thought she had made a rather big deal out of all of this.  And maybe she had, but the law was important.  Riften was a prime example of what happened when commerce was left unchecked, and no one wanted Whiterun to become like Riften.

“I, um.”  She rubbed the back of her neck, and diverted her eyes.  A few stray pieces of gravel on the road crunched beneath her boot as she ground the ball of her foot into the path.  “Just.. It’s.. I can show you.  But no foot drinks,”  She added, just to keep face.  “They won’t work. This way.”  She turned, and started back down toward the city gates.  IT was a bit of a walk, and she couldn’t help but peer back occasionally.  Eventually, her guilt did begin to eat at her, and she kicked a small pebble out of her path as she walked. “Sorry,”  She mumbled.  “I thought you were being dishonest.”

[poisonanddiamonds-blog]

Stop in the name of the law! (Marina & Briet)

[poisonanddiamonds-blog]

Well this was… hmm. Where was Delvin and what was taking him so long?

“Merchant’s permit?” Marina feigned stupid, she could afford to do it, she thought, “I had no idea, I mean, down south they just let you sell whatever! I didn’t know you needed to have a permit!” She gasped, hands to her cheek.

“Oh, this is really embarrassing, miss!” Not as embarrassing as the red on her cheeks, “I really had no idea, I was hoping to make some coin so I could keep travelling, but here,” and she emptied out her bags, small bottles of lotion and perfumes, a loose button and a whopping two septims.

“Am I going to be arrested?”

[ram-shield]

“Yes, a Merchant’s Permit.  And you would have known about it if you had registered with imports when you reached the city, which is standard procedure.”  She pointed in the vague direction.  “But you didn’t.  So I think you’re.. “  Lying?  She didn’t want to accuse a woman of lying.  That was rude.

Rude, but likely true.

“Ha!”  She exclaimed instead, and bent to snatch up the bottles of perfumes.  “Perfume?  No one here carries around perfume.”  Or she didn’t, anyway.  “And I think you have more than two septims.  You’re trying to be tricky.  If you were smart, you would have tried peddling a salve.”  She took a deep breath.

“What do you have to say in your defense?”