#arlowinfo

[notalwaysthiscuddly]

WHAT DOES YOUR MUSE SMELL LIKE?

Freshly Baked Bread

key words: warm, inviting, kindness. you are the definition of cooking as a loved language and are at your strongest when creating something. others find you soothing to be around and feel at ease due to your genuine warmth and nurturing nature. you can be a mix of gentle and passionate, but it’s that intensity that lives at the centre of your spirit that draws people to you most.

compatible with: candle smoke, coffee, rosewater.

[beastlyburden]

#6 [Pepper] - Arlow

When a stray dog followed Halldis and Shadrach home, Arlow made a point to clean the dog up, feed her, and offer her a place to stay. At least until they could locate her family.

But after weeks of searching, no one seems to have lost or abandoned her. Arlow has started to wonder if the poor pup came from Helgen, as she bears some scarring that looks as though it were caused by burns.

Pepper, as Arlow named her, is a black, grey, and white-flecked wolfhound. Her muzzle has more white than most of her body, and Arlow estimates she’s around five to six years old, if not a little older.

Since no family was found, Arlow has decided to keep her as his own, having grown too attached to the canine to just give her away. She has a bed in his room, and often accompanies him during his day-to-day activities in the city.

[beastlyburden]

#5 [Mentor to Housemates] - Arlow

Despite their initial meeting going poorly, Arlow couldn’t help but feel a bond between Shadrach and himself. He also couldn’t help but feel responsible for the entire situation, and when Shadrach came to him asking for help, Arlow accepted without hesitation. As the two men were frequently spending time with one another - as Arlow needed to know more about Shadrach before he could properly assist him in wrangling his Bear - Arlow had no problem with inviting Shadrach to stay in his home whenever he wished.

After some time, Arlow felt Shad could use more privacy, and the two Nords cleaned out Gunnar’s old room, sorting items out and putting them away.

Now Shadrach has his own room at Arlow’s home.

Tommy has recently moved in, and stays up in the loft. Most often, he is joined by Halldis, Bo, and occasionally Dag and Llaara.

“It’s late,” Shadrach said, stretching his back before standing from the table. Arlow stood along with him, taking the plate and utensils from in front of the fellow Nord and stacking them atop his own.

“I should head out, gotta get back to m'camp a'fore too long,” Shad continued, pushing his chair in and moving from the table to grab his boots. Arlow paused mid-step, before turning towards the younger Nord.

“You could stay here,” he offered, and nodding towards the loft. “Got a spare bed, and since we’ve already planned to go out tomorrow and scout for a place to transform, you might as well be here.”

Shadrach paused, thinking over the offer. The Nord had a point, and it might be nice to sleep in a bed of sorts for once. Eventually, he shrugged, but a smile crossed his face.

“Well… if it ain’t too much trouble…”

-- -- --

What began as a simple invitation had blossomed into a full-blown project, which was now complete.

At first, Arlow simply had Shadrach stay in the loft while he took the master bedroom. As Shad’s stays increased, Arlow felt his blood brother should have more privacy and an actual room to call his own.

Though still pained at the idea of moving his family’s remaining items down to the cellar, Arlow found it easier to do so if he had someone there to assist him. With Shadrach helping, Arlow wasn’t the only one shouldering the weight.

Eventually, as he and Shadrach placed items into chests, Arlow decided that perhaps instead of keeping everything, he should give some things away. He couldn’t sell them - he wasn’t capable of that, but surely someone out there could use the items that he could barely bring himself to look at.

Clothes were sorted through first. Arlow kept a few outfits of his parents’ and brother’s that he couldn’t let go of yet, as well as some of his and Gunnar’s clothes from when they were kids. The rest they packed into crates, and planned on hauling off to the city before finding someone to take them to the Orphanage in Riften.

Toys were packed next, and Arlow only kept a choice few. The rest he packed alongside the children’s clothes. The orphans would put these old toys to use better than he could.

Anything that was too damaged to salvage or otherwise not useful to anyone else, they scrapped themselves.

Arlow found the entire experience remarkably freeing. He no longer felt guilty and weighed down. The items his family had used and cared for would now be put to use, even if it wasn’t Arlow who was using them.

Soon enough, the spare room was clean and tidy. The wardrobe now filled with what clothing Shadrach had, and the chests and night stands filled with what items Shad had with him.

The few items he had chosen to keep were placed in a chest and set down in the cellar, next to the other chests, where it too was covered by a sheet to keep it from the worst of the damp.

Now, at least, Shadrach had a place to call his own in Whiterun Hold. A place where he was always welcome, and go to unwind and seek company from a fellow werebear.

[beastlyburden]

#4 [Armor] - Arlow

There is a simple armor that Arlow prefers to wear. He assisted the blacksmith in forging the set for him, and he makes sure to keep it in tip-top shape. Just in case.

The set is generally considered “heavy” armor, and that’s due to the simple fact that Arlow needed (i.e.wanted) a heavier set of armor for when he ran jobs out of Whiterun Hold. Most of the areas outside Whiterun are near-foreign to him, and he doesn’t wish to be caught off-guard and under-protected. Generally, Arlow doesn’t wear this armor when in Whiterun, but rather wears “civilian” clothes.

[beastlyburden]

#3 [Survivor’s Guilt] - Arlow

Though Arlow would never admit it (as he denies it even to himself) he does suffer from survivor’s guilt.

This was strongest during the first few months after the werebear encounter that killed two of his friends. The intensity of the anxiety, depression, and guilt he felt increased the closer he got to a transformation, and lingered after the transformation itself. The nightmares that tend to plague werebeasts only increase this feeling more – as it is mostly his fallen friends that he ‘hunts’ in these nightmares.

He felt (and still feels on occasion) that he was not strong enough to save his friends. Not strong enough to take down the beast that killed them. That he should have paid more attention, been better prepared. That he should have been the one to die – for the other two men had families that loved them, children and wives that needed them. Mostly, he feels undeserving of his survival, but feels the Lycanthropy is a fitting 'punishment’ for him.

Arlow’s 'treatment’ for these feelings is to merely distract himself from the thoughts. He busies himself with odd jobs, helping those he can when he can – especially those who have suffered in combat and are survivors themselves.

Only when he is completely alone, with nothing left to distract him, do the thoughts trickle back in and fuel his nightmares for the night.

[beastlyburden]

#2 [Traveling Handyman] - Arlow

Arlow can be found outside of Whiterun Hold, though it’s not a common occurrence. He prefers to stay in his own ‘territory’ - it’s comfortable, safe, and familiar. He knows where he can go and where he can’t when it comes to his transformations. Being in an unknown area leaves him at risk of potentially attacking innocents while transformed.

With his new affliction, Arlow couldn’t keep his job as a guard. He tried, at first, to ease back into the job. Despite his best efforts, he couldn’t stay – he was afraid of the times in which he would be forced to turn – incapable of controlling himself and thus endangering Whiterun and those he cared about.

He had grown up a hunter. Learned from his mother how to blacksmith, how to repair armor and clothes. He knew how to cook and how to keep troublesome company out of a tavern or inn.

Primarily, Arlow works at the local inn as cook (and muscle when necessary). Occasionally, he is pulled away to other jobs – helping with a forge or assisting a merchant.

If he can help - he will.

[beastlyburden]

#1 [Beast] - Arlow

Five years ago, Arlow and two other guards were sent to a small farm a ways out in the Hold on account of wild animal attacks. Farmer had claimed a bear was killing his cows.

The guards were cautious, knowing bears were unpredictable at best, but were not prepared for the werebear that came barreling towards them that night.

Though they fought tooth and nail and successfully wounded the great beast, it claimed the two guards’ lives and nearly claimed Arlow’s as well. He was patched up by the farmer’s family and rushed to Whiterun where he was healed and monitored.

Unfortunately, having been bitten by the beast and having its blood enter his wounds - he was infected with lycanthropy with no chance of cure.

The werebear that turned Arlow was unlike any creature he had encountered before. It wasn’t until his first transformation that he fully realized just what exactly had taken the lives of his friends.

Despite his attempts, he never did track down the creature that turned him. Had he succeeded, he would have found a man whose face was grizzled and worn, hair wild, deep amber eyes aflame.

His name - at one point - was Heinrich. Thanks to a violent meeting with a fellow werebear, Arlow learns the beast that turned him into a werebeast was a man by the name of Heinrich. Unfortunately, (or perhaps fortunately), Heinrich is deceased, leaving Arlow no man or beast to hunt down and punish for his disease.

-- -- --

Arlow attempts to cope with his Bear by giving it a name, a separate identity. He has dubbed the creature Skyld for the guilt it brings him. He rarely ever says this name aloud, however, as he rarely speaks of his Beast with others.

[beastlyburden]

Arlow’s original blog, lost to time.*