Seeking the Raven

" Where did you learn to shoot like that ?  was the inevitable question , that she had answered so many times. It was starting to annoy her.          Flicking the other an  annoyed scowl " You know very well  ,after I told you enough times, Kort .. open your ears for once. " she gathered her arrows and made ready to leave  before she passed by him and shook the arrows at him  " Or did you think , that women are too weak to handle weapons .. and you had best chose your words carefully, dear cousin, when you answer." she warned him  before another voice interrupted them both .

"oh hoho ..  ye best be mindin yer tongue lad..in fact  iffen I were ye. I would  keep it behind me teeth ' the rough voice chortled at her words before a burly bearlike man with thick black hair ,and bushy beard approached them. His dark blue eyes twinkled with amusement, and a  heavy ornate axe hung from his belt. " How  ye be doin ,Rune  lass... settlin ' well ? Dem lads behavin themselves around ye?" he asked the young woman before him, as she grinned and gave him a hug and kiss on the cheek  " I am doing fine Uncle Bertrand, and yes , they are behaving; especially after discovering I'm stronger  than I look, and they have felt the lash of my tongue on more than one occasion."

The older man threw back his  head and roared with laughter before turning to the young man "Kort,  yer pa is lookin fer ye .. get yer arse home, lad before he comes looking fer ye ! "  watching in amusement as the younger man paled ,and scurried off  like a frightened rabbit. Rune watched her cousin bolt off before turning to her uncle "  Is Uncle Eimer, really looking for him , or is that just  an excuse to make him leave?"  she chuckled  . Her uncle nods " Aye.. the lad has been shirking his chores.. his da is fit to be tied. The pup doesn't have a lick of sense between dem ears ,and about as lazy and shiftless dey come. Not sure  how he got that way.. but I suppose bein the youngest.. he got spoiled alot by his mother.Turning out of be a miserable excuse fer a nord ,let alone a Warchilde...  yer  grand dad would be turnin o'er in his grave he would.  Ach well.. how be the training goin' ?"

" It seems to be going well..  its a challenge trying to hit the bullseye in this wind but I needed the practice "  she explains , her bow in hand. Her uncle looks at the well worn bow.. that  looks like it has seen better days  " Ach.. that bow is more fit fer a child lass, ye need a proper  bow if yer going to be huntin' bigger prey than target dummies ! "  she protested " but.. it was the bow that Oric gave me .when  I was twelve .. I can't get rid of it !! "  her uncle snorted "  I never said anything about gettin  rid of it, lass.. but it's much too small fer  ye. Ye, can hang the bow in yer room as a keepsake but fer hunting  ye need a bow with more  power than the one ye hae now. C'mon.. lets get ye to the bowyer,and get ye set  up .Now don't argue wit ole Bertrand here "  before she puts her hands up in surrender " Alright alright , you win .." she  shakes her head with a laugh,and follows  him to the bowyer. It took a good half hour before she found one that fit her hands,and felt comfortable to her. Uncle Bertrand was right  ..she did need a new bow..  she was reluctant to give up her old one ; they had been through so much together..and it was one of the few things she had left from her brother

 "It's time for you to leave, you are no longer welcome here "  the  words falling like stones upon the floor. The woman speaking them, had a look of smug satisfaction upon her face,as she raked the younger woman with a disdainful look.

"Leave?!  This is my home, you can't tell me to leave. Where in Mara's name do you expect me to go ?"  the younger woman protested indignantly  , stunned by the other woman's temerity         .

" I don't really care; this house belongs to Oric,and as his wife, I have the right to decide who stays and who goes. You have refused the matches I have tried to make for you ,and therefor you are no longer welcome here. You are a burden ,taking advantage of your brother's good nature,and generosity.. you never help with the work."  the woman barked out, her intent clear to the  other .

" You  honestly think I was going to marry those men  , you have chosen for me? ! I have tried to help out, but you made  it clear on many occasions that you didn't want my help, now I see that it was just a ploy.Since I  know my brother won't do anything to defend me.. I will leave..first I need to gather my things "  

"NO! You will leave without them.. I want you out now."  the woman pointed the door ordering the younger woman to leave  ,just as her husband  walks in  hearing  her demand.

" Now Iva.. let my sister retrieve her belongings. they are of no import to you " he spoke soothingly to his wife.

" She will steal us blind, how do you know she won't take things that don't belong to her.. Don't you want to  keep some heirlooms for your children ?" Iva  rounded on her husband, who merely  gave his sister a resigned weary look, but he stood his ground  " She has the right to choose what she wishes to take , as she has more right to them than you  ,or our children."  He turns to his sister  " Go  Rune, and gather your things , I will I make certain you have enough funds to get you to Windhelm, and to the safety of our uncle's hall. "  

His wife screeched at him,when she heard him promise his sister extra funds " You can't be serious ?!! We can't afford to be giving her money. . you are  just going to stand there,and  let her rob us blind ?!  she railed at her husband  before he bit  out " Iva.. I have promised myself I  would never strike a woman but you are pushing me to the point.. You have been adamant about wanting Rune gone , however I am still head of this house,and the final decision is mine.If it spares her from your viper tongue, I will ask her to leave , and give her the means to get to our uncle's  in relative safety and  comfort .I will not toss her out in the cold,without  a cent or her keepsakes like you were all too willing to do . Now be quiet,and go tend to the children"   he snapped, satisfied with the shocked expression on his wife's  face . She left with an indignant huff, casting a poisonous look towards Rune on her way out.

Giving a weary sigh, his shoulders dropped in exhaustion before he straightened up before turning to speak to his sister " I am sorry Rune..I should have been more aware of the misery she  put  you through all these years. I confess I have been blind where she was concerned.. I never considered asking you if she was treating you right .Now that I see her vicious side.. I fear leaving you at her mercy by asking you to stay         .even though this has been your home but  I want you safe,and  happy ..the only way you can be both is to leave home, and stay with our uncle ,and his family. I will write them a letter while you gather your things .Anything else you can't carry  ..I will send to you in Windhelm "

Waking up with a start  she  opened up her eyes, and looked around the room. .the sun was streaming through the window leaving patches of pre dawn light  upon the dresser,and on the floor. Nothing seemed familiar but then she remembered  ..she was in an inn. It  had been ten long years since she  had left Whiterun to stay with her uncle and  his family .True to his word, her brother made certain, she had an armed escort,to get her safely to Windhelm and into the safety of their uncle's care; much to his wife's silent disapproval. Rune only took things that mattered to her, like her father's silversmithing tools.. a gift from Oric, as he had his own .her  mother's wedding gown.  A pair of amber,and silver earrings, her father gave her ,shortly before he  passed on.. and the silver pendant that had been lovingly crafted by her and her father. It was a precious reminder of the time they spent together before Iva joined the family.Her horse Copper was another thing that Iva protested about Rune taking.. as Iva wanted the sturdy palomino for her own, railing that horse  belonged to the farm which Oric quickly squelched.He  had given Rune the horse for her birthday, after he had sold some of his more expensive  pieces.

 She got to Windhelm with little altercation,and was  handed over to her uncle Kurt, who was the current head of their clan.After a  few moments with their uncle and relatives.. she found it hard to believe that her father came from the same family.Boisterous, jovial,and welcoming, They took her in ,when  they found out that  she had been turned out of her home .Her Great Aunt Gerthilde  reminded her so much of her grandmother  , only to discover , they were twins.

However she became restless, and  yearned to see the land;when her uncles and cousins learned that she was an excellent shot with the bow., they took it upon themselves to get  her further training, as well as training in fighting with blades.  When she  reached her twentieth year, she had left the safety of her uncle's home ,and began to travel,learning more and more about the world ..but often sent letters home to  family. Of her brother, she heard no word ..all the letters she sent to him.. were either returned or never answered.. until she finally stopped writing to him altogether .

Before and after pics of Rune after I remade her in the beta. The first version was sort of rush job.. I didn't really take the time to get her the way I had envisioned her.