Hooded Benefactor: Writing Prompt for Arnak and Matte
Story by Sir Thaikard on SoFurry
Another first for me, writing a commission involving two separate users. Simply put Matte finds herself saved by Arnak. It was difficult to show any strong romance in such a short piece without it feeling shallow so instead I opted for more of a grand adventure about to happen. Arnak was made to mysterious and also smartass but I think he didn't mind too much.
Her head was spinning as the ceiling came in and out of focus. She was disgustingly nauseous but found herself unable to move any part of her body. In fact, she found herself unable to feel large portions of her body and a cold panic began to spread.
"You're finally awake. Good, you'll probably survive the night. Probably."
With great effort she craned her neck towards the origin of voice. A dim fire danced somewhere in the cramped room and if she squinted enough she could almost make out one hunched and one hooded figure squatting nearby.
She opened her mouth to speak and found herself unable. The hooded figure must have noticed as it rose and began muttering to itself, "Of course she can't speak, no lungs..." It dragged a rough palm across her throat and she instinctively inhaled deeply. The smell of iron, acid, and ether sat heavy in the room.
"Who are you? What do you mean I don't have lungs? What happened to me?" A deluge of questions spilled forward but she may have as well have been speaking to a statue as the figure stood passive and indifferent to her concerns. As her nausea began to subside another horrifying realization hit her.
"What's my body doing over there?"
At least that comment elicited a response from the hooded figure. "Oho! You finally noticed." He spun the hunched figure around and even in the low firelight she could recognize her headless corpse which had been both bandaged over and drawn on with various runes.
"You're lucky I have a soft spot for khajiit like yourself. Those weren't bandits you know. Taking on one high ranking mercenary is difficult as it is, let along an entire party of them." It took the opportunity to flex its hand, "Not a problem for me though." She could feel it smirking, even in the dark of its hood.
"Was it necessary to molest my body though? Do you get off to this?" The figured snorted derisively, "Please, you're cute, but not that cute. Don't flatter yourself too much." It seated itself beside her head, "Besides, did you expect me to perform surgery with your clothes on? Even I have my limits."
It was only now that she recognized some of the smells from before. Her eyes were better adjusted now and the room looked like a butcher's workshop. Layers of blood were partially coagulated on the walls while a variety of entrails hung from the mantlepiece or sat in translucent jars. She would have vomited, if her stomach was still connected.
"Yeah, you were messed up pretty good. Fortunately the mercs were more than happy to make a few blood and organ donations. Very generous of them." From this angle she could see a glint of a fang under the hood. And, fur? Perhaps a trick of the light, but it definitely wasn't skin.
"Why did you need to remove my head then?" She had rolled over and was unsuccessfully in trying to right herself up. The figure shrugged, "Your mind is weak. I doubt you would have been able to handle the trauma." It drew a line across its own neck with a finger, "So I separated the two of you."
"Rude of you to assume that of me. Who do you think you are?" Another noncommittal shrug from the figure. "You're a warrior not an academic, and not even a good one at that. You're young and impulsive. You were not blessed with the gift of magic. So I can assume a lot about you." It turned its back on her. "And who I am is none of your business."
She had given up now and resigned herself to her fallen position. "For all your grandstanding you don't even know my name." The figure went still and continued staring into the fire.
"I don't need to. And I don't want to."
They sat in uncomfortable silence before it finally reached over and picked her body up. "Alright, let's get this over with."
It may as well have been a doll as the figure effortlessly hefted her headless corpse onto the platform her head was on. And yet for all its strength it was still careful, gentle, borderline caressing the limbs as it arranged her head into place. A claw slowly traced patterns into her neck and as it muttered she gasped at how unpleasant things became.
The sensation was like cold eels squirming into her chest while warm ribbons of heat traveled into her throat. Her limbs flailed helplessly as the figure's claws continued to dance across her healing body as though it was oblivious to her discomfort.
She bolted up right, hands around her throat, patting her body down, heart racing and for the first time observed her unknown benefactor. It definitely had fur, and snout? Was it a khajiit too? But no, it didn't carry itself like one, its movements were all wrong, and she never heard of one being able to perform miracles like this.
"Well, my job here is done. Gather your clothes and you can be on your way." It grinned again under the hood and she realized that she was still completely naked in front of a stranger. She hastily covered herself up while a bundle of clothing was thrown into her lap.
"No need to be so shy. I had plenty of time to get to know you and it's nothing I haven't seen before." It barked out a short, unnatural laugh as she struggled to dress quickly, glaring at him the whole time.
"And what do I owe to my benevolent saviour?" She affixed the final piece of her armor before standing to inspect herself. Had it not been for the runes and bandages still caked on she would never have guessed she was recently decapitated. “Go on, I’m certain you want something from me, or did you already take something from me?” She scowled and covered herself again over her armor.
Again it hacked out what could be a chuckle. “Please my dear, I may have been alone for many years and I am many things, but a fiend is not one of them. You’ll find your person unmolested.” It began to gather its belongings. “You owe me nothing, I acted on my own volition. Now go.”
“Perhaps then you could use a companion.” She sidled up beside him, in part to try and identify what it was but also to cause some form of discomfort in hopes of getting even.
And it worked. “That would be unwise, little one. You would have nothing to gain.” The figure shuffled awkwardly away, shielding more of its features from her as the dying fire cast deeper shadows. “No one ever gains.”
She drew close again, “You’re right, a young, inexperienced, glory seeking warrior is clearly safe on her own and should jump right back into the wilds.” Her hand reached to pull back the hood, “Unless, someone was able to keep me safe.”
The hood fell back with little resistance. A pair of pointed crimson ears popped out and she could finally confirm that it did have matching crimson fur. But as she moved around to get a better look at its face, the fire conveniently sputtered out drowning the room in darkness.
“Aren’t you a precocious one…” She heard the hood return to his head before the fire spontaneously roared back to life, “It seems I am forever doomed to listen to the whims of my heart. Very well, I, Lord Arnak shall accompany you.”
He swirled around and placed a hand on his chest and imitated a bow, “At your service my dear.”
“Still not going to ask for my name?” She crossed her arms, unimpressed as Arnak contemplated for a short moment before shaking his head.
“No, it would be unwise to get attached again.”
He lifted a bag over his shoulder and made his way to the exit allowing her to make a final observation.
“What manner of beast are you? You walk like a human, have fur like an animal, and act like a God.” Once more, Arnak paused in his tracks before vacating the building.
“None of your business. And if you don’t hurry up, I’m leaving you.” Moonlight crept into the room as he pushed opened the door giving her little time to grab her equipment and chase after him.