AN: Just exploring what might have really happened had the Dragonborn been a Werewolf for the quest Ill Met By Moonlight.
Disclaimer: Skyrim is the property of Bethesda, etc, etc.
She knew what he was before she had even seen him.
Falkreath jail was dark, the torches placed there doing little to light her path. The unfeeling walls were cold, any warmth absorbed by the old stone. This place reeked of fear and anger and she shivered, almost overwhelmed by the thickness of it. Perhaps it was just the atmosphere of the jail; or perhaps it was the Hold its self. A city built around a graveyard; it was no wonder the villagers spoke softly of curses.
The grieving father's whispered words echoed in her mind, despair lasing his voice. She… was torn to pieces…like a saber cat tears at a deer… w-we…we could barely find enough of her to bury.
She moved past the pacing guard, waving him off when he sent a questioning look her way. She remembered the mother's eyes, staring hollowly at her daughter's grave. Familiar guilt writhed in her chest, but she pushed it away harshly. The guilt was irrational, a product of her memories, not her actions. The child's death was not her doing.
This time.
It grew damp as she neared the Pit, the smell of stagnant water and filth burning her sensitive nostrils. She stepped closer to the bars, peering through the gloom at the figure leaning against the wall in the back of the cell.
Light trailed down from a hole in the ceiling, darkening the shadows and obscuring the features of the man standing in them. She leaned forward, breathing deeply, searchingly, before bringing her hand up and rapping her knuckles on the bars like one would knock on a door.
He shifted, head coming up and folded arms coming down to push himself off the wall. The filthy water splashed around his feet as he stepped forward, messy blond hair falling softly over his dirty face. He ran a hand through his hair roughly, pulling it out of the way and squinting when the sunlight made it difficult for him to see. He took another step into the light, his dirt and bloodstained body rippling with his muscle's movements.
"Come to gawk like the rest, now have you? Come to see the monster who killed a little girl?"
He called out, breathing deeply before stiffening in surprise.
His head shot up, for the first time revealing his light eyes. The sun reflected off yellow flecks in his irises, making them glow an eerie gold. He walked towards the gate slowly, cautiously entering the shadows closer to where she stood.
She leaned back, taking in the sight of him and softly breathing in his scent. Her Beast stirred, wakened by the presence of another Wolf so close by. It whined longing and pawed at its restraints, but the dark-haired Nord woman paid it no mind. The full moon was not for some days yet, and her Beast was still too weak to break free.
Not that it would.
She and it had an agreement of sorts. Work together in order to survive. Her Beast gave her no trouble, letting the young Nord deal with their "human" annoyances, while it dealt with the more "exciting" things.
Her Beast whined again, and the Nord shushed it, giving promises of long nights under starry skies. It grumbled before reluctantly going back to sleep.
She turned her attention back to the man in front of her, noting how his eyes watched her carefully and how he tried to hide taking deep breaths through his nose. She let a small smile grace her lips, amused at his reaction to her presence.
Though werewolves were more common than one would think, the vast majority of them were male. It was rare to find a female werewolf; rarer still to find a Lone one.
He caught sight of her smile and dropped all pretences. He inhaled in deeply, closing his eyes and letting the smell settle on the back of his tongue. She let herself smirk smugly, before quickly getting down to business.
"If I were here to gawk, I would be disappointed; there isn't much to gawk at."
Eyes snapping open, he snarled, and lunged towards her. His hands wrapped around the bars of his cage as he brought his face closer to hers. She stood still, unfazed by his sudden aggression.
The guard jumped, startled from his game of dice, and stood cautiously.
"Everything alright, Miss?" He called hesitantly.
She cocked her hip, staring into the prisoner's now narrowed eyes.
"Everything is fine." She answered reassuringly.
The guard mumbled to himself, sitting back on his stool and clutching his dice.
"It ain't right for 'er to be 'ere. It's dangerous! Don't even remember why I let'er. She just starting talk'in and next thing I know I'm unlock'in doors! Damn silver tongues!" he trailed off grumpily.
The beings across the room heard him, but were far too distracted by each other to pay any attention to the disgruntled guard. The prisoner growled lowly in his throat, his lip curling up over one long canine. Still the woman in front of him did nothing. He gripped the iron bars tighter, his jaw clenching before roughly grinding out:
"What do you want?"
She broke eye contact, shifting to her other hip and bringing her fingers up to examine them.
A blatant dismissal.
"Sinding, is it? I heard you killed your employer's little girl."
Her bright eyes bit sharply into his.
"Why?"
He winced, pulling back and rubbing his hands over his face. The slight Nord woman took in the warped metal of the iron bars, and then tilted her head expectantly as Sinding folded his arms and slumped against the wall nearest the gate. He sighed.
"It…it was an unfortunate accident."
She snorted loudly and he scowled, raising his voice.
"It's true! You think I wanted to…to kill that little girl? I couldn't help it! I felt it coming on and she… she was so small, so helpless…such an easy kill-!"
He cut himself off, clenching his jaw and staring defiantly at the stone wall above her head.
"The child's death is unfortunate. However,"
His eyes turned to her when she moved closer.
"That does not explain your actions. The Mistress's light does not shine until a few days from now. You should have been in full control of yourself and your Change. Explain this to me."
So he did.
He told her of a ring that gave the wearer the power Change at will. He told her how he found the ring, how Hircine, Lord of the Hunt, became displeased with him, and how he became accursed.
His words flowed easily, perhaps encouraged because of what she was, or perhaps because after so many years as a Lone Wolf, he could not help himself.
The young Nord woman listened intently, the growling undertone in his voice relaxing her and lulling her dangerously into a feeling of security.
She watched quietly as his face and voice colored with sadness and then with despair. She let her eyes rest thoughtfully on his ring finger and the ring sitting on it.
"I was hunting the Stag when I came to this place, but now there is no hope; there is no way to appease Hircine now."
The young woman was silent for a moment, then quite suddenly said: "I could kill the Stag for you."
He choked, then stammered out, "Y-you would? That's wonderful! But are you sure? It will be difficult as well as dangerous."
She nodded, flipping her hair over her shoulder and assuring him that she would be just fine.
"Then in that case…"
Rushing forward, Sinding reached through the bars and snatched up her right hand. She flinched away, surprised at his abrupt touch.
"What are you-"
"You will need this."
He said softly, gently flipping her hand and placing the ring on her finger. His hand dropped from hers and she watched in awe as the ring shrunk, fitting her perfectly. She looked up, confused.
"Wait, why do I need- Hey!"
Sinding was walking away from her, moving towards the pillar of light in the center of his cell. He twisted around, face upturned as he basked in the sunlight.
"Finally." He breathed.
He looked at her then, his mouth splitting into a grin that showed far too many teeth.
"Have fun with that, pet."
His now yellow eyes watched her as he Changed, face elongating, bones breaking, growing, and then snapping into place. Corse, black hair grew in where there once was smooth skin and hands turned into vicious claws.
Wolfish smile still on his face, even as a Beast, he raised his head and let out a joyous howl. It brought pleasant shivers to her spine, making her Beast hum in delight, and causing the dosing guard to shout out in alarm. Sinding looked at her again, still smiling, before climbing swiftly up the stone wall and out of the confines of his prison.
AN:Question: Has anyone else noticed that Aela the Huntress is the only female werewolf? Weird. Guess it doesn't really matter, what with being able to reproduce with a bite and all...