Hello readers both new and old,
S7: The old of you may remember a story similar to this one that I wrote a long time ago. While it is true that the opening is similar, this story has an entirely different direction and character connection. Anyway, for those of you that are new, this is a story about two characters that are wholly original to the two of us with no ties to the main quest of the Skyrim game. More or less, they have their own goals and journey in this story that is only tangential to the Dragonborn's quest. Anything to add partner?
Raven Wings of Luna: As some of you can guess I'm Starspike7 new writing partner for this story, you can call me Raven for short, so it's nice to meet you all. I would also like to add the reason why we choose an M rating rather than a T. You should expect some darker themes and write in the later chapters and use an M rating allows us the room to breath in doing this. This may be but is not limited to, descriptive fighting, langue, sextual ones, discriptions of gore/murder/ death, and just all around adult jokes. If there is anything big that needs a warning we will be sure to add it to the start of the chapter for our readers whom may be concerned about that kind of stuff.
Reviews and comments are welcome, so feel free to give us feedback on the story! As for updates on the story itself, you should be looking at maybe once a month at the minimum for moment for a new chapter.
In the dusk of the evening, a young woman around at 5'3" ran through the dark forests almost desperately as if something was chasing her through the snowy trees. Each breath came out in a large white puff of clouds that hung in the air as they slowly faded from sight, each time her chest moved to take in more air her lungs stung with the effort of every labored breath. The burned and tattered brown roughspun tunic and pants barely kept the cold out from her body, each wind zapping what little strength she had left from running away from her body.
Hanging off her back a small sack bounced with each forced step the young girl took, the insides clinking softly against the harsher sound of her labored breathing. Can't stop, have to keep moving, can't stop… she chanted over and over again in her head following the dirt path that wound its way through the forest away from Helgen or rather the now silent smoldering ruins of Helgen.
"Helgen…." Fresh hot tears forced their way out of the corner of slanted eyes running down her plump cheeks. No! Don't think about it Magna, don't remember about that not now! You have to keep going. Chastising herself mentally while forcing down the burning sob that threatened to spill out just like the tears running down her dirty pale face. Reaching up with a shaky slender hand Magna roughly rubbed away the tears and the dirt and soot covered blond hair away that stuck to the sweat on her forehead from her eyes.
Magna continued stumbled through the forest, every sharp little rock cutting into the fleshy part of her feet, the tiny stinging as the cold air hit them each time she brought up her feet. With the cold and tears stinging the corner of her eyes Magna didn't notice until it was too late that the forest floor dropped down into a sloping hill for her to stop the resulting tumble. Slowly down at the base of the hill Magna pushed herself up onto her knees with a small groan shaking out the dizziness from her mind before observing her current surroundings.
"Great now I'm even more lost…" Chewing on the inside of her cheek Magna slowly dragged her eyes across the clearing that she found herself in, a bit more slowly this time as she tried to get her bearings. "Trees, rocks, grass covered in bits of snow, a pile of fur, more r…" Freezing up Magna's voice died on her lips as she ever so slightly turned her eyes back over to the pile of fur taking a closer look at it only to realize that the pile of fur was, in fact, a male Khajiit.
He was laying in the fetal position wearing nothing but his underloin so luckily anything that was embarrassing was thankfully still covered. His burnt orange fur and black stripes were matted down and stained a dark color of crimson. Upon further inspection, Magna could see that it was due to the cuts and large gashes that looked to have been caused by the cliff behind him.
Magna continued to chew on the inside of her cheek, while they colored a dark red when she noticed that the male only had his underloins on, as she wiggled closer to the Khajiit on her knees across the cold ground until she was about a foot away from the Khajiit. A shiver ran up the girls spin making her teeth clatter all the more as she struggled to get up onto her feet looking one more at the Khajiit with a forlorn look in her eyes before turning away. "You have to think about yourself, Magna … you can't go helping strange Khajiit's in the nude…" Only having walked a few feet Magna and stopped in her tracks letting out a small groan of frustration as she turned heel walking back to the down Khajiit.
"Curse my stupid consensus…" Magna carefully knelt down beside the Khajiit as her lips settled into a hard frown while she brought her hands up and gently touched the males furry skin. Concentrating Magna eyes closed, her hands taking on an orange glow as her magic slowly knitted the gashes back together, but not enough that the Khajiit would not be without a few scars. In the end, Magna rested back on her heels panting from the effort feeling a few beads of sweat trickle down the back of her neck.
The Khajiit's eyes shot open with the alarm, quickly moving before Magna had the chance to register what was happening. He had one hand on her neck and the other hand on her shoulder to pin her against a nearby tree. Taking in several sniffs, he slowly came in close to the girl with eyes locked. There was a sign of him taking note of her features and calming enough for form a coherent thought.
"Girl, villager, Helgen, Nord… and Bosmer. Do you know why I'm here?" He asked, letting an air of calmness fall over them as accented by the snow falling lightly on them.
Magna had gasped in shock before it was quickly cut off from one furry hand cutting off the air in her throat. Kicking her feet around in a struggle Magna reached up and grabbed onto the hand holding her throat trying to lift herself up as she glared back at the Khajiit. Her light brown, almost orange eyes narrowing for a moment in anger before widening slightly in fear when the weight of her predicament finally came crashing down on her shoulders.
"Let…. me… go… stupid… cat…" Magna hissed between gasp of air while she dug her nails into his fur and flung her legs harder trying to get out of his hold.
Assessing the girl, he moved back and out of her reach so that there was no longer a way for her to scratch at him. It was evident that he was sizing her up for that moment, but he still didn't let her down. Pinning her other shoulder with his elbow, he released her throat with his hand but made sure to keep his claws visible to her.
"I will, once you answer my question, Bosmer." He replied, eyes still locked with hers.
Gasping for the sharp cold air as the pressure against her throat was released Magna narrowed her eyes a little bit still trying to wiggle her way out of the Khajiit's hold but glanced down at his claws ever so close to her skin and stopped moving.
"Why are you attacking me!? You were the one laying down naked in the bloody snow cat!" Magna snapped dragging her eyes back up to meet with his. "I don't even know you! Like I said you were the one lying on the ground dying I just happen to find you! I... " Magna glanced away before hanging her head in embarrassment before mumbling out the last of her sentence. "I just could not let someone die… so I healed you alright? But I didn't do anything else, I swear!"
"Oh, well, thank you then." He let go of her and let her drop to her feet so that she was no longer pushed painfully against the tree behind her. "There was no need for the name calling. You could have just said that you healed me."
The Khajiit's demeanor went from predator to civilized so fast that Magna almost got whiplash. He was an entirely different person as his ears perked up, showing off his ears with several small chips in them. His gaze drifted down, and he noticed that he wasn't wearing any clothes. Proceeding to fix that, he looked away from her and off into the forest in search of something.
"...You're the one who attacked me…" Magna rubbed her neck slowly, almost not noticing the sharp pain in her knees when the Khajiit dropped her. "And I'm not a Bosmer; I'm a Nord damn it! Clearly whatever almost killed you made you stupid as well!" Magna shouted after from her place on the ground watching the male look for something Magna carefully picked herself up wanting to get away from the confusing Khajiit as fast as she could. But as soon as she was back on her feet Magna felt the sharp impact on her knees as she fell back down onto her knees with shaky legs. The strain from running non-stop, pain from her feet, and using almost all her magicka on some crazy stranger, and what happened to her home left the girl shaking as shock slowly started to set in.
Magna hugged herself tightly slowly shaking her head back and forth trying to break out of her shock before it got out of hand, not wanting to look weak around the strange Khajiit if he came back. Taking a deep breath to steel her nerves Magna reached out with a hand holding onto the rough bark as she pulled herself up from the ground taking a moment to run out the wobbly and shaky sensation of her legs, staring straight ahead with narrow eyes. Stumbling on the first step Magna caught herself from falling flat again glancing around making sure the Khajiit had not come back yet Magna quickly placed her other foot on the ground one after the other one and soon she had herself back to a light paced run.
Small clouds of white puffed from her mouth as the chilly air started to burn her lungs barely visible with the oncoming night as the weather began to take an even colder turn. I need to find somewhere to take shelter… I will never last the night at this rate… Magna stumbled over a larger rock hissing out a string of unladylike curses as it cut into the top of her bare feet, falling into a nearby tree for support with a grumble of frustration.
"You know, it's a cold night and running through it in your state is sure to get you killed." The Khajiit answered, leaning on the tree next to her with his arms crossed.
His green eyes pierced through the vale of night and right into Magna's own. He'd just appeared out of nowhere, wearing a common orange tunic with a small bag at his hip. Over his shoulders was a small fur cloak that looked very warm. The anger and bloodthirst that was in his eyes before had all but faded and replaced by a casual tone.
A scream left Magna's chapped lips before she could throw a hand over her mouth to muffle it as her eyes widen in surprise at the sudden appearance of the Khajiit. Scrambling back in fright Magna feet slipped on the slick ground, falling backward landing on her butt a few feet away from the Khajiit with a grunt.
"How… what… where did you even come from?!" Magna eyed the Khajiit with scared and wary eyes not moving from her spot for now, and even if she hated to admit it in the back of her mind Magna knew that he was right.
"I just followed you. With all the noise you made and coupled with your weakness made it very easy." He answered, pulling off the cloak from his shoulders and holding out to her. "Here, cover yourself. You'll get sick if you try to continue."
Magna puffed out her cheeks before looking away turning her nose up into the air while she crossed her arms with a huff. "Well don't follow me, and I don't know what you're talking about, I'm not weak." Knocking his hand away Magna turned back and glared at the cat feeling her eyes narrowing at her apparent stalker, her ear slowly turning into annoyance. "And for your information, I will just do fine with the cold I am a Nord after all." As if to prove her point Magna pushed herself up onto her feet and started to walk away from the Khajiit with her back turned to him. Don't look back, don't turn around, and don't let him see that you're cold. Magna straightened her back a little bit more to accent her stubborn thoughts.
"Alright, that's good. I didn't want you to take my cloak anyway." Quickly, she found that his footsteps echoed her own closely. "As for following you, I must now."
Picking up her pace Magna walked a bit faster, refusing to turn her head to look at the strange male following her. "No. You. Don't." Magna almost growled each word fighting the urge to turn back and glance at him. "So you know, stop it and go back to well wherever you came from before, I met you."
"Well, I don't remember where that was, and a young girl like yourself should not be in these woods alone. Add that to knowing that I now owe you a life debt, and there is a reason why I cannot leave you." He said, sounding calm and composed with the frozen flakes falling down on them that made her shiver.
"I can handle myself thank you very much, I don't need an escort just for walking in the woods." Magna huffed with a roll of her eyes, clearly not believing his story as she crossing her arms and tucking her hands under her armpits trying to keep some warmth in them as the tips of her fingers started to turn a little blue. "You don't owe me anything, including a life debt over a little bit of healing." It took her effort to keep the chatter of her teeth out of her words, but with a tight jaw, Magna somehow managed not to chatter for now.
With her speech finished, and the cloak then draped over her shoulders to bring a bounty of warmth to her. The cat didn't say anything, though his steps quieted behind her but didn't disappear. Following the fading of sound came a small rustling through a bag and another most sounds of biting and lip smacking.
Maybe if I just humor him, then he will go away then. Magna slowly pulled the cloak around her shoulders a bit tighter to take some more bite out of the air. Hearing the eating sounds Magna's eye twitched a little bit, turning her head slightly to shoot daggers at the Khajiit. "And you said I was lou-..." Magna words were cut off but a low rumble coming from her stomach reminding her that last time she had eaten was this morning with her father at the table. A slight prickle tickled the corner of her brown-orange eyes as the tears started to build up again, memories of the fight they had at breakfast then that monster was attacking… Magna trailed off in her thoughts not realizing that she had stopped walking and was staring off into space at the forest floor.
"Is this where you're planning to camp for the night?" Her stalker asked, taking a bite out of his bread with meat, vegetables, and spices shoved between two parts that he'd cut in half.
Magna blinked, a whimper pulled out of her throat as she turned her head to look blankly at the nameless male. "Even if I say no you're still going do it anyway aren't you?" Magna gave up with a sigh while she watched her new stalker for a moment, weighing her choices and reevaluating the situation she was in once more.
No matter what I say it looks like he is going to stick around anyway. Even if he were going to kill me, he would have done it by now, unless he is waiting for me to sleep. Maybe he is just waiting for me to fall asleep so he can rob me blind, after all, he is a Khajiit even if he is a well-spoken one at that. It looks like I have no choice at the moment but to just go along with his little act… but at the first sign of civilization, I'm dumping his ass and running. Sighing Magna's shoulders slumped in defeat after a moment giving him her silent okay. Sitting down against a tree Magna went back to staring at the ground as a fresh wave of exhaustion washed over her body and mind making her numb.
"So memory lost huh? You do realize if you're lying it's a really poor lie, including if you're trying to get a stranger just to trust you." Magna dryly pointed out in a muffled voice from her spot under the tree, her head now resting on her knees as she watched the Khajiit.
"Well, how would lying further me now? I am sitting here with you and getting a camp ready to keep you safe." He replied, fishing a piece of paper out of his bag and looking at it. There was a look of dissatisfaction on his face, and he put it away and searching more. "What would you say if I was lying right now? Are you really in a position to not accept my help?"
Magna again bristled with anger that was quickly bubbling over her breaking point dealing with this rude man-beast in front of her. "I'm not the one stalking a stranger who has said several times they didn't want your help." She snapped back quickly narrowing her eyes again, wanting nothing more at the moment to see him set his fur on fire while he tried to lite a fire.
"True, very true. But then again, when that stranger saves your life, you are thereby indebted to them and must make sure to repay it in any way you can." He said, pulling out another piece of paper and giving a satisfied nod to its contents while she sighed.
"Well, you never know I could be some blood crazed murder who likes to play with her victims. I could just be using you until the time is right, make you soft and easy to kill." While she tried to intimidate him, putting on her best sticky sweet voice that oozed with sarcasm.
The Khajiit chuckled and took a knee down by her. He moved carefully and started gathering up some nearby sticks and putting them in a pyramid shape. Once they were all stacked together, he began collecting fist-sized rocks to place around the pyramid. After it was all in place, he slipped a bit of ground moss in the center. Finally, he leaned in with his hand against the wood and whispered to it, causing a fire to spark out and start in the small pit magically.
Magna watched the Khajiit start a fire while she stewed silently, her eyes widening once more when he whispered to it and started the blaze. "You… know magic?" Magna questioned the male as she edged a little bit closer to the heat of the growing fire, glancing up at the Khajiit with a wary look.
"Heh, somewhat. These supplement for the lack of skill though they are only one use." The Khajiit explained, holding up a small scroll of paper in his hand.
He stood up and dropped the paper on the fire before stepping to the other side of the fire and sitting cross-legged. His face twisted upward into a lighthearted smile, and he fished a jar out of his bag that was again bigger than would one assume would fit in the bag. With one finger he flicked the lid off, taking a long drink of its contents. The man was definitely strange as he was harder to read than a Dwarven tablet.
"No wait don't dr-..." Magna watched in dismay when he dropped the paper onto the fire her eyes filling with a forlorn look for a moment before she turned and glared at the Khajiit drinking. "I could have studied that jerk! Not only are you creepy and insane but your wasteful as well." Magna huffed but quickly gave up when she realized how little strength she had left. With jerky movements, Magna reached up and took her bag off her back and opened the slightly less impressive usual bag that the Khajiit had to look through what little belongings she had left.
My blank spell book, a few herbs… I think there might be enough here to make one or two weak potions of healing if I'm careful. A single piece of bread, a healing potion… Magna paused with a groan rubbing her forehead when she realized she could have just used the healing potion on the male and would have been far away by the time he woke up, and this whole situation would have never happened. Great… what else do I have… oh, my neckless! Good, I'm happy I still have it… but I think it's better if I don't show it around him, I don't need him a reason to rob me. Magna shot the male a look for a moment before pulling out her bread and taking a small bite out of it going back to stare at the fire as the two fell into uncomfortable silence.
"Why did you call me a Bosmer?" Magna questioned out of the blue glancing up at the Khajiit for a moment.
The Khajiit looked at her with a white milk mustache tracing his lips before pointing to his eyes and ears. "Your eyes are slightly pointed, not as much as a Bosmer but far more than any Nord. Same with your ears, they go to an edge and almost a point that makes you look more like a Bosmer than Nord. Even with that Nordic haircut, you can't hide who you are."
"Well, whatever made you forget why you were in the forest must have made you stupid as well. Both my mother and father were Nords, so I can't be a Bosmer like you keep claiming." Magna waved it off with a huff but reached up and quickly pulled more of her hair over the slightly pointed ears to hide them. Taking another bite out her bread, Magna was somewhat relieved as the churning of her stomach started to calm and settle down.
He shrugged to her statement and took a long drink from his milk to leave it half-empty now. "Say whatever you want and whatever you must to sleep at night, young girl. When you are ready to accept it, you know now."
"Great, not only do I have a stalker but he is also full of shit. This day can't get any worse…" Magna muttered as she curled her knees up to her chest letting out a long sigh as she rested her head on her knees. "And I'm not a young girl I'm a young woman, a Nord woman. I have a name as well you know, it's Magna ...get it right if you're going to talk about nonsense until my ears fall off." Magna huffed into her knees wrapping the fur cloak around her shoulders a bit tighter when a gust of wind blew over the two.
"Well Magna, it is a pleasure to meet you. You may call me Baldar." As he spoke, his head dipped down and nodded to make her acquaintance.
Once he finished with his milk, the cat stood up and started pulling an assortment of things out of his bag before finishing up the construction of a tent. Then he placed the bag off to the side and went about setting up the inside. Magna quickly noticed that this left Baldar bag completely exposed and unguarded between her and him.
Against ignoring her better judgment or any sound kind of common sense, Magna inched closer to the bag while Baldar back was turned away from the both of them until she was next to it. Glancing one more time at the working cat she slowly grabbed his bag taking a closer look at it. It felt light in her hands even though it was clear that there was a mass of stuff inside of it that would say logically otherwise. Glancing at Baldar again Magna opened it up and took a peek inside to see if her theory was correct or not, a wide smile crossing her cracked lips when she gleefully found that her theory was right. Holding onto the magical bag of holding Magna rummaged through it her curiosity getting the better of her, pulling out a leather bound journal. Placing the bag to the side Magna readjusted herself before flipping opening the book taking a look inside.
Dear Baldar,
My love, I want you to take this journal with you on your travels and fill it with your wonderful stories. I can't wait to see you when you get back.
-K
Well, it looks like he was not lying about his name, so that is a start I guess… Unless this is some bag, he stole from some poor old soul called Baldar. Besides what kind of cat is named Baldar anyway or speaks in like a normal Nord and not like his kind? Better keep my guard up still until I know more…" Magna made a small face at the love note and quickly flipped the page looking to see if there was any information on her stalker, but quickly realized that whatever stories that were in the book were in a language she didn't know how to read. It's an older looking language but not elvish; that is for sure… maybe it's Dwemer? Hard to tell with his handwriting, though.
"Alright, my tent is set up. Do you have your own?" The newly dubbed Baldar said backing out of his tent. Looking inside Magna could see that there were a few soft furs laid down on the ground for bedding. Along with that, there was a light bug in a jar that hung from the top to light the whole little area. All in all, it looked like a pretty cozy place to spend a night.
Magna jumped a little bit pulled out of her musings of the book quickly shoving it back inside of the magical bag before shoving it off to the side sitting there with her hands in her lap trying to look as innocent as she could.
"I mean, I'm a Nord… I don't need a tent; I like the cold just fine thank you very much..." Magna rambled out crossing her arms she glanced away for a moment before looking back at the tent, it did look warm and inviting against the cold winds. Magna, to prove her point moved some of the snow that had not melted yet from around the fire away and curled up on the ground, grabbing her bag and tucked it close to her chest.
"Alright, well, should you need a place to stay then you may enter." He said, crawling into the tent and pulling the flaps closed.
Magna looked at the closed flaps before turning her back to the tent, her stubborn nature refusing to admit that she was almost too cold to stay outside in this weather and needed to get inside. "I just need to sleep, as long as I stay close to the fire then it should not be that big of an issue… maybe I can wake up early enough to lose the stupid cat and forget this whole thing ever happened." Magna let out a sigh, feeling the crushing weight of the day's events crash down on her as her eyes fluttered close and quickly fell into a restless sleep.
"Why won't you let me go daddy?!" Magna shouted standing up from her seat at the table she had been eating, forgetting the still steaming bowl of oats in front of her for a moment. "I refuse to let you practice that, that pointless ticks and light shows Magna! You are a Nord, and by the Nine, you will act like one and not some elf! You will not go to the College, not now, not ever! If I ever see or hear you practicing that foul… magic again I will make you regret the day you ever came across that damned book, do you understand young lady?!" A blonde Nord standing well over Magna own short height bellowed with a deep voice, pounding his hand on the table making the silverware clink and rattle from the force. Magna sucked in a gasp looking horrified at her father covering her mouth with a hand before her eyes narrowed in rage.
"I hate you, daddy! I… I hate you; I wish mom were here and you were dead!" Magna screamed fighting back the tears in her eyes as she stormed out of the small house and into the streets of Helgen. A large shadow crossed over the town making Magna pause in confusion however she didn't stay confused long as the peaceful air shattered but the earth shattering rawr. Freezing mid-stride in the middle of the streets of the old fort town Magna watched in a mix of awe and horror as the beast, blacker than the blackest nights landed on top of the tower covering it with its massive scale-covered body. The weight of its massive form made the tower groan and shake hard enough that Magna felt the vibrations from down the street. Roaring with what sounded almost like words mixed with hellish thunder into the sky the dragon summoned a hellfire storm taking to the sky again without much effort circling the sky as it bellowed fire down onto the town.
A silent scream left Magna throat as she backed up narrowly missing as one of the rocks fell from the sky crashing into her. Turning Magna rushed back into her house only to look in dismay to see that it was already on fire, the roof slowly falling away to lite whatever left inside on fire. Forcing her feet to move Magna threw herself shoulder first into the burning door coughing as her lungs filled with smoke and cried out as the flames licked her skin.
"DAD! DAD ARE YOU IN THERE?!" Magna cried out desperately into the house feeling the burning cry in her chest as her lungs took in the thick crude smoke, hearing no answer outside of the screaming of soldiers and town people dying around her. Coughing again as her eyes watered at the smoke Magna grabbed the only bag not on fire stuffing what little things she could think of into it before fleeing the house trying to find her father. Running down the road, Magna was stopped dead in tracks as the dragon landed down in front of her, the red eyes boring holes into her very soul. Fear gripped at Magna's heart as she froze, staring wide-eyed back at the dragon, mouth open in a never-ending scream as her body doused in flames...
Magna shot up from her on the ground screaming, gasping for air like a person drowning in a river as she shook in the aftereffects of her nightmare. Covered in a thin line of sweat Magna held onto the fur cloak for dear life as she stared unseeing into her lap.
"Magna, you shouldn't be sweating in this cold," Baldar called from his tent, holding it up the flap. "Why don't you come in for the night?"
She looked over and saw he wasn't coming to get her or smiling; the Khajiit just looked like he didn't want to see her freeze, almost pity if she didn't know better. With a glance inside, she could see that there was a second sleeping bag set up and it did look rather warm. In fact, it had a nice fur lining that was just popping out of the entrance. It just looked like it was bursting with warmth and safety from the cold and whatever left over of her nightmare left in her waking mind.
Magna blinked at the cat standing at the entrance of the tent weighing her options at the moment before she slowly pushed herself off the ground, too tired to continue arguing with Baldar at the moment.
"Don't… think this means I trust you." Horsley Magna pointed this fact out bluntly while she shuffled over into the tent, quickly ducked around Baldar keeping a safe distance from him before slipping into the sleeping bag itself almost at once warmed up from the cold from the soft, supple fur lining of the bag. Taking a few minutes to get comfortable Magna fidgeted in the bag before turning her back to Baldar, not saying a word to the other person sharing the tent. But no matter how much Magna wanted to sleep the inklings of her nightmare lingered in the back of her mind, and everytime she closed her eyes, resigning her to stare at the tent wall in silence for the rest of the night.