The first part of an AU concoted with horny-moon on tumblr. Not so much an ongoing fic as a series of related oneshots and drabbles.
Chapter summary: "Take me with you," Saïx snorted. "And what could you possibly offer me?" "Well, you saved my life, so I'm indebted to you. And I can provide some defense until you get your weapon fixed," "With what? A few sparks and some steam?"
Warnings for this oneshot: animal death, though it's a rather large carnivorous animal that had full intentions of eating them.
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Quest 1: The Man in the River
The sun was setting, and with it would come darkness and all the dangers associated with it. Saïx had long since abandoned the roads, regardless of this danger; Solitude was hours away and he had hoped to make it there before daylight. He had miscalculated his route, running into mountains and blocked paths that were slowing him down and pissing him off and he was beginning to think that sticking to the road would have been the wisest choice after all.
His armor clanked with each step, echoing through the mountains and he couldn't help but think he was attracting attention as he moved. There was howling in the distance, and Saïx crouched and slowed his footsteps, muffling the noise from his armor, enough to hopefully sneak past the wolves without being noticed and without having to dull his blade anymore before he got to town where he could do the necessary maintanance on his equipment. His axe was cracked and his armor was falling apart, he was already missing one shoulder piece and the leather holding everything together was tearing.
The howling grew louder, and Saïx drew his battleaxe, he figured he'd been heard and he was less concerned with sneaking up on the wolves and more interested in eliminating them, removing one more obstacle from his path.
Saïx could hear the unmistakable sound of rushing water—likely a waterfall, and more cliffs for him to climb down—and the howling was beginning to take on a less canine ring to it. Saïx was almost sure he heard the word "help" being hollered.
He lowered his axe and started sprinting as fast as his armor would allow. He heard a feline snarling, the distinct sound of a sabrecat, and was half-tempted just to be on his way and leave the poor fool to a traveler's fate; those cats were monstrous and he wasn't sure his weapon would last the impact with that thing's skull. Honor drove him forward.
Sure enough, he came upon the large cat, growling and swiping with large paws at a man clinging to a rock in the river, who was hurling his best attempt at fireballs at the animal, before they disappeared in a hiss of steam. The scalding steam was barely keeping the cat at bay.
Saïx caught them both by surprise; the cat had no chance as Saïx's axe blade caught it right between the jaws and it crumpled to the ground in a heap of blood and fur. Saïx stood there heaving, trying to catch his breath. His axe blade had cracked completely, and a large chunk of it was still lodged between the beast's jaws.
He turned his attention to the man in the river, weary, for he didn't know if this man was friend or foe. Likely the latter, as the distressed man curled in on himself, manifesting a weak fireball between his fingers that kept trying to spark back into life as the rushing water continued to extinguish it.
"Back away, Nord. I'm warning you," the man threatened, his voice weak and breath heavy. The ruaging water was wearing him down, and Saïx expected that within minutes, he was going to lose his battle with the river and go tumbling to his death down the waterfall.
Saïx dropped his broken axe to the ground, to show he meant no harm. "Would you rather die in there, or cooperate enough so that I might be able to get you out of the river?"
The man lowered his hand, the flames extinguishing.
Saïx stepped down the river bank, stepping one foot into the river and reaching one hand out to the man in the water, who wasted no time in grasping Saïx's outstretched hand to pull himself out. The man stumbled up onto dry land, shaking and soaked to the bone, and wearing an expression on his face similar to a wet house cat. His hair was a vibrant red, darkened with water, and there were tattoos under his eyes, and Saïx almost mistook him for being Forsworn, if it weren't for the fact that his robes were distinctly elven.
Who was this guy?
The strange Forsworn-Elf man's face contorted. "There's a fish in my trousers," he deadpanned, reaching behind himself under his robes and dislodging a struggling trout from his pants, mouth gaping and fins spreading in distress, before tossing it back in the river behind him.
Saïx one-upped the stranger one last time before picking up his weapon and turning around, fully intending to leave this where it was. His weapon was unusable and he needed to get to Solitude to make the necessary repairs before he was ambushed by something too large for him to handle with a simple dagger and a shout.
"H-Hey! Where are you going?" the redhead asked as Saïx walked over to the cat carcass to dislodge the broken piece of his axe from its skull. It came loose with a sickening crack.
"I'm going about my way," Saïx answered, pocketing the blade shard. "As should you."
"Don't I at least get a chance to properly thank you?"
Saïx turned back around and glared at the stranger from under his helmet. "You threatened me just a moment ago,"
"Well, I was expecting you to be a bandit, not my knight in shining armor," the redhead answered, nervously scratching the back of his head. Saïx frowned at the comment. The stranger held his hand out. "I'm Axel. Best fire mage on this side of Tamriel. Got it memorized?"
Saïx wearily grasped Axel's hand, offering up his own name in return.
"How'd you end up in the river?" Saïx asked.
"Oh. Uh, I ran out of food so I was trying to catch a fish or two. And then those goddamn mudcrabs," Axel made pinching motions with his hands. "and their claws of death startled me and I fell in. Fluffy over there showed up just before you did." He gestured to the sabrecat carcass.
Axel ran his hands through his limp hair to try and tame it, and then grabbed the hem of his robes to squeeze the excess water out. "So what brings you out in the middle of nowhere this late in the evening?"
Saïx looked away from Axel, his attention to the north. The sun was finally sinking below the horizon, and he could see the stars beginning to shine. There was a faint glow of the aurora. "Trying to take a shortcut to Solitude. I was hoping to be there by morning,"
Saïx looked back over at Axel with a frown when he heard a snort.
"You are not going to get over that mountain before morning,"
"And how do you figure that?"
Axel took his boots off and dumped the water out. "Your weapon is broken and your armor is too heavy. There are trolls and bears on that mountain and you have no way to defend yourself, and your armor is going to slow you down," He shoved his boots back onto his feet and shook the water out of his hair, splattering Saïx with it in the process.
Saïx looked down at his useless weapon in his hands before looking back up to Axel. "What are you suggesting?"
"Take me with you,"
Saïx snorted. "And what could you possibly offer me?"
"Well, you saved my life, so I'm indebted to you. And I can provide some defense until you get your weapon fixed,"
"With what? A few sparks and some steam?"
With that comment, Axel's expression darkened. He crossed his arms and held one hand out, snapping his fingers. A small flame came to life, but Saïx was not impressed. Axel thusfar seemed to be nothing more than a cocky gloat, and Saïx was almost certain that he didn't want him tagging along. And then there was heat and flames and an explosion that knocked Saïx backward onto the ground, his broken axe landing several feet to his left.
"Sorry. The water delayed it for a second," Axel said.
Saïx sat there on the ground, trying to regain his composure. "Alright. You can come along,"
Axel grinned triumphantly, and reached a hand out to help Saïx off the ground. Saïx had to struggle; as much as he hated to admit it, Axel was right. His armor was weighing him down, and with his weapon in the condition it was in, he was never going to make it up that mountain.
"So, uh, my gear is a few hundred yards that way," Axel pointed somewhere off to Saïx's right. "Let me gather it up really quick and we can be on our way."
Saïx frowned. They weren't a we; Saïx was on a mission and Axel was just tagging along for the ride. "Make it quick, or I'm leaving you behind,"
Axel's gear was minimal; a simple tent and bed roll and a satchel with a few potions. Axel was ready in minutes. And Saïx was already headed due north as Axel caught up. They were headed north, Solitude off in the far distance, and the bright northern lights casting them in its eerie glow before they disappeared into the heavy shadow of thick forest.