HELLO BOYS AND GIRLS! If you've clicked this, then like me, you're looking for fluffy goodness between Serana and the Dragonborn and are hoping to the depths of Hell that MAYBE, JUST MAYBE, this one will be a good one you can smile at like an idiot. I hope this is what you wanted, because I sure know I was. Seriously, the lack of fics about these characters is just SO UPSETTING. I MEAN COME ON. ARGIS THE BULWARK GETS QUITE A FEW BUT NOT THESE TWO?!

Yeah, I have issues.

ENJOY!

Disclaimer: I don't own these characters (I mean KIND OF Elayn but not quite) or anything to do with Elder Scrolls.

PS I MAY have some stuff here tweaked, either dialogue or actual canon traits of races because frankly I couldn't find the answers with Google so whatevs

I crouched at the top of the balcony overlooking the cavern. Two vampires had just killed a Vigilant, and the blood-scent was heavy in my nose. The urge to rip the still-warm heart from the corpse and devour it was strong, but I figured that the essence of surprise was still mine. There were steps leading down, or a fifty foot leap onto the rock.

Too easy.

A bestial roar ripped threw my snarling jaws and I jumped. I landed with my knees bent and sprang at the one called Lokil. Blood that tasted profoundly wrong filled my mouth as I tore into his throat. I shook him once to snap his spine and would have again if the other hadn't run up behind me with a knife.

The blade was meant to drive into my back and possibly kill me, but I whirled at the last second. It cut a furrow in my flesh that bled well enough to make me angry, and my snarl made that clear. She cowered, pale face even paler, and the fear-scent drove my beast-blood mad. Claws flashed in the dim light and tore her belly open. She let out an inhuman shriek as slimy ropes of grey spattered the floor, and the wailing only ceased when my teeth closed on her neck, ending the noise once and for all.

The all-too familiar struggle to calm my rapid heartbeat and breath was made easier by the vampire blood coating the floor. Necrotic flesh didn't count as living flesh, and the undead only served as sport. I felt the thick fur covering me recede into my skin, which tickled, while muscle and bone molded like clay to form the shape of a Nord woman. The change left me breathless and coated in sweat, and while the chill was mitigated by my beast-blood, it was still very apparent to me that the cave was frigid.

Normally I would have waited to revert back until I was wherever I had stashed my gear, but it seemed wiser to change back early this time. The platform across the bridge was clearly a puzzle, and the beast in me was less inclined to attempt something like that. Claws were meant for rending flesh, not solving something. Though I wished for my bow, the armor and blade I found on the vampire corpses would work well enough for the time being.

At the center of the rings set into the ground was a pedestal, atop which was a button made of polished stone. I pressed it, and immediately had to bite back a howl as a spike pierced the flesh of my hand. I yanked it away as violet flames spread from my blood, to the grooves in the floor, and to the nearest brazier.

I set about pushing the unlit ones and, more out of luck than any real skill, eventually completed the puzzle. The floor lowered into steps that led to a tomb beneath the pedestal. Likely some Draugr I reasoned, and stepped forward. The walls of the tomb dropped into the ground with a grinding of stone to reveal... a woman.

I dropped to one knee to catch her as she fell. Her skin, though pale as the ones I had killed, was in no way decayed despite the fact that the tomb had not been opened in a very long time. I put two fingers to her neck to check for a pulse. There was none, so it was a bit of a shock when her eyes fluttered open. The bright gold caught me off guard as they slowly focused on me.

"Where is..." She trailed off, frowning. "Who are you?"

I was somewhat unnerved by the talking corpse, but I wasn't so stupid that I couldn't put two and two together. "Elayn. I'm a friend. Were you expecting someone?"

"I was expecting someone... like me, at least." She moved to stand.

I rose with her, ready to steady her if need be. There was none. "Well, there were a few of your kind, but they're dead now." My eyes narrowed on her as a rather important fact came to mind. "If you need to feed, there's a body just across the bridge."

Her teeth ground together. "I can smell that. You're clearly not a vampire, so why are you helping me?"

The obvious suspicion made me grin, revealing sharpened canines. "Werewolf," I explained. "I really can't fault you for needing to feed on blood when I dine on the hearts of my enemies."

The suspicion was replaced by wariness. "I suppose that's fair."

I stepped back to give her some space. "Why were you locked away like that? And... is that an Elder Scroll on your back?"

"Yes, and it's mine." The wariness got worse. "And as for why I'm locked away... It's complicated, and I'm not sure if I can trust you. If you want the full story, help me get back to my family's home."

I shrugged. "No fur off my back. Where do you need to go?"

Her brow furrowed, like she was having trouble remembering. "My family used to live on an island to the west of Solitude. I would guess they still do. By the way... My name is Serana."

"Good to meet you!" I turned on my heel and started toward the bridge, before I remembered the body. "If you want to feed, now's the time. We'll be passing quite a few humans, and I'd rather not cause a scene."

She looked offended at the implication that she might become blood-crazy, but that was replaced by pure hunger as she scented the blood. I waited on the other side of the bridge, inspecting my nails, while my ears picked up the gush of blood. The vampire was back before long, and wiped her mouth off on the back of her hand. "Thanks."

"Not a problem. You must have been in there a long time." I knew the feeling of needing to eat; it wasn't pleasant.

"It's hard to say." The furrow was back. "I can't really tell. It feels like a long time, though. Who is Skyrim's High King?"

I barked a laugh. "That's actually a matter for debate."

That seemed to amuse her, at least. "Oh wonderful, a war of succession. It's good to know things haven't gotten boring. Who are the contenders?"

I blew out a breath and reminded myself that she probably wasn't one of the fanatics that normally broached the subject. "Well, the Empire supports the widowed Jarl, Elisif of Soltitude, but there are many in Skyrim loyal to the Jarl of Windhelm, Ulfric Stormcloak."

"I take it you've heard too much of this already," she said wryly, before her eyes widened in shock. "Empire? What Empire?"

I blinked at her. "The Empire? From Cyrodiil?"

The news was obviously distressing to her. "Cyrodiil is the seat of an empire? I must have been gone longer than I thought; definitely longer than we planned. Please, let's hurry. I need to get home and figure out what's happened."

"But why were you locked in there?" I asked, confused.

She looked wary again. "I'd rather not get into that with you." I suppose I looked offended, because she quickly said, "I'm sorry, it's not that..." She shook her head. "It's just that I don't know who I can trust yet. Let's get to my home, and I'll have a better sense of where we stand."

"Why is this place so important?" I asked.

"It's my family home," she explained. "It's not the most welcoming place, but depending on who's around, I'll be safe. It's on an island near Solitude. Hopefully we can find a boat willing to take us there."

The thought of home not being safe was baffling to both me and to my beast. "Why wouldn't you be safe there?"

She hesitated. "Let's just say that my mother and father had a bit of a falling out. Don't worry," she said, and I realized I needed to get better control of my facial expressions. "I'm not in danger or anything. It'll just be more unpleasant to run into my father."

I chuckled. "If he gets rude, I'll piss on his chair. Werewolves are known to be petty like that."

Two stone gargoyles burst to life with the sound of a small avalanche, and I rounded on them with a snarl. Serana had it under control, though, wielding a spell in each hand. They crumbled to dust as they died, and my sword cut through empty air. The swing had more power than it should have in it- I was hitting stone after all- and I stumbled. "That's one I haven't seen before," I said, glancing around for any more.

She looked uneasy. "They're a specialty of my father's. My mother must have left them here to protect me."

It was incredibly fortunate for me that there weren't any more living statues, or living dead, for that matter. We made it to the entrance of the cave where I had stashed my bag, armor, and bow. Serana turned her back while I changed into the hide armor blessed by Hircine himself that I had come to love, as well as a pair of leather leggings and boots. I slung my pack over my shoulder, and my bow over that.

"Let's go," I said. "The sun hasn't come up yet. If we move quickly, we can make it to Morthal before it does."

She glanced at me. "We don't have to travel only by night. I've fed recently enough that I should be fine."

I rolled my eyes in response. "Don't lie to me. A dead Vigilant half-drained already isn't going to keep you going for the whole trip. Morthal is a quiet town with plenty of travellers going through it. We can rest there for the day, you can feed, and we'll slip out without anyone the wiser."

She looked uncomfortable, but said nothing else, and I started down the path. I smelled the sunlight before too long, but Morthal was in sight, so we kept going. The light was just beginning to creep over the hills when we entered the tavern.

Seran stayed quiet, for the most part, as I paid for the room for the night. I shut the door behind me, dropped my bag, and sprawled on the fur left on the floor. She looked down at me, eyebrow quirked. "Don't you want the bed?"

I shook my head. "This floor is more comfortable than the rocks I've been sleeping on the past few days. You take it, you were the one in a coma for Oblivion knows how long."

She sat, hands braced on the straw mattress. "I don't know if I can sleep," she admitted. "Like you said, coma."

"If you want to go out into town, I won't stop you," I told her, angling my head so I could see her. "Just be careful, alright? Word spreads fast in towns like this."

She inclined her head toward me and stepped over my legs to leave the room. I let out a sigh and tucked my arms behind my head. Isran would not be thrilled with this turn of events.

I thought about that for a moment, and decided I really didn't care. I had joined up with his little vampire hunting pack long enough to clear out some vampires from around Riften. I had even been getting ready to tell him I was leaving when that damn Vigilant- now dead in the cave- had opened his mouth. I didn't really have any qualms against vampires as a whole, but the pay for the nest I had dismantled had been good for better arrows. If Serana wanted to go home, I was more than willing to see her there, and then find myself a nice little forest to hunt in until I forgot what it was like to wear a human skin.

I smiled a little at that. When I had run into that runt Farkas outside Whiterun, we had known what the other was immediately. He had followed me, and confronted me near the river.

"You're one of us?" he demanded. After grabbing my arm to stop me, which did not endear him to me.

I yanked my arm away from him and turned to him with my lip curled. "Werewolf, yes. Part of your pack, no, so don't touch me like that again."

The insult to both his Nord and Beast pride didn't go over well with him. I knew why. Female Nords didn't tend to be so confrontational, and werewolves tended to be a little more courteous to one they didn't know the mettle of. I saw his eyes flare bright silver, before he let out a shuddering breath. Ah, of course. This one was leashed.

I had laughed in his face. "By the Nine, has someone castrated you? I've never seen anyone fight the change so hard."

"Hircine doesn't control me," he spat. "I'm a true Nord, and I will see Sovngarde one day."

I scoffed. "So you'll be controlled by your customs, just not a Daedric Prince who can assure you an everlasting hunt? A pity. We're all controlled by someone, it might as well be a matter of use, instead of your damn pride."

His eyes flashed again, and I saw the shimmer that always came before the change. I smiled wolfishly, tensed to leap or attack, when one of his Companions had come up behind him. "Let's go, Farkas," she said, glaring at me.

He had cast me another glower before calming, and letting the girl lead him away. "Good hunting, pup!" I called, before continuing on my way.