I do not own Skyrim or the Elder Scrolls series. Bethesda does; I am just playing in their sandbox. Enjoy!
Neria wondered how angry her father would be if he discovered that the stuffed werewolf heads had been used as targets for archery practice.
She shrugged; if her father was angry, watching Nandil get yelled at would be amusing. She sat back and waited. He had set up the whole thing an hour earlier, citing boredom as the cause. They were in the courtyard, having been pushed outside by their mother two hours previous after being ordered to enjoy the good weather while it lasted.
The youngest child, Erissa, only two, watched from the safety of Neria's arms.
"Gah!" the child cried, tugging at Neria's braid.
"Hmm?" she said, turning her gaze to her little sister. "What is it?"
"Gah!" Erissa said again, her golden eyes bright and curious.
"You think Nandil is a moron?" Neria asked. Nandil glanced over, "I am not a moron!" His siblings ignored the outcry. Nandil sighed and aimed another arrow. Maybe he should aim for the throat of one of the wolves next? Another arrow thudded into a stuffed werewolf.
"Ahh!" Erissa gurgled. Daris, sitting beside his elder sister, looked up from the enormous tome he had borrowed from their mother's library.
"I think that was more or less an exclamation for attention," Daris said, returning to his book.
"Da!" Erissa squealed as one of Nandil's arrows buried itself in the eye socket of one of the werewolf heads.
"That sounds more like Dad," Neria noted.
"Yeah, it kind of does…," Daris agreed, eyes not moving from his book. He froze, dark skin turning a shade paler. Another clunk of an arrow hitting the stuffed werewolves came from the other side of the courtyard.
A shadow fell over them. Neria and Daris turned their heads. Aldariel Stormborn raised one eyebrow. "Those had better not be the stuffed overgrown dogs that were in the basement."
"Um…no," Daris offered. His father's red-gold eyes gleamed.
"Oh? Then where did you get them?"
"No idea," Neria said swiftly. Daris nodded.
Her father laughed. "Of course."
"Da!" Erissa said again, waving her hands at her father. Aldariel smiled, reaching out and taking his daughter gently in his arms.
"And what have you been doing my little ray of sunshine, hmm?" he asked her.
The child only grinned, "Ga!"
Aldariel laughed again, kissing her forehead. "Indeed."
Neria and Daris watched nervously. What punishment would they get for standing by?
Erissa snuggled closer, yawning widely. Aldariel diverted his attention from his youngest daughter to his other nearby children.
"As I don't really care too much for those particular stuffed dogs, I think I can let a few arrows in them slide," both children relaxed slightly, "this time," Aldariel finished. They nodded quickly.
Aldariel's gaze flicked over to his eldest son, who had by this time, noticed his father. Nandil straightened, making no attempt to hide his bow.
"Perhaps, next time you could use a different practice target," Aldariel suggested coolly.
Nandil nodded, relief at not being punished clear on his face. "Yes, Father."
Aldariel held his son's gaze for a long moment, a smirk curling his lips. "Although if you want, I could take you on the next hunt for the beasts."
Nandil paled, his golden skin turning an almost white. "No, I'm good."
Aldariel grinned. "It's not so bad," he remarked, walking towards the house. "you just have to avoid getting bitten."
Neria chuckled; that actually sounded like fun. Daris muttered under his breath, "I swear, Mother and I are the only sane ones in this house."
"We are all insane," Neria said, following her father. "We got his blood," she told Daris, gesturing to Aldariel.
Daris sighed, "Crazy people."
"Agreed," Nandil said, sitting down heavily beside him.
They sat in silence for a long moment. "So, you want to help me drag those," Nandil pointed at the stuffed werewolves, "back indoors?"
Daris looked at him, then gave a long suffering sigh, "Fine."
His family, Daris decided, was undoubtedly crazy, but that was okay. It at the very least, kept things interesting.