Disclaimer: I own nothing but my OCs and the randomness they produce. The glory of The Elder Scrolls belongs solely to Bethesda.
This is not a grand tale of the Dragonborn. This is a tale of a small ragtag group of silly fools on their odd and randomized journey across Skyrim during the events of Alduin's return and eventual demise. Certainly, the Dragonborn and his various companions will make an appearance, and here and there a romance might spring up, but who's to say what the future will hold, eh? Slightly AU and full of OCness. There will likely be game spoilers, but at this point I think most people have played the game through, right?
Author's Note: I'm awful about paragraph fragmenting. There's going to be either many huge paragraphs that need be separated, or far too many smaller ones that could be condensed. I apologize beforehand. This is my first fan fiction to ever be posted, and criticism is much appreciated! The first chapter here is more to introduce the characters and let you get a feel for how they interact together and with the world. Later chapters will explore each character more thoroughly and even toss out a few surprises along the way!
Glas Fox considered herself to be a cursed soul. Her life seemed to bounce up and down along a crazed path that was as dangerous as it was unpredictable. Sadly, today was no exception. She sighed loudly as she swung lazily back and forth about 10 feet from the ground, her feet wrapped hurriedly in the spiders web. The spider had only captured her in the first place because her cohorts had been too busy arguing to notice the spider dragging their sleeping leader off down a tunnel. When the beastly thing had hoisted her off the ground and poised itself to bite her, she awoke with quite a start and punched it squarely in the face while streamed out a line of curses that were loud enough to grab the Khajiit twins' attention. They had made quick work of the spider, and then spent a good bit of time laughing at their leader's predicament.
The twins, Ha'anz and Fra'anz, were currently running about beneath her, searching for stackable items so that they might cut her down. Fox sighed again, folding her arms across her chest. The blood was rushing to her head and the light swaying was beginning to make her queasy. At some point the twins had begun arguing over what to do again, and she finally couldn't stand it anymore.
"You wretched flea-ridden cats!" She bellowed, raining down a few small fireballs to get their attention. "Stretch out one of the bedrolls beneath me and I'll cut myself down!"
The twins yelped, and Fra'anz ended up with a singed tail, but the two complied with their leader's wishes. They ran back to camp and soon returned with a bedroll, which they unfolded and stretched out like they had been told. Fox managed to hoist herself up and grab her ankles. She pulled a dagger from her boot and cut the web suspending her. Again, it crossed her mind that she was cursed. The twins caught her, but neither of them boasted physical strength, nor were they expecting the added force of her impact, and both pitched forward as Fox hit the bedroll and landed unceremoniously on top of her.
"Vile felines!" Fox bellowed, smacking both Khajiit upside their heads. She rolled out from under the twins and stood, shaking herself to get her blood going again. Running a hand through her short cropped white hair, the young woman sighed loudly and eyed the tangle of kittens before her. She hoisted the twins' up by their scruffs and set them unceremoniously on their feet.
"Ah, don't tug so hard! This one's fur will fall out!" Ha'anz rubbed at his head and neck, scowling at Fox. She scowled right back, and he cringed under her glare.
"I would have heard that nasty bug coming if the hairball hadn't been crying over who took first watch." Fra'anz puffed her chest out in a haughty manner, her singed tail whipping about behind her in feigned arrogance.
"And yet neither of you could smell the damned thing, even with those keen kitty noses." Fox scoffed. Both Khajiit scowled at her, but she simply chuckled. "Come on, let's get out of here and deliver the goods to Calcelmo. I'll never get back to sleep after this, and I'd rather be out in the open next time."
-x-
Soon, the trio had made their way out of Avanchnzel and began the long trek back across Skyrim. They made a stop in Whiterun to trade and patch up any broken equipment, and then they were off again. Within a few days, they found themselves marching up the hill, past the stables and up to the large stone gates of Markarth.
"Ah, soon we'll be enjoying warm food and good mead." Fox smiled dreamily at the great gates as they approached.
"And the master will be enjoying a warm bed with warm company too, eh?" Ha'anz nudged Fra'anz in the ribs and the pair giggled amongst themselves. They stopped abruptly when they caught Fox's fiery glare.
"I could just leave you lot to find your own way, with no gold or food." Even the guards near the gate shrank back from the white-haired woman's fierce gaze. Fox had many years of practice glaring at the twins, and she took this business very seriously.
As the twins bowed and apologized, Fox chuckled and easily pushed open the grand gates. When she started to step through, however, she stopped short. A loud groan of irritation slipped from her mouth, and she brought a hand up to rub at her temples.
There, standing before them in all of his glory was the Dragonborn, and he looked far too happy to see them. The Dragonborn –Siegfried was his name- was a very typical Nord man in build. He was tall, broad shouldered, with messy chin-length blond hair that lay perfectly tousled about his face. He had a boyish grin complete with dimples, sparkling white teeth, and devilish blue eyes that looked like two glowing soul gems. Young, well-muscled but not to the point of being bulky, suited up in the finest ebony armor; all in all he was quite the hunk. If that's what you go for, anyway.
Fox did not go for that type. While she could appreciate a burly man like no other, she tended to fall more for the brooding quiet gents. Like Argis the Bulwark. Who was standing right behind his Thane Siegfried. And he was smiling the slightest bit at her. Fox could feel her face growing hot before she could even stop it, and her jaw clenched tightly by reflex. Argis was already married to a sweet young farm girl that the Dragonborn had hooked him up with on their travels. This didn't stop Siegfried from using Argis for evil, at least when it came to wooing poor Fox into a horrible quest. Thankfully, Argis was a bit dim, and he hadn't the slightest clue that his soft smiles melted Fox's heart into something akin to warm butter.
Behind her, Fox could hear the twins chuckling to themselves. She planned to beat them black and blue later when no one was around to witness it. Straightening her shoulders and forcing a harsh smile, Fox locked her emerald eyes with those of the Dragonborn.
"What is it, Sieg? I don't have time to play right now." She crossed her arms over her chest and shifted her weight onto her back foot in an attempt to look haughty and irritated.
The younger man seemed a bit put out. It soon passed. "Glas, dear, don't be so harsh. It's been weeks since I've seen you last, don't you want to have a drink with me? Catch up on things?" He smiled that boyish smile, hoping to appeal to her feminine side.
Fox narrowed her eyes at the Dragonborn, and even he seemed to shrink back just the tiniest fraction. "What do you want?" She kept her tone even, which added to the impact of her gaze.
"I need help with a particular mission." Siegfried finally dropped his playboy act and rubbed at the back of his neck, avoiding eye contact as his face flushed the slightest bit. "I'd rather talk about it in private is all."
Fox couldn't help the crooked smile that graced her lips. As much as she hated the Dragonborn for playing the 'mister popular, dragon slayer' card, she adored him just as much for the inexperienced young man that resided inside. She made a motion for him to lead the way to the Silver-Blood inn. Her reward was another boyish grin, and the Dragonborn headed for the inn with Argis in tow. Before following, Fox turned to the twins behind her.
"Alright, I'll go see what the playboy wants. You two finish the delivery to Calcelmo and then meet me back here." She hefted her pack of dwarven artifacts over to the twins and watched as they headed up to Understone Keep before following Sieg inside. She spotted Siegfried at a table near the back and crossed the room, pausing long enough to acquire a drink. She plopped into the chair across from the Dragonborn and propped one foot on the extra chair, adjusting her leather armor until she was comfortable. "So, let's hear about your problem."
Sieg took a long pull from his mead, planning out the best way to explain. Finally he sighed and decided it best to just come out with it. "I've been working through a task, shall we say. For the Thieves' Guild." He gave Fox a searching look in hopes of gleaning her reaction but she was stone-faced.
"I see." She took a sip of her own drink, eyes drilling holes in the tabletop. Fox had a bit of history with the Thieves' Guild. The last time she'd been there, she'd walked in on a certain… romantic situation between the object of her affections and that irritating grump Vex. She'd been so flustered that she had fled in a huge rush, leaving half of her belongings and a job unfinished. She hadn't even been able to set foot back in Riften since, and that had been at least a year ago. Finally, she sighed in defeat, rubbing her face with her ungloved hand. "What's the job?"
Sieg might as well have been given a million gold septims, he looked so happy. He sat forward and patted Fox's shoulder roughly. "I knew you'd do it, I just knew! Bryn warned me that you'd been out of the guild for a while, but I told him I could get you back!"
Fox stiffened and fixed her green eyes on him with the most unreadable look. Sieg's smile froze but recovered quickly. "Look, it's a simple in and out, you'll have minimal guild contact, and then you can run off and hide from the man all you please." The unreadable look changed to a murderous one. "He's not even with Vex anymore, you know? Brynjolf said so! This might be just the chance you need!"
"I do NOT need a chance with ANYONE, boy!" Fox stood and slammed her hands down so hard that the table cracked loudly, the sound echoing in the now silent inn. She let out a ragged breath and clenched her shaking hands into fists. "Be ready to leave for Riften first thing in the morning."
Siegfried nodded and watched her discomfited retreat. He shook his as Fox vanish out the door. "One day, I'll know why that woman is so damned strong."
Author's Note: So that's the first chapter! I hope it's alright. ._.'' Chapter 2 will cover a bit of Glas' history and add on to her mystery~ I have a horribly surprise for her past… but that will be covered in later chapters.
Pronunciations:
Glas – said like 'gloss' but when you put a Scottish or Irish twang on it, it's like you tried to combine saying 'glass' and 'gloss' together. Very odd, but I love the word. Means grey and in certain uses green in Irish and Scottish Gaelic.
Ha'anz and Fra'anz – Ha'anz is like the Hans part from Hansel (Hansel and Gretel) and Fra'anz is the same way, sort of like Fran with a 'z' at the end. Despite making these characters opposite gendered twins, for some reason Hans and Franz always struck me as being the names of big burly German fitness trainers… or was that a SNL skit with Dana Carvey…? XD