Serana Volkihar, daughter to Harkon Volkihar, lord of the oldest clan of vampires in all of Skyrim, wasn't exactly what others called 'social.' By no means was she reclusive or xenophobic, she just wasn't really comfortable in large groups or at casual events. As a skilled Alchemist and a wielder of magic, particularly Necromancy, she had to devote long hours every day to pore over dusty spellbooks, gathering ingredients for her potions, and of course, memorizing her spells and recipes.
This lone wolf-like attitude was slightly in part thanks to her lover, a Dunmer adventurer named Shiikrah, who fought alongside her many months ago to overthrow her tyrannical father, who was attempting to fulfill a rather unpleasant prophesy centered on herself.
Shiikrah was very solitary by nature. Serana had gathered that the silver haired Dark Elf - whom she had witnessed become a vampire thanks to her father, Harkon - posessed a very dark past. Of course, she never pushed her lover into revealing her past. It wasn't like she was a pinnacle of purity and good parenting either.
Interestingly enough, Shiikrah and Serana shared a large manor, Lakeview Manor as it was called, with a small staff of servants. These staff knew what the pair of vampires needed them to know, nothing more. Not even Lydia, Shiikrah's long time companion in battle, knew more than necessary.
Sadly, none of the staff were able to use more than a few novice level spells, so she was the only real mage in the house. Shiikrah was, by nature, an assassin. The things she could do from the shadows were beyond belief sometimes. She was also a master with a bow, which Serana had asked to be given lessons in case she ever ran out of Magicka.
"Something tells me you can't concentrate."
Shiikrah's low voice came from behind Serana, who was seated in the specially constructed Mage Tower of Lakeview Manor. The startled vampire turned to find her elven lover leaning on the door frame. Shiikrah was dressed in her usual black armour, known as the Black Sacrament Armour, so the only part of her body that was truly visible were her exposed fingers and a narrow gap revealed her glowing orange eyes.
"No, not tonight." Serana shook her head. "This Conjuration spell is giving me a hard time."
"If I was even the slightest bit skilled at any sort of non-fire related magic, I'd gladly help you." Shiikrah shrugged her shoulders. "I've just gotten back from a Dark Brotherhood contract. Astrid told me to inform you she said hello."
"Thank you. How is she doing?" Serana had a few, very scattered people that she considered to be her friends, and one of them, Astrid, was the leader of the assassin guild, the Dark Brotherhood, which Shiikrah was one of the top contract killers, especially for covert, silent killings.
"Her husband is as gruff and over-protective as always. She's been busy with a few large contracts, herself." Shiikrah nodded her head slightly, her expression - as it almost always was - lay completely hidden by her armour's fitted mask. "Have you fed today?" Shiikrah suddenly asked, her voice full of concern for her lover.
"Not yet. I was going to go later." Serana admitted, but Shiikrah sighed behind her mask.
"It's been four days, Serana. You need to feed by now, or the sun's going to burn you." Shiikrah reminded her, and Serana held up her hands in surrender.
"One more hour, then I'll go. I promise." Serana nodded very slowly, and her lover's eyes narrowed at the open spellbook that laid before her.
"One hour." Shiikrah finally agreed to the request after a long, tense moment of silence. "Don't forget to wear your armour. I still remember what happened with that Sabre Cat."
Serana's armour was different than Shiikrah's, but for some reason, people that saw the two of them side by side couldn't help but admit that the drastically different sets had the same intimidating aura about them. Her armour was called the Lustmord Armour, which she enchanted herself to support her magical ability whilst protecting herself against the distinctive weaknesses of being a vampire, namely fire and sunlight. It also healed her wounds, and restored her Magicka reserves in a pinch.
"I won't forget." Serana nodded before Shiikrah turned on her heel and vanished into the - intentionally - near-darkness of the Manor's Main Hall.
After nearly thirty minutes of study, Serana sighed and closed her spellbook. She stood up and lifted the book from the desk, reaching down to her right leg, which carried a very special and unique piece of enchanted gear.
It had originally been a part of her Lustmord Armour, called the Garter. The small pouch was secured to a strap that resided on the right thigh, and it was an astounding piece of work.
It was enchanted with a seemingly infinite capacity, and no matter the size of the object being inserted, it could hold it without even bulging an inch. All she had to do was think of the object she wanted from it's depths, and it would be right at her fingertips, ready to use.
Of course, being an Alchemist, she had it heavily stocked with necessary ingredients. But that's not all. It also carried all of her usual equipment, including her Lustmord Armour.
So, flipping the top of the pouch open, she brought the entire set of armour to the forefront of her mind, and in an instant, she was wearing it. The act was nearly instantaneous, and she felt the familiar tingle of magic coursing over her skin beneath the tightly fitted outfit.
Next, she willed her weapons out of the pouch, Auriel's Bow - with her quiver full of Daedric arrows - and a Daedric Dagger. These weren't her only weapons in the Garter, and she had studied blacksmithing - which Shiikrah was highly skilled at - so she could easily make more, if needed. Shiikrah had also taught her how to summon forth a very interesting spell - one of the few that Shiikrah actually knew, in fact - that turned the raw materials into the desired weapons, as if it were an arcane forge.
Adjusting the sturdy straps for her bow and quiver with one hand, Serana slid the dagger onto her lower back, hidden from view before leaving the Manor and breathing in the late night air.
She was in her element now, and vanished into the forests of Falkreath Hold in search of some foolish bandits to drain of blood.
There was silence... and then there was a vampire hunting at night silence. Serana passed through the undergrowth like a shadow, even going between two elk that were mere feet apart.
Serana's eyes scanned the darkness, her ears attuned to the silence. Bandits were common in all of the Holds of Skyrim, but none were within an hours walk of Lakeview Manor, so it was well past midnight when Serana suddenly froze, her ears picking up the rough voices of a clan of bandits. Several of them, in fact.
Listening in, Serana detected the faint sounds of a crackling fire, but couldn't make out their words from this distance. So, like a true shadow, she vanished completely from sight, using her vampire power called Embrace of Shadows to sneak right up to the bandits, only to stop and stare at what they themselves were staring at.
"Oi! What the bloody hell is that?" One of them, clad in crude Hide armour with an iron War Axe in his hand turned to the group's leader, who wore sturdy steel armour from head to toe and carried a steel Greatsword over his back.
"I dunno. Do I look like I'm from the College of Winterhold?!" The leader growled, his hands on his armoured hips. "Any ideas would be good, idiots."
Serana vaguely remembered reading about one of them before, an Oblivion Gate. But this one was... different. She snuck closer to the group, trying to listen in and still observe the gate.
"Looks magical to me..." The group's only archer scratched his head, clearly confused like the rest of them.
"Of course it is, stupid!" The leader barked, turning to the archer. "Shoot an arrow at it." He ordered suddenly.
So, the archer nocked an arrow and was about to draw it back when Serana detected a shift in the magical energy emenating from the Gate.
"Don't do it!" She ordered loudly, causing all of the bandits to turn around at the sound of her commanding voice coming from the darkness beyond their torchlight.
"Who's there?! Show yourself!" The leader barked out loudly.
"Archer, lower your bow. That's an Oblivion Gate!" Serana removed her Embrace of Shadows, revealing herself with Auriel's Bow nocked with a Daedric arrow and drawn back. "You cannot sense the magic coming from that gate! Step away for your own well being!"
"So you're a mage, huh?" The bandit leader slowly reached for his greatsword, which his men caught on and readied their own weapons as well. "Why don't we take that nice bow of yours and have some fun with your body before we throw you through the Gate?"
The bandits had clearly never fought a real mage before - likely a novice student with little experience - but they clearly fought archers before. They all slowly walked towards her, spreading themselves out around her while she kept her arrow aimed at the leader. They also clearly didn't recognized a vampire either.
With the advantage of her many spells on hand, Serana let the first arrow fly straight into the leader's chest, piercing the steel and causing him to stumble back. But in that single moment, she was already invisible, using said spell to reposition herself about fifteen feet away in the darkness, readying another arrow from the undergrowth.
"Find her!" The others spread out in search of the - unknowingly - expertly trained vampire huntress, unaware that she had one of them already lined up in her sight.
With a wet squish, the arrow impaled into the first's neck, and by the time the body fell, another had an arrow in his back and the third had his neck broken.
"I can't see her!" One of them called to the group's archer, who was protectively standing over their wounded leader.
"Keep looking!" The leader yelled back, suddenly noticing a flicker of movement out of the corner of his eye. "Over there!" He pointed in the direction of the movement, just as one of the running men got killed by an arrow from behind. "She's over there now!"
They split up into two pairs, one going in the first direction, the other heading towards the new one. The archer stayed with the leader, who spoke up.
"If you were attacking us, where would you be hiding? You're an archer, figure it out!"
"I'd stay moving, use the plants for cover." The archer replied, still scanning the darkness with an arrow nocked. He'd noticed that the woman's armour covered her entire body except for her upper chest and part of her face. If he could get an arrow into her chest, she'd easily get downed like the leader, then they could have their way with her. "But she's..."
"Too fast? I know." Serana impaled the archer in the back of the head with her Daedric Dagger. "I'm a vampire, that's why."
Her fangs glinted in the torchlight for a moment as she extended her mouth to his neck, but a strong hand grabbed her leg from behind and she was pulled to the ground, landing with a heavy thud that briefly took the air from her lungs.
"Gettin' really pissed off at you, bloodsucker." The bandit leader snarled as he grabbed her by the throat and lifted her up from the ground. "So I think it's time you took a little trip through that big Gate, bitch!"
Serana kicked her feet against his armour, trying to pry his hands off her throat, but the lack of air was quickly weakening her body. She couldn't escape! Her grip and kicks were growing weaker and weaker as she was awashed by the magical energy emenating from the unusual Oblivion Gate behind her back.
With a grunt, she was roughly thrown backwards, and the sensation of falling lasted for only a few seconds as her consciousness faded away and her eyes closed.
"Wow, this rain's really coming down hard." Ruby sounded disappointed by the intense rainstorm outside of Team RWBY's dorm window. She'd really been looking forward to a day training in the Emerald Forest.
"Good. That means you can stop running around in the Emerald Forest and focus on your schoolwork!" Weiss declared from her bunk, where she had several notebooks open with just as many textbooks.
"But Weiss~!" Ruby moaned, hanging her head. "I can't just sit cooped up in here all afternoon with schoolbooks!"
"You have to stop avoiding your schoolwork at some point, Ruby..." Blake spared the younger girl a brief glance. Unsurprisingly, she had a book in her hands, and a smug smirk on her face - she already finished her assignments - so the cat Faunus was enjoying her leisure time like she always did: Away from everyone else, with a nice book. She'd have liked for a bit more quiet, but that was almost always wishful thinking with Ruby and Yang present...
Speaking of Yang, just as Blake had that passing thought in her head, Yang's limp hand suddenly draped over the edge of the bunk above the Faunus, accompanied by a loud snore.
Yes, Yang was asleep. Flat on her face, drooling, stone cold asleep. Like Ruby, she wasn't bothering with her schoolwork... right now. The steady pattering of rain on the dorm window had made the buxom blonde sleepy, eventually passing out right where she was - coincidentally, that was in her bed - with a content smile on her face.
"Why does Yang get to have a nap while I'm being forced to study?" Ruby pouted, crossing her arms moodily.
"Because Yang is hopeless with schoolwork." Weiss replied without even looking up from her note taking. "At least bribery usually works for your case."
"I resent that!" Ruby stuck her tongue out, noticing too late that all their chatter - and probably Yang's snoring - was getting on Blake's nerves.
The awkward silence came to a very curt end as Blake closed the door, which caused Yang to bolt upright in a panic "It wasn't me!" She spoke in a hurried voice, looking around in confusion. "Huh..?"
Blake made her way to the library, taking a seat by one of the tall windows with her novel. It was peacefully quiet here compared to Ruby's whining and Yang's snoring. It wasn't like she disliked the sisters, it was just that she couldn't focus on her book with Yang snoring barely thirty inches over her head and Ruby complaining about her own laziness.
A brief flash of light outside of the window made her look up, noticing several bolts of lightning flash through the sky. Seems like the storm was getting worse.
Returning to her book, Blake's concentration was broken barely a minute later as an ear-splitting crack rocked her entire body as one dangerously close lightning strike shook the window in it's frame.
In her fright, Blake turned her gaze to see exactly where the bolt struck, but in that brief moment, her heart jumped into her throat.
Someone was laying on the ground exactly where that bolt just struck.
Scrambling to her feet, Blake hurried to the nearest exit, running across the wet grass and several walking paths until she reached the downed person.
Blake's medical knowledge was limited, but she knew how to check for a pulse and breathing. But right now, she needed to carry the tall woman to safety, just in case more lightning struck nearby.
So, throwing the woman's arm over her shoulder, she half-carried, half-dragged the woman to the covered walking path at the side of the library, lowering her against the wall below a window.
Pressing her fingertips below the woman's jaw, she waited several seconds until she felt a faint pulse. Good, that was good. Next, she lowered her head to the woman's mouth, listening for airflow while watching the woman's exposed chest - she seemed to be wearing a strange black corset-like set of armour with a black veil on her head. Her armour was mostly black, but had grey and silver bits for the most part. Her right leg had a single pouch - probably for her Scroll - and of course, her bow and arrows were on her back with a short thigh length cape hanging from her shoulder.
Blake's sensitive ears picked up that oh so relieving sound of breathing, and she just sat down beside the woman, noticing that she had a bow and a quiver of arrows on her back. She must've been an older Huntress, like Yang and Ruby's Uncle Qrow or Weiss' older sister, Winter.
"I guess you just got... thunderstruck." Blake smirked at her own pun. Yang would've probably liked that one. Probably...
For whatever reason, despite the woman being unconscious, Blake felt a strange instinctive connection with the brunette woman. She couldn't exactly place the feeling, but it felt natural. She didn't want to leave her side... right now.
It was quiet, she was soaking wet and very cold, out of breath from moving the woman, and she'd dropped her book, losing track of her page... but it felt good.
It was quiet, just what she wanted.
A/N: First things first, Lustmord and BSA (Black Sacrament Armour) are both glorious - and reasonably overpowered - mods, both of which can be found on the Nexus for Skyrim. Shiikrah is the name of my main Dragonborn character, and for the purposes of this story, is Serana's lover back home. Also, Serana's Garter (which will be mentioned as such, henceforth) is a piece of the Lustmord set that acts as a portable storage container (in Skyrim, obviously) with an infinite capacity. In terms of this story, it is basically akin to a 'Magic Satchel' of sorts. She just pulls whatever she needs (if it's inside, obviously) right out of the Garter, ready to use.
Also, this story is a requested story from a close friend of mine, Cory. He originally asked me a very vague version of this story pairing (Serana X Blake) that didn't exactly work well for writing. So, a few weeks ago, he reworded his whole request. This is that new version. My plan for the story (which Cory can change if he so wishes) is to be somewhere between 10 and 20 chapters.
Finally, all rights belong to Bethesda and Roosterteeth. The characters belong to them, respectively. I only own Shiikrah. No copyright infringement was intended, this story is intended for entertainment purposes only.