(Steel belongs to Noah Rhodes.)
How Steel sufferedSteel sat atop a hill, leaning against the evergreens. Across from him sat the two newest hunters in the pack, both females had shown they were not to be messed with. Steel watched as the Dragonborn Khajiit lay with her head on Serana's lap, Serana idly stroked the normally overactive cat's ears while reading a book.
"So, if you don't mind my prying here. How does a daughter of cold harbour come to give up her powers, marry a dragonborn Khajiit, then go on to help said dragonborn make a deal with nearly every Daedric prince in the realms?" Steel asked, Serana looked down at her wife with a raised eyebrow.
"This one will explain, if Steel tells this one something she is curious about." Steel smiled behind his mask, he had missed this Khajiit unique accent, the other Khajiit here had lost years ago.
"What do you want to know?" Steel watched Aramada roll over and look at him.
"How did you get the dragon scar on your face?" Aramada asked, Steel could not but help comparing this woman to his old friend.
"That is something that I look back on and laugh at, though at the time I wanted to kill her for it." Steel sighing, remembering the insane laughter that he had heard as that insane cat healed him.
"Well, lets see I was born… I'm not really sure, anyway I was around for the oblivion crisis." Steel began, but Serana broke in.
"How could you have been hurt by a dragon in an age where there was none?" Steel nodded sagely, at what had been his logic so long ago.
"Turns out when you travel with an insane Khajiit that ended up being named the 'Hero of Kavotch', things that should be impossible happen." At this Aramada got a manic gleam in her eye.
"You knew this one's ancestor!?" Steel felt the pieces fall into place in his mind, she looked like that insane woman born again.
**Cyrodiil, 3E 434**
Sera ran spinning in a circle enjoying the fresh air, Steel followed her at a more tempered pace. Sera was glad to be free of that city, no one trusted her at all and it was not helped with Steel brooding in the corner. So here they were off to the shore of a lake, mainly because she wanted to swim and fish. Steel came along because, in his own words 'You left on your own will cause another crisis.' Sera did not think it was that bad.
"Sera please watch where you are going, I don't want to have to carry you body back to the city." Sera laughed at Steel's tired tone.
"Come on Steel, relax. This one will be fine, what could happen? The earth open up and swallow this one?" Sera laughed, as she leapt on to a rock.
A loud crack was the only warning they had, before the ground opened and swallowed them. Sera grabbed Steel as they fell, and used her magic to slow them down. As they fell Sera noticed the flashes of bronze metal, and wondered if she triggered a dwemer trap.
"This one was joking, not making a challenge." Sera groaned, when they hit the bottom.
"Why do I have the feeling, that we are not going to go fishing today?" Steel wondered aloud.
"This one thinks, Steel needs to think more happy thoughts. Just think there might be lots of shiny things down here!" Sera chirped, Steel gave her a blank stare from behind his hooded face. Sera's ears drooped at the look.
"Come on, the soon we get walking the soon we get out of here." Steel sighed and led them into the dark.
They both cast night eye magic to see by, Steel in the lead with his daggers drawn. Sera padded silently behind him, Sera had in the beginning resisted him leading in caves but as he put it. 'You have less sense of direction in caves a babe.' Sera had to admit he was right, the good thing was that she could ogle his ass the entire time, so it was not all bad.
It took them several hours, filled with Falmer hunting and Dwemer machine killing to reach the central chamber. Sera looked around at the massive room, but it was the large dais in the center that held her attention. On it sat a large gemstone that gleamed brightly, her eyes widened with a manic gleam as she moved towards it.
"Sera do not touch that, it is obviously booby trapped." Steel called, Sera just looked over her shoulder at him confused.
"That means it is worth even more, and look at how shiny it is! This one wants it for her tower, it would make a great reading light!" Sera called out, as she reached out and snagged the gem off the pedestal.
At once the room was filled with the grinding of gears, and a deafening roar that had Sera's tail poofing out to three times its size. Steel simply sighed deeply as he pulled out his dagger, Sera tucked the gem into her bag and readied her bow. The roof opened to let a dragon fly down into the room.
"This one thought that dragons were extinct!" Sera yelled, as she dove out of the way of dragon fire.
"Someone clearly forget to tell him, why don't you try!" Steel yelled back, as he rolled under the dragon's tail swipe.
"This one will try. Mister dragon! This one must inform you that you are suppose to be extinct." Sera yelled, the dragon paused and looked at them.
For a moment they thought the dragon was giving up the game, that was until it shouted. {FUS RO DAH!} the massive force sent them both flying backwards.
"This one thinks the dragon does not care." Sera groaned, as she helped Steel behind a pillar.
The fight took a long time, and every arrow and poison they had. In the end Steel got a dragon claw to the face, as Sera had been trying to resist being thrown off the dragon's back. Steel had watched as Sera had been swallowed whole, only for the dragon to sprout knives from its throat. Sera clawed her way out of its throat, Steel watched as Sera stalked over to him complaining about her fur smelling the entire time.
"Sorry Steel, this one got your pretty face ruined." Sera whimpered, tail and ears drooping.
"It is okay Sera, it will add to my roguish charm. Besides, if you died who would drag me to impossible encounter?" Steel soothed the soaked Khajiit.
**Hunter's afterlife present day.**
"I see that it must run in the family, though that raises the question. Why are you here instead of the shivering isles?" Serana asked gently, Steel smiled.
"Sheogorath and Hircine have a deal, Sheo gets me whenever the fancy strikes her and she needs her champion. Otherwise I live here with our lord, but I have a pass to visit whenever I want. Just like you two I imagine." Steel explained, remembering the haggling that Sera did over him.
"Yes we do, but I guess fair is fair. What story do you want first?" Serana asked.
"Lets pick this up tomorrow, it is almost time for me to head over to sheo's place now. Something about a warrior running around the isles with a hammer made of stolen cheese, next time you can tell me about how you two met." Steel groaned as he stretched.
After saying his goodbyes, Steel vanished into a portal. He exited and saw the throne of madness, and on the throne lounged a Khajiit female. Steel bowed to the Khajiit, who simply smiled widely at him. Around the hall milled the other followers of the hero, Sera or Sheo as they called her now, had collected them all after they died.
"Steel, you were almost late. That is not like you, that is more like this one, did something happen?" Sheo asked, from her lounging spot, managaing to looked bored and concerned at the same time.
"Just trading stories with the dragonborn." Steel explained, Sheo nodded.
"Ah good, This one was beginning to worry the you were cheating one this one." Sheo pouted, Steel smiled at the antics of his old friend.
"Never, who else is gong to guide you through caves?" Steel asked, Sheo laughed and signaled the followers to head out.
Steel fell in step beside Sheo, 'the mad march' as Sheo called them exited the palace. Sheo began to lead them to their next fight, Hircine's hunts were a constant rush but Sheo's were more like a party. Steel walked beside the mad god, and for a moment was back when it was just the two fellow prisoners against the world. Sheo spotted their target and smiled, Steel smiled back at her and readied his bow.
