A/N: Talos damn it, I forgot to post this yesterday. Therefore, you get 7 and 8 today. I really like this one. It's one of my favorites. B)
...
Day 7: Where does your character live? How do they handle intruders (graciously? Violently?)?
He wasn't awakened by the soft rattle of the lock being picked, but the way his ear twitched in response to the sound.
Dalamus rolled over, rubbing his eyes and wondering why the hell he was awake. Marcurio was still asleep beside him, which was weird because the Imperial slept much lighter than him. But that telltale clatter didn't stop, so he rolled out of bed and trudged quietly out of the room.
Across the hall, Ky's door was still closed and when he cracked it open the boy had made a nest of his bedsheets. In the center of the wild circle were his wild mop of white hair and a sliver of blue-grey forehead. Dal smiled and closed the door, his anxiety abating when he realized he couldn't hear the rattling anymore.
And then the front door opened.
Dalamus dropped to a crouch, turning to reach for the bow he'd stashed in the cupboard at the top of the stairs. He picked up the arrow lying next to it and crept down the stairs.
He stopped at the bottom step, notched the arrow, held his breath, and let fly.
The arrow went right through the thief's outstretched wrist.
A shriek pierced the still air and he fell back against the wall, gripping his wrist and panting.
By the time Marcurio had come down the stairs, eyes shocked and hands ablaze Dal was holding the man up against the wall by his neck.
"What… the hell… are you doing… in my house?" the dovahkiin growled through his teeth. That heat was racing down into his chest, and it was hard to talk over the urge to Shout at the intruder.
"I-I'm sorry…" the thief gasped, grasping at Dal's wrist with his uninjured hand. "I n-need money f-for food…"
Dal rolled his eyes and dropped the man, turning to Marc and frowning up at the sleepy Ky at the top of the stairs.
"Daddy, who screamed?" the boy asked, voice thick as he rubbed at his eyes.
"We'll talk about it in the morning. Go back to bed."
Ky blinked down at his daddy. "Nn, okay. Good night, daddy."
It wasn't until he heard the boy's door close that he kneeled in front of the whimpering would-be thief, taking the wounded wrist and breaking the arrow that impaled it before pulling it out. He honestly didn't care about the yelp the man let out at this point; Ky was probably straining to listen for everything that was going on now.
"Heal him, Marc," Dal sighed, tossing the broken halves of the arrow aside. He crossed his arms and watched as the Imperial did so, strangely silent.
And after Marcurio was finished, Dal shoved a loaf of bread into the thief's bloodied hands and took a handful of his shirt, holding him up against the wall. "Get out. If you ever come back, the next arrow will be through your skull."
The thief nodded quickly, soundlessly, and when Dal shoved him out the door he stumbled down the stairs but kept running.
And Dal didn't regret a damn thing.
