I do not own any of Bethesda's marvelous characters, nor their story line. Just tryin' to shove my own characters into it because I'm selfish.

Also, small reference in this chapter. See if you can spot it.

Hainin threw his head back with a short exclamation, which caused Babette's gaze to raise from the potion she was mixing.

"What?" she demanded.

"Bored!" Hainin shouted.

"So go kill something!" Babette cried in response. "I'm trying to work!"

Hainin looked at her in contempt. "You're supposed to be on my side throughout all this."

"I told you to be careful," Babette said, glaring down at her potion as she furiously went back to grinding up an ingredient. "You weren't, and now you're stuck like this. And although I wish I could change you back, more than anything, I can't, so go find a way to entertain yourself, and leave me alone!"

Hainin bolted to his feet, ready to do just as she said. He marched for the stairs, deciding it was better if he left through the entrance farthest away from Dawnstar as possible. As he pulled it open and was greeted by a blast of cold air and snow, he found himself faced with a familiar face as well.

He blinked at the dark haired woman who stood before the door of the Sanctuary, a hood shielding most of her face. She lowered it when she noticed the Black Door had opened, and blinked orange eyes at him.

"Sorry for showing up like this," Serana said quietly, "but I need your help."

"H-how did you find me?" Hainin asked her, and the vampire smiled a bit.

"In all the years I've been stuck underground, the Dark Brotherhood hasn't changed its colors," she replied, gesturing to his armor. She then glanced upwards, at the cloud-covered sky. "Can I come in? Even with the sun hidden like this, it still burns out here."

"Yeah, of course," Hainin responded, quickly stepping out of the way of the door for her. She walked into the Sanctuary, and Hainin let the Black Door swing shut behind them before leading her into the main room of the Sanctuary.

"Babette, we… uh… we have company," he called down to the vampire child, who was still seated at the table, and then led Serana down the stairs to where she was.

Babette glanced up from her potion, and her own orange eyes widened when she saw Serana. Serana tilted her head, and let out a quiet sigh.

"Sorry," she said. "I'm sorry this happened to you, when you were so young."

"I… I've gotten used to it," Babette answered slowly. She then glanced at Hainin. "Care to introduce us, Listener?"

"Babette, this is Serana, the vampire Nazir, Cicero and I found in Dimhollow," Hainin said, gesturing to Serana. He then gestured to Babette. "This is another member of the Dark Brotherhood Family," he said to Serana.

"It's nice to meet you," Serana said to her, and Babette frowned.

"Same here," she replied, and then she looked at Hainin. "Why is she inside?"

"Because the sun was a pain," Hainin answered shortly. He waved his hand at a chair, and Serana slowly settled down into, pulling the very obvious Elder Scroll off of her back and laying it down on her lap instead.

"What do you need my help with?" Hainin asked, moving to sit down as well.

"As I'm sure you've noticed," Serana began, looking up from the Elder Scroll, "I have the Elder Scroll with me."

"Right, it's… there," Hainin agreed. "Why do you have it, instead of your father?"

"You've probably figured this out already, but my father's not exactly a good person, even by vampire standards," Serana stated. "He wasn't always like this, though. There was… a turn. He stumbled onto this obscure prophecy and just kind of lost himself in it."

"And… I'm going to take a wild guess and say that the Elder Scroll has something to do with that prophecy," Hainin concluded, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms.

"What kind of prophecy?" Babette asked, moving her potion things off to the side so that she could rest her arms on the table.

"It's pointless and vague, like all prophecies," Serana responded. "The part he latched onto said that vampires would no longer need to fear the sun."

Babette's eyes widened again for the second time in a span of five minutes, and she looked at Hainin, whose eyebrows had furrowed as he studied the female vampire sitting across from him. He didn't say anything, however, and Serana continued.

"That's what he's after," she said. "He wants control of the sun, have vampires control the world." She shook her head. "Anyway, my mother and I didn't feel like inviting a war with all of Tamriel, so we tried to stop him. That's why I was sealed away with the Scroll." She gestured to where it rested on her lap. "He needs it to complete the prophecy, and so I assume it can also tell us how to stop him."

Hainin glanced at Babette. "Have you heard of anything like this?" he asked her. "A prophecy about putting the sun out?"

"No," Babette admitted, "although I've never actually seen an Elder Scroll, either, so I'm not surprised there is one."

Hainin turned back to Serana. "You and I both know that none of us here can read that," he said, nodding to the Scroll. "What do you expect me to help you with?"

"I need you to figure out how we can read it," Serana replied. "You must have more connections than I do. Surely you must know someone who might have the slightest idea as to how we can read it."

Hainin sighed outwards and raised his eyes towards the stone ceiling. He did know someone who could tell them how to read it, but they were also one of the last people Hainin wanted to speak with.

Babette, however, knew who it was as well, and she reached over and punched Hainin in the arm. Hainin turned a glare to her, and the vampire child scowled.

"Set it aside, whatever it is," she ordered. "You need her help."

"I don't care," Hainin muttered. "I swore I'd never speak to her."

"Who?" Serana asked, her eyebrows drawing together.

"The Dragonborn," Hainin and Babette answered together.

This time, it was Serana's eyes who widened. "The Dragonborn? I thought… I thought they were a myth."

"So did most of Tamriel, but about two years ago, I was captured by Imperial soldiers and almost executed with one," Hainin told her. He returned his glare to Babette. "I don't want to deal with her."

"You have to," Babette insisted. "It's the only way you'll ever figure out what that says."

"Why do you even care?" Hainin asked her. "I would have thought you'd be elated that the sun might possibly go out."

Babette shook her head. "The sun is bigger than you or me, Hainin, in more ways than one. Even if it bothers us, it keeps practically every other living thing on Nirn alive. We need those other things to stay alive ourselves." She looked at Serana. "I'm guessing your father hasn't thought about this logistically."

"No, he's sort of lost his mind entirely, actually," Serana answered.

"I'm not going to the Dragonborn," Hainin said stubbornly. "I won't do it."

"Hainin -" Babette began, but before she could say more, the stained glass door flew open, and Cicero came running through it, red faced and out of breath. He collapsed on the floor of the Sanctuary, breathing heavily.

Hainin quickly stood and hurried over to him, crouching down beside him. "Cis? What's wrong?" he asked, resting a hand on the jester's shoulder.

"Dawnguard took Nazir," Cicero managed after a moment, inhaling a sharp breath of air. "They told Cicero to tell the vampire."

Needless to say, Hainin saw red. He stood up, a snarl growing in his throat. Babette hurried over to him and took his wrist in her small hand.

"Don't lose your head, not now," she said urgently, her voice soft. "That's what they want to happen, Hainin. They want you to get angry, to go to them so that they can kill you."

"They have Nazir," Hainin hissed, glaring down at her.

"I know, but the best thing you can do to get him back is solve the Dawnguard's problem for them," Babette urged, "which means you need to figure out what that Elder Scroll says."

The red in Hainin's vision started to fade away as the sense of what Babette was saying settled into his mind. His shoulders rose and fell, and he closed his eyes for a moment.

I have to solve the problem to get Nazir back.

He opened his eyes and turned to Serana. "The Dragonborn lives in Whiterun," he told her, "with the Companions. We'll go there together." Serana merely nodded.

Hainin looked down at Cicero, who had sat up and was shaking his head to himself. "Stay here and rest," the Listener said to him. "Thank you for coming so quickly."

Cicero nodded in response, most likely still trying to regulate his breathing.

Hainin exhaled slowly to relax further, and glanced at Babette. "We'll go talk to Cry, figure out what we need. We might come back afterwards, and we might not need to."

"Got it," Babette responded. "We'll be all right here." She gestured towards the hood attached to his armor. "If you wear that, it'll make the sun less annoying."

Hainin reached behind his head and pulled up the hood, nodding gratefully to the vampire child. He then turned to Serana.

"Let's go," he said. "The sooner we get to Whiterun, the sooner we can leave."

"Hainin," Babette began, following the two other vampires towards the stained glass door. Hainin stopped and glanced at her, and the girl inhaled, suddenly looking the most like a child Hainin had ever seen her. "Everything's going to be fine, right?"

Something softened inside the Imperial, and he rested a hand on Babette's shoulder for a moment.

"Of course," he told her. "I promise." Babette nodded, and Hainin turned and exited the Sanctuary just behind Serana.

"That was impressive," she said to him as the stained glass door closed behind them.

"What was?" Hainin asked.

"You, calming down like that," Serana replied. "It's usually hard to get a vampire to relax once they're upset." She glanced at him. "She calmed you down without doing anything."

Hainin didn't really understand why Serana was impressed, so he decided to let the subject fall, and change the conversation. "Do you think we'll be able to take a carriage?" he queried.

"Probably," Serana responded. "I've come to realize that people don't really notice our kind unless we want them to notice."

"Not our kind," Hainin grumbled under his breath.

Serana sighed. "I know you didn't ask to become a vampire, but you are one, so yes, the correct phrase is 'our kind'."

Hainin decided to let that subject fall, too.

Once they were out of the tunnel, they headed towards the carriage just outside of Dawnstar, Hainin pausing to say farewell to Shadowmere first. The black horse blinked red eyes at him as Hainin approached, but he did not react other than that.

"I have to leave again, buddy," Hainin told the horse, who snorted softly in response. Hainin held out a hand, and Shadowmere glanced at it before tossing his head and nickering. Hainin withdrew his hand, feeling sick, and turned to follow Serana, who'd stopped a few paces away.

"My horse doesn't even like me anymore," he said quietly, glancing down at his hand.

"Hey," Serana said, and Hainin glanced at her. "I promise that once this is all over, I'll help you find a cure."

Hainin blinked. "Really?"

"Vampirism isn't for everyone," she answered. "Even though it suits me and your friend Babette just fine, it doesn't work for you, and I don't want you to be needlessly uncomfortable." Serana sighed. "I know how it feels, being forced into something. You can either agree with it, like I did, or you can try to change the outcome once it happens." She looked at Hainin. "For you, it's best if we change the outcome, so I'll help you do that, in exchange for your help in stopping my father."

"Sounds fair," Hainin said after a moment, and Serana grinned a bit. Hainin returned it, and then gestured to the carriage. "To Whiterun?"

"To Whiterun," she agreed, following after him.

The carriage ride to the stables outside of Whiterun took up the remainder of the day, and led into the night as well. It was uncomfortable for the both of them, sitting in the back of the carriage underneath the sunlight. Hainin shifted around a lot more than Serana did, his thirst, which had not bothered him since Nazir and Cicero had left, suddenly hitting him with full force.

As the two of them climbed out of the carriage at Whiterun's stables, Hainin staggered a bit, groaning. Serana reached out to support his weight, and he inhaled, closing his eyes. Immediately, about a dozen different scents of blood attached themselves to him, and the Listener stiffened.

"Hainin," Serana warned quietly. He forced his eyes to open, and met hers. Despite the darkness, they were still glowing bright orange, and were fixed on him. "I know it hurts, but you can't. Not here."

"Tell me what I can do," Hainin whispered. Speaking made it feel like ten different daggers were stabbing into his throat all at once.

Serana sighed, and glanced around for a moment before leading Hainin away from the carriage and around to the back of the stable owner's home. Hainin blinked warily at her as Serana reached into the satchel hanging around her waist and produced a small glass bottle. Hainin's eyes widened when he realized what it contained, his mouth watering. He reached for it, but Serana held it away from him.

"Easy," she said. "I only have one."

"What…?"

"One of the perks of being a… vampire princess of sorts," Serana answered. "A handy bottle of blood for whenever I need it." She glanced at the bottle, and then at Hainin. "You need it more than I do." She offered the bottle to him, and Hainin snatched it from her.

He pulled the cork out of the stem and tilted the bottle into his mouth. Blood, its flavor distilled by however long it had been stored, still felt like a warm brew on a cold day as it washed down his throat, and Hainin's eyes drifted shut in relief.

Much too soon, the bottle was empty, and Hainin lowered it. His throat still stung, but it was bearable. He licked his lips and blinked a few times, before looking at Serana. She was watching him with something similar to pity in her eyes, and Hainin suddenly felt self-conscious. He handed the bottle and cork back to her, his eyes on the ground.

"Thanks," he said shortly.

"Yeah, sure," Serana responded, putting the empty bottle back into the satchel on her waist. She then glanced in the direction of Whiterun. The towers of Dragonsreach were visible over the high walls. "I'll bet the Dragonborn is asleep."

"Probably," Hainin said, "but I don't very much feel like wasting our travel time." He sighed when he saw Serana's expression, and crossed his arms. "I know what you're thinking."

"That we're asking for her help, and it would be wrong of us to wake her up in the middle of the night just because it suits our needs?" Serana queried.

"We do need her help, but traveling during the daytime isn't good for either of us," Hainin said. "It isn't like we'll keep her from her bed longer than we have too." Without waiting for further opposition, he turned and headed for the path that would lead them up to Whiterun's gates.

Serana hesitated a moment before following, and she jogged a bit to catch up with him.

"I know you're worried about your friend," she began.

"More than worried," Hainin interrupted without looking at her.

"The Dawnguard won't hurt him," Serana went on. "They only want to stop the vampires. Even though he's been associated with you, he's still human."

"So?"

"So… the Dawnguard aren't exactly harmless priests, but they can't be barbarians." Serana glanced at Hainin. "They'll leave him be for now."

"That 'for now' part is the reason we aren't going to wait until the Dragonborn wakes up," Hainin finished, picking up his pace again.

Serana watched him go, and she sighed to herself before going after him.

Hainin was stopped beside the guard on duty, who was leaning back against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest. The companions could both hear his light snoring, and Hainin glanced at Serana with a raised eyebrow.

"With the threat of the dragons gone, Whiterun must think themselves invincible," he commented, reaching forward and pushing the gate open. It swung inwards silently, and Serana followed him through into the quiet city.

"What threat of dragons?" Serana asked, frowning.

"Until about a year ago, dragons were attacking Skyrim," Hainin explained. "The Dragonborn was the only one who could kill them for good. I don't really know the whole story, but there was this… main dragon, named Alduin, who was… in charge of all the other dragons. The Dragonborn traveled to Sovngarde and killed him."

Serana blinked at Hainin, who shrugged. "I know, I don't get it either," he admitted. "After that, she returned to Whiterun, got married to a Companion, and they've been living here ever since. A few weeks ago, they had a battle with Hircine about something or other, I don't know."

Serana didn't even try to ask him to explain that last bit. Instead, she asked, "When was the last time you spoke to her?"

"In person?" Hainin shrugged again. "No idea, but definitely not after I became a…" He trailed off, and cleared his throat. "Anyway, it'll be a surprise, so be prepared for a possible attack from trained brutes."

"Who are probably asleep," Serana added.

"Right, that too," Hainin agreed.

By now, they had reached the Cloud District of Whiterun, and were facing Jorrvaskr, the Companions' home. Hainin had never actually been inside of it, and looking at it now, through the shadows of the sleeping city, didn't exactly make him excited to go in.

He glanced at Serana, who was staring at the building. "Guess we'd better go in," he said.

"Just… walk in?" Serana queried, her eyes widening.

In response, Hainin turned back to Jorrvaskr and headed up the steps to the doors. Serana followed behind him, a bit more slowly. The Listener paused in front of the doors, and then he reached out and tested one. To his surprise, it opened inwards with a push on the wood.

Hainin glanced at Serana, who merely shook her head in response. Hainin gestured to the dark room on the other side of the door with a tilt of his head, and then he crept into Jorrvaskr.

His heightened sense of sight took in the dark room after a moment, and he saw a wide dining hall. Long tables surrounded a fire pit on three sides, all of which were in the center of the room, which was sunk into the floor a bit. A small set of stairs led down from the wooden walkway around the edges of the room into it. On the left side of the hall, Hainin noticed another set of stairs, leading downwards to what he could only assume was the sleeping quarters. The dining hall itself was vacant.

Hainin turned to Serana, who had followed him into Jorrvaskr and quietly closed the door behind her. He gestured towards the stairs on the left side of the hall, and she nodded in response. Hainin began to lead the way towards them, stopping only once, when a floorboard creaked as he stepped on it. He flinched at the sound, and cast a glance over his shoulder towards Serana, who'd frozen as well. Two pairs of orange eyes met, and then a door crashed open from somewhere nearby, and a loud battle call rang out around the hall.

Hainin let out a curse before he was tackled to the floor by what felt like a giant. He barely had time to cover his face with his hands before he was being punched. He could hear feminine grunts from nearby, and he hoped that Serana wasn't being hurt too badly.

Hainin grunted as a punch was sent into his side, and he attempted to push the heavy weight of his assailant off of him. The weight left, but Hainin didn't think he'd pushed it off on his own.

Indeed, when he opened his eyes, he found two slightly familiar faces above him. Both were framed by black hair, and both had silver eyes, although one set were darker than the other. Hainin knew these two men, and he managed a grin for them as he struggled into a sitting position.

"Companions," he greeted, rubbing at his jaw, which was already growing sore from the punches it had received. "What a pleasure."

"If only I could say the same, assassin," one of the Companions replied, his voice a low growl. "What are you doing here?"

Hainin searched through his brain, trying to find the names of these two men. One was married to the Dragonborn, and the other was her best friend, and brother-in-law. Which was which, and what name belonged to each of them?

"I come in peace, I assure you," Hainin said, not deciding on any of the names that he saw in his mind. Instead, he climbed to his feet, and looked at the one who wasn't breathing as heavily, and the one he decided who hadn't attacked him. "I need to speak with the Dragonborn."

The Companion's steely expression didn't change. "About what?"

Hainin glanced around, and spotted Serana standing a few paces away, backed against a wall by a female Companion with dark red hair. She gave Hainin a defeated look, and he turned back to the Companions before him.

"As you can see, I've gotten myself into a bit of a predicament," Hainin said, gesturing to his eyes.

"You're a vampire," the Companion who'd spoken so far said.

"Bloodsucking fiend," the other one grumbled, scowling.

"Right," Hainin said, deciding not to comment on the rude. He gestured towards Serana. "My companion and I are on a bit of a quest, and in order to move forward with that quest, I need the Dragonborn's help in reading the Elder Scroll my companion has with her."

The shorter Companion, and the one Hainin decided was in charge, glanced towards Serana and his female compatriot. "Aela," he said shortly.

The redhead stepped away from Serana, who brushed herself off and walked over to Hainin's side, pulling the Elder Scroll off of her back. Hainin pointed to it. "We need the information in here, and neither of us can read it. I was hoping that Cry could."

The bigger Companion's scowl only deepened, and he looked at his brother. "Vilkas," he said quietly.

Vilkas! Hainin thought triumphantly. I knew that.

Vilkas nodded in understanding, and returned his attention to Hainin. "Cry isn't here," he said.

Hainin frowned in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that she is not here at Jorrvaskr," Vilkas said, his expression hardening again.

"She left." The female Companion, Aela, walked around to join the two men, arms crossing. "A week ago."

Hainin did his best to keep from groaning. "Why?"

"She just did," Vilkas's brother growled. "Doesn't matter to you."

"It does, actually, because I need her help," Hainin said with a roll of his eyes. "Any help in finding her would be appreciated."

Both Aela and the bigger male Companion looked at Vilkas. Hainin turned his attention to him as well, and saw, with surprise, that the Companion appeared to be… sad. So Cry wasn't just out on a Companion or Dragonborn task. She'd left, and it was clearly a sore subject.

"I do not know where she's gone," Vilkas said quietly. "I wish I did." He shook his head to himself. "Divines know I wish I did."

Hainin felt a bit uncomfortable. Clearly something had happened that had made the Dragonborn leave without saying anything, and, it seemed, that it was still something that wasn't easily spoken about amongst the Companions. He knew better than to try and get any further information.

Instead, he glanced at Serana, who'd also felt the sadness coming from the three Companions, and was looking at him as well. Hainin shook his head slightly, and Serana lowered her gaze in understanding. Hainin then turned back to the Companions.

"I'm sorry," he said to them. "I… I hope she comes back soon."

"So do I," Vilkas responded. "If we could help you, we would."

"I know." Hainin raised and lowered his shoulders. "Come on, Serana." He turned and headed out of Jorrvaskr, not sure what they were going to do. Serana caught up with him outside, and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Thank you," she said.

"For what?"

"For not trying to push them for information," she responded. "It would have just made things all the more difficult for everyone." She offered him a small smile. "We'll figure it out. If anything… the College of Winterhold is still around, right?"

Hainin frowned, but then understood what she meant, and nodded. "Good idea." He gestured for her to follow, and started to walk away from Jorrvaskr.

"Assassin!" He stopped at the voice, and turned to see the burlier Companion jogging towards them. He stopped when he'd reached them, and let out a breath. "Cry went to join the Stormcloaks."

Hainin blinked at him in confusion. "What?" he asked.

"Her sister's a Stormcloak, and Cry went with her when the Stormcloaks left Whiterun after the battle," the Companion said. "Cry asked me not to tell anyone, and I haven't." A small expression of guilt crossed the Companion's face. "I wish she knew what my brother is going through, what we're all going through."

"Why did she leave?" Hainin queried, doubting that it was because the Dragonborn felt a sense of duty in joining the rebel army.

"She told us about her past, and some of us weren't very happy with what we heard," the Companion explained. "I think she wanted to give us time to calm down, and thought we could do that better if she wasn't here."

"I'm going to guess it's the other way around," Hainin concluded. The Companion nodded, and the Listener sighed. "Thank you for telling me. If I find her, I'll tell her what's happening here, and that you want her to return home."

The Companion's eyes lit up a bit. "We'd like that," he said. "We really do miss her." He glanced over his shoulder towards Jorrvaskr. "Vilkas especially."

"I'll do what I can to get her back here," Hainin told him. "Thank you again. Come on, Serana."

The two of them turned and headed for Whiterun's gates. When they were outside the city, Hainin began to lead the way along the stone path.

"Where are we going?" Serana asked him.

"Windhelm, the seat of the Stormcloak leader," Hainin answered, "and, hopefully, where we'll find the Dragonborn."

I love aligning the stories of characters. I really want there to be a thing where you can put all your little dudes into the same world. I'd do it on Sims, but... y'know, it's not exactly the same thing, is it?