Alduin was not one to be interested in the custom of mortals, however, since it involved her dear mate, she found herself staring at Arcos from behind as he tried to forge himself something new at an old and abandoned forge that they had found. Having curled herself together on the ground, she almost yawned as she watched him for hours on end, for regardless of what he did, he never seemed to be content with what he had created.
Thus, she decided to gently nudge him from behind while he was still regarding his latest creation, a simple iron chestplate. In her eyes, its form looked solid enough to be worn, even though the material itself was not particularly strong…
"What is bothering you so much?", she tore him out of his thoughts once she held her head against his side, eyeing the small piece of armor with only a small amount of interest. However, unbeknownst to her, he was slightly embarrassed as she asked this of him, for it was not truly the armor itself that he was trying to bring to perfection.
"I… I want to create something that would match you better when I am with you…", it didn't matter that his voice was nothing more than a whisper, for she still understood him perfectly. And it almost caused her to grin.
With a small huff, he placed the iron mail onto the ground along with the rest of the pieces he had forged before he turned around to face the black dovah a small pace away.
"What would you like me to wear?", figuring that it would be best if he asked her directly, he simply looked back at her with genuine curiosity in his eyes. However, he grew slightly uncertain once he witnessed the way she was staring back at him, almost as if she were lost in a world of her own. And a sultry whisper escaped her in the process.
"Wear nothing at all~...", with a gasp, he glanced at the ground in shock before he merely closed his eyes in embarrassment.
"I… I take it back…"
However, suddenly, Alduin reared her head back before she glanced at their surroundings, a low growl escaping her as she narrowed her eyes. Noticing her shift in attitude immediately, he instinctively drew his sword and stood closer towards her.
"Is something nearby?", getting up from the ground, Alduin slightly shifted her wings to surround him with them. She could sense several life forces around them, encroaching upon them… without speaking another word, her eyes turned into a crimson red.
"Fo Krah Diin!", breathing a wave of freezing air around herself, she shielded Arcos under the protection of her wings as the cold air seeped through the trees of the forest around them. And it wasn't long until several cries of pain sounded from the cover of the trees.
Realizing that their cover was blown, the remaining few people who survived the frosty assault stepped out from the shadow of the trees, revealing themselves to the furious dovah. The moment he gained a clear view of their unknown assailants, Arcos narrowed his eyes slightly once he witnessed the strange attire these people were wearing. All of their faces were hidden by a mask, and their robes merely indicated that they could not stem from Skyrim… he had never seen a material such as this one…
None of them spoke a single word, however, one of them took the liberty to even step forward, an insult that merely served to make Alduin even more furious.
'Who do they think they are…'
"The false Dragonborn… so finally we have found you…", gripping the hilt of his sword more tightly, Arcos eyed the few cultists that remained carefully. Only a mad person would step forward like this in the face of a dovah, but in this case…
Alduin roared menacingly, having heard enough of the puny worms in front of her.
"Sahlo Lir… Yol Toor Shul!", the searing flames washed over the remaining cultists without restraint, burning them into crisps. And yet, once they finally subsided, Arcos's eyes widened when he witnessed that their leader was still alive…
Barely holding himself upon his knees, the flames had easily broken through his protective wards, leaving his body burned and his mask smoldering. And still, a low chuckle escaped him.
"You are nothing… compared to the true Dragonborn…", coughing several times, he almost fell forward before he balanced himself upon his arms, barely managing to lift his head one last time.
And Alduin witnessed that his gaze was solely trained upon her mate.
"It will not be long… and he will return to this land… once more…", in his last waking moments, the cultist was about to lift a burned piece of parchment from his satchel before he finally succumbed to his injuries, slumping lifelessly to the ground. Arcos watched as the half burned parchment fell out of his hand, resting upon a patch of grass.
He didn't understand… to simply go ahead and face a dovah like this, and not just that, they knew who they were facing, but still…
… it was almost as if they willingly sacrificed themselves… for what…?
Taking a few deliberate steps forward, he stepped out underneath the protection of Alduin's wings before he stopped a small distance away from the parchment. Sensing no other life force around them, she slowly moved forward to join him as he slightly bent down to pick it up, careful not to cause any more damage, lest it would fall apart entirely.
However, due to Alduin's vicious attack, there was not much to be discerned upon it anyway…
'… find… fal… Drag… born. Start in Windhelm, but… caref… about… succeed, or don't return at all. The master… reward you upon his return in Solstheim.'
"... Solstheim?", as far as he knew, it was located within the province of Morrowind. They had traveled all the way here to find him, but who sent them in the first place…?
Alduin merely snorted upon taking a glance at the burnt parchment, her eyes having only now returned to their golden hue.
"Wherever they came from, I will obliterate whatever place they call home… once again, it is a group of mortals that seeks to disturb my peace with you…", witnessing the frustration and anger within her voice, he immediately turned around to see that her gaze was almost staring into nothingness.
He never wanted to see her hurt ever again, he would not allow this…
Without a single word, Alduin watched with slightly widened eyes as he hugged the tip of her maw as gently as he could, burying his face against her forehead. And before long, her gaze softened with care before she allowed a low croon to escape her.
"I am still here. I will always be…", he couldn't suppress a small chuckle the moment he felt her giving him a small lick in return, and they both smiled at each other.
However, he knew that they had to get to the bottom of this. Whoever these cultists were, if they had managed to find them here, then they would come again in the future. Unless… they would track down whoever sent them first…
"I know that island that is mentioned here… it should be northeast of Skyrim.", unbeknownst to him, Alduin knew that small island as well, for it would not be the first time that she headed there. Thus, she already rose slightly from the ground to rear her head back, subtly glancing at her mate as she showed off.
"But in order to get there it would take a ship of some sort… these cultists arrived from the port in Windhelm, maybe I could take one from there… but then again, we would have to travel separately…", she frowned as she watched his pondering expression before she took a long moment to stretch her wings, hoping to further convey what she thought to be obvious.
And yet, taking another glance at him only deepened her disappointment.
Without another word, she merely approached him to his surprise before she simply pushed him onto her neck. And without giving him a chance to speak, she took one last glance to see if he was holding on to her before she lifted herself off the ground, taking into the sky with a roar.
'To even think that they would be apart for a single moment… she would remind him later why exactly that was not an option…'
Translations:
Sahlo Lir… / Pathetic worm…