Wind surged through Arcos´s hair, his hands almost absentmindedly stroking Alduin´s neck, something that she internally revelled in, but she was not oblivious to his internal troubles. Truthfully, if it were up to her, she would have loved nothing more than to take him and simply go away from this island forever, daring anyone that wished them harm to come to them instead. All that she wanted was to live with him in peace, in a world where nothing but the two of them ever mattered…

… but she knew that he would not agree to this. For he cared about the people of this island more than he would admit to himself, and he did not want any of them to come to harm now that they had discovered just what kind of influence Hermaeus Mora had. Was it a selfish wish from her in wanting to take and protect him somewhere where it would just be the two of them? It probably was.

But that was exactly what she was longing for.

Suddenly, the sudden distress that her beloved mate radiated caused her to snap out of her wishful world. Arcos stared at the lands below, having just noticed a large stone formation that looked just like the one he had previously seen in the Dunmer settlement. And just like there, here, too, were multiple people working on a strange construction of sorts. They ranged from all sorts, from normal workers to guards, and even to what he would guess were bandits. All of them did not even seem to be aware of what they were doing as they all worked on that stone formation like a mindless swarm…

"Can you bring us closer towards that place?", his voice was caring and still pleading, reminding her that she could not ever resist it even if she wanted to. And thus, she descended from the sky and landed closeby.

Just as they landed, his assumptions were proven correct as he carefully climbed off her neck. He could hear the way all the people that were assembled muttered under their breath, something that was almost inaudible and didn't make any sense.

"Let us remember… for his imminent return…", like a mantra, the people repeated these sentences as they endlessly worked.

"His return…?", Arcos realized that it could only be one person they were talking about, and it was then that everything finally fell into place. With each day that passed, more and more people succumbed to the influence and manipulation of Miraak, up until the day that he would return. Unbeknownst to him, Alduin had long realized that the cursed priest whom she had thought to have slain long ago was about to return. There was only one way he could have survived, and it all led back to the influence of Herma Mora. She didn't know in what way Miraak had given away his soul in his dealings with the daedric prince, but the fact that the black book had resided deep down within his own temple, hidden away from prying eyes, it all implied that he had been dealing with the prince for a long time.

All that mattered was, if he were to return, Miraak would still stand no chance against her.

However, one glance at her beloved mate revealed an entirely different mindset, and she didn't like it a single bit.

"With each day that passes, only more of these people on the island will become enslaved… there must be something we can do…", and with something, Alduin knew very well just where his thoughts were wandering.

"Even so, Miraak is bound to return one day, and when he does, we can crush him together within Nirn, outside of Herma Mora´s influence. I know what you are thinking, but you are more important to me than anything else in this world!", silence reigned between them for a long moment, one in which she gazed deeply into his eyes. And he became aware that she already knew of his thoughts.

"... do not even think about going back into his realm... ", it was a mere whisper, one laced with an unquenchable concern that would never fade as long as he even entertained the thought of going back into Apocrypha. And still, to her utter surprise, Arcos balled one of his hands into a fist as a single tear formed at the corner of his eyes. It was not a rage that was directed at her, it was a fear. One that was anchored within himself so deeply that he couldn't bear to live with it for another single day.

"It is not just about these people… it is me that he is after! I don't know what Hermaeus Mora wants with me, but with each day that passes, I f-fear that…", his voice failed him for a brief moment, one in which Alduin gazed at him with confusion and concern, failing to understand what it was that he was afraid about. As long as she was with him, she would protect him until her last breath…!

And yet, just as she lowered her head to pull him close and shower him with care, his now teary eyes met with her own once more.

"... I fear that with each day, I am endangering you as well simply by being close to you! Whatever threat comes my way, it will harm y-you as well and… I… I…", with each word, Alduin's eyes widened in utter shock. All until his last words escaped him in a frail whisper, and a single, lone tear dropped onto the ground.

"... I don't want you to get hurt because of me…"

For a long moment, no other word was spoken. Alduin was utterly frozen in place, taken aback in a way that she had never felt before.

Not even a year ago… the entirety of Skyrim, of the world, would have feared her return. Each and every single inhabitant of Nirn would have seeked to try and stop her from destroying this world, they would have banded together to try and stop her, to try and defeat her. Her. The World Eater.

And yet… here her beloved mate was… and he feared for her safety…

Without speaking a single word, Alduin embraced him with her wings and gently pulled him close, placing her head against his own as she slowly but tenderly nuzzled him. And all the while, she didn't cease to gaze into his eyes, all but losing herself within them.

How… how could she ever show him just how much she loved him…?

"... then please, do not think about going back to that dreadful place. Zu´u Bolog Hi. You are my world, and if you ever endanger yourself like this… you will hurt me as well. Please…", just as the last word escaped her, her voice almost broke, showing Arcos a frailty, a vulnerability that no other being would ever witness from her as she all but pleaded with him.

And once again, he was the cause of it.

Suddenly, a roar echoed in the skies. Alduin's eyes narrowed before she instinctively shielded Arcos a little bit closer under the protection of her wings, for before long, a dragon approached from the sky and headed straight into their direction before it stopped a small distance away from them. Alduin merely shot a dangerous glare at the opposing dragon on the other side, not wanting to be interrupted by another of her kind. She may have relinquished her rule over the dov, and even though they now acted on their own, most of them were smart enough not to cross her as she was together with Arcos.

However, in this case, the opposing dragon was entirely unresponsive to Alduin´s unspoken threat, and furthermore, his gaze was fixated solely upon Arcos as she shielded him.

After Arcos had finally embraced their unbreakable bond and Alduin abandoned any and all thoughts of enslaving the joor, many of her kind even regarded her as weak. Her pride did not care, for all that ever mattered to her was to be with him. Thus, she would not have been surprised if this dragon was another of those who wanted to mock or even challenge her, even after all those she had already slain before who had held the same intentions.

She would never forget the expression Arcos had held when she all but ripped one of her own kind apart for daring to threaten and insult him. It was only one of many examples she had made to the rest of her kind that still entertained the thought of mocking her or her beloved mate.

But this one was different… its gaze was empty, and the prideful nature of every dov would have responded to Alduin's unspoken threat by now. But this one did not even glance at her in return, instead, it kept its eyes solely upon Arcos.

"Dovahkiin… Hi Fen Dir, in the honor of my thuri…", a deep and rough male voice sounded, and it was the last line he had crossed before Alduin´s eyes turned into a crimson red.

"Fus Ro Dah!", the brute force of her Thu´um impacted upon the opposing dragon, causing it to stagger in the air before Alduin shot into the air as well. An ear piercing roar escaped her before she lunged at him with her teeth, tearing into the dragon's throat before she used her strength and threw him to the ground.

With a pained roar, the dragon fell with its back against the rock formation down below, and despite that, the many workers remained utterly oblivious to anything that was happening around them. But in her rage and intent to protect Arcos, none of them mattered to her as the fiery flames of her Thu´um gathered in her maw.

"Yol Toor Shul!", not giving the dragon any chance to recover, it remained with its back against the stones while its vulnerable side was now entirely exposed to the raging flames. It roared out in pain and utter agony for several long moments as Alduin mercilessly burned the dragon to the ground, all until it completely succumbed against the stone formation and died.

Only then did Alduin allow the flames to die down, and slowly but surely, her eyes changed back to their golden hue once she was sure that the threat was gone. However, all the while, Arcos had stared at the display of raw power in front of him, and he was still frozen in place even as Alduin landed directly beside him once again. He could never get used to the sight of her having to fight against her own kind…

But as always, she would remind him that it was the same case with his own kind, and that some of her brethren were simply foolish for crossing her.

And, above all, she did it to protect him.

However, before she could even utter a single word to reassure him this time, a bright light suddenly flashed in front of them, vanishing as quickly as it appeared. And in its place, a figure had appeared.

Alduin's eyes immediately filled with rage once again while Arcos all but stared at the figure that had appeared in front of them.

"Ah, finally I get the chance to see you with my own eyes…", a slightly distorted voice spoke from beneath the mask the figure was wearing, and it was already more than evident for Arcos who was speaking to him.

Yet, his eyes widened once the flesh of the fallen dragon suddenly began to burn away, and the soul seeped into the figure that was standing in front of them. Thus, it stole its power without having done a single thing.

"Miraak…", his name escaped Arcos as a hateful mutter.

"And so the first Dragonborn meets the last Dragonborn… I'm certain that this is exactly what Hermaeus Mora has intended.", with slow but strong steps, Miraak approached Arcos a little bit closer, and it was then that Alduin towered behind her bonded, showing them as one.

Thus, Miraak stopped in his way as he took a good look at the both of them. The snowfall and the icy wind seemed to have increased at this very moment as well.

"Lir. You should have perished all those years ago… it would have spared you from being obliterated a second time.", an almost inaudible gasp escaped Arcos, for Alduin´s voice was filled with a force that reminded him of the very first time he had met her. A force that was able to strike fear into the hearts of those who were unfortunate enough to witness it.

And despite the demeanor she showed in the face of the long forgotten dragon priest, she kept her wings close around Arcos, a gesture that showed her unspoken care towards him even in the face of their enemy.

However, after a long moment of silence, Miraak spared a single glance at the World Eater.

"Dragons think themselves so powerful… you may have proven that you rightfully stand above the rest of your kind, I won't deny that. But your kind is weak. Arrogant and prideful animals that bow down to the will of another as soon as you break their pitiful pride… after all, the dragon you have just slain was only one of my many servants. Even in death, he served to strengthen me and my power.", with each word, Arcos could feel only more and more hatred towards Miraak.

He was exactly what Arngeir had once told him about. An arrogant fool who had fallen to the greed of his own power. He did not care in the slightest about the dov, and the moment he had spoken of them as nothing more than animals, his dragon side all but roared in pure and utter fury.

He would pay for that…!

Not sparing another glance at the World Eater, Miraak redirected all of his attention towards Arcos.

"My return to this world is inevitable. With each dragon soul I absorb, I grow in power with each day. I look forward to the day when we meet next... just as Hermaeus Mora has foreseen it.", and with that, Miraak disappeared in another flash of light, leaving nothing but thin air on the place where he had stood just a mere moment ago.

But regardless of it all, Alduin merely curled her wings around Arcos, a low and dangerous growl escaping her.

"Return as you will… for when you do, we will send you back to Oblivion. Once and for all."


I hope you enjoyed!

LoneNoble: I used Neh for Never instead of no, in which case it still fits. But normally it would be niid for no, yes.

The Brutal Legend: I´m very happy you still enjoy it so much! I guess I couldn't make a chapter without a single one of those moments, it would disappoint myself otherwise. I am and will always be grateful for your words, I hope you are well!

On a side note, I wanted to share a little mod that I am using whenever I find myself playing Skyrim once in a while. It´s a mod that allows you to have Alduin as a follower, and it is really well made! They will always circle in the air around your proximity wherever you go, attack foes with both fire and ice breath attacks, as well as the meteor shout (you can deactivate it if you like), and you can command them to land whenever you want, allowing you to give them some of your stuff to carry. Also, they are essential, so they cannot die. All in all, I couldn't imagine playing the game without it anymore (that is, if you don´t mind the constant roars that you usually hear whenever a dragon is nearby). But other than that, Alduin will reliably follow and protect you wherever you go. They also use in-game voice lines. (some of which I think were not even used in the game)

Alduin Dragon Follower Mod / Nexus (I can´t include any actual links)

Translations:

Zu´u Bolog Hi / I beg you

Hi Fen Dir / You will die

Lir / Worm