Donna had been a bad girl. She was sorry! Nest mother had been kind! Taught her magic! Real magic! But now nest mother was angry. Phooey.
She sighed as she sat in her cell. Nest mother muttered and paced her lab. She didn't mean to let Sheo go. But he was so nice! And he knew things! And he made her feel pretty.
But nest mother said she was a dirty word.
"Donna is sorry!" She cried as she gripped the bars. "Please let Donna go. Donna will do better! She promises!" But the nest mother just glared.
When she came here, she was very afraid. It was very different than where she was before. She had been flying away from that woman with the purple hair and sunglasses, because she was mean. When all of a sudden she was here. It was quite a shock to go from the heat of Japan to the cold of this place. But her feathers were thick, so it was fine.
But when she tried to ask for help, people attacked her. It was just like her mother said! The humans didn't want peace and coexistence!
So she flew away. But she didn't know where she was anymore. Nothing looked the same. So she found a mountain and cried. That's where the nest mother found her. The people treated her nice because of the nest mother. But now they weren't nice anymore.
A few hours had passed and Donna was getting hungry. The candles had been put out in the cells, so she sat in darkness.
If she listened close, she could here the voices of the guards whispering.
"So. What do you think will happen to her." One asked.
"Don't know. I've never seen the matriarch so angry before. And honestly, I can't blame her. I mean, who does that? Fucking with the sacrifice? It ain't right." The other said back.
"Ha! You say that just because it was a man. But don't tell me you wouldn't be tempted if we caught a woman. Think of it, all tied up and helpless. And they won't bite your balls like the bitch's we have here."
Donna listened for lack of anything better to do.
"Ha! True, true. But, seriously. What you think will happen. I've never seen anything like her. Only reason we kept her around was for the matriarch. Now that she's pissed at the bird, think we can eat her?"
"Aw. Sick. That's just gross."
"Hey, how it that any different than eating one of them cat folk? You know, the big ones that look like saber tooths? She's part bird right? She's got them wings and legs. Think she tastes like chicken?"
The other guard laughed audibly. "Maybe. Maybe. Only one way to find out I s'pose."
Wait…they were going to eat Donna!? She had to escape! But how? She wasn't strong enough to break the bars. Tears formed in her golden hawk eyes.
She looked down in shame and indignation. They were gonna eat her. But then she got an idea. Looking at her toe talons, she raised her foot up to the lock. It was on the outside of the cage, but with her curved talons, she was able to insert her claw in easily. She could feel the inside of the lock through her toe, and began to fiddle with it. The tumblers were quite large, and she only felt three of them.
After an hour of trial and error, a click could be heard. She extracted her claw and danced with joy as the door swung open. Stepping out, she saw that her guards were still talking just outside the room.
Instincts from a not so distant past came to the forefront of her mind. She walked with her main talon raised on her foot. With agile care she stalked silently forward. Her wings wrapped around herself, and she made no sound as she stalked. The guards had just enough time to see than she had walked out of the room before her flew in a deadly and precise scything motion.
She viscously and effortlessly ripped the arteries and vocal cords out of the men's throats.
They couldn't even scream as their lungs filled with their own blood. They flopped and grasped at their wounds, but their final moments went unseen as Donna had moved on.
Several more met with the same fate, but eventually Donna's actions were noticed. A forsworn woman had seen the bodies and was running through the halls. Donna heard her long before she saw her, and leaped to perch above the archway of a room on a rafter.
The woman suffered a horrific death as Donna waited for her to pass by, then grabbed her by her neck from behind. The woman clawed at the grip Donna held, but the weight of her own body as well as the literal death grip on her throat had her suffocating. Her face went blue, and her eyes bulged wide.
When she stopped moving, Donna dropped her. The corpse landed harshly, it's neck skewed at an odd angle. It ragdolled for a moment and then was still. Donna took a moment to clean the blood from her talons, then moved to open the door.
Frigid cold air hit her, but with it came a relief from the smell of copper and urine that exuded from the halls.
Donna was just about to take flight into the great sky above, when a angry howl sounded behind her.
It was the former nest mother. Her aged and ugly face was a mask of rage and malice.
"Ungrateful traitor! I'll cut you up for parts!" The Hagraven approached, her claws out with the intent of doing just that. Donna considered fighting her. But then she smiled. She took off and was in flight instantly. From their it was easy to avoid the Evil Nest mother's magic. By the time she had exited the door, Donna was already out of range.
That thing wasn't anything like Donna, she decided. After all. Donna could fly. And Donna was pretty.
Now, where to next? Donna didn't know. She had no idea where she was. She needed someone smart. She needed Sheo. And it was definitely because he was smart. And knew things. Not because she couldn't do that thing he did to her with her talon hands. Nope. Not at all.
But if he offered….
Sheo
We were on our way back to Whiterun now. Lydia didn't want to use the mace of Molag ball either, and I'm not tracking down Volendrung. To say I threw a toddler level tantrum would be an understatement. I guess if you want something done, you do it yourself.
So, after much bitching and griping, I over powered a Stoneflesh spell and took a few hours to crack open my gatcha egg.
The look on the two of their faces when I finally broke it open and out came an elder scroll.
Ha! Doubt me at your own peril. Foolish mortals!
Along the road, we were attacked by a particularly dumb group of bandits. 8 corpses later, and I had a new spell tomb, and we split the septums evenly. The spell was just a turn undead spell. Not particularly useful when it was more cost effective to just melt them. Oh well. Maybe it would give insight later. Anyway, we all had a decent amount of coins with us these days.
And it was a good thing too. Because we would need them. All things said, we had all grown pretty powerful. If we wanted too, we could go fight Alduin now.
But that would be stupid. Because as strong as we were, Alduin was stronger. I wasn't willing to fight him until each of us could solo a dragon ourselves.
So it was time to grind. And to grind, we would need materials. So a group of fools kindly donating their money was always welcome.
I sighed in relief as I saw the familiar walls and towers of the city.
"Home sweet home." I said in a joking tone. Nudging Aerana in the side with my elbow.
"Indeed. I will visit my father, I think. And my uncle as well. I have missed them." Lydia said, not catching my sarcasm. Well, I guess for her it was sincere. This was her actual home after all.
As we walked passed the gates Aerana looked back to Lydia.
"I've been meaning to ask you about something, Lydia. But until now I had forgotten. What is that longboat style house up on the hill? The one just below Dragonreach."
I grimaced knowing exactly where that was. Thankfully neither my friends saw me.
Lydia's eyes lit up with what could only be excitement. "Oh! Of course you would not know, my thane. That is the home to the followers of Ysgramor! The Companions!"
Aerana was enraptured by Lydia's tone. I was now thinking of how I had sworn off deadric prince's. After Molag Bal said my soul was beyond him however, I might be a bit more receptive. Then my mind flashed to a deer headed god made of bone and plant matter, towering so large he engulfed the sky. I shuttered. Nope.
We entered the Bannered Mare, and I ordered us some food and drink while Lydia kept talking. I sighed as I saw the look of interest in Aerana's eyes.
I was honestly trying to avoid that quest line. Mostly because the Companions valued physical prowess above magical power. It wasn't a rule or anything. You could join the Companions in the game as a mage. But it was the go to faction for warrior builds in the game. But this was all real. With real people, who had real opinions on what a warrior should be. And their real prejudices. I was just a bit too squishy with my sad noodle arms to pretend. Even if I could enhance myself with Stoneflesh, I didn't like the anti-magic attitude. I didn't want to deal with it.
It was probably just a me thing. Drinking from my flagging, I had to accept that if that was where things were going, maybe I should just stay here. I mean, it isn't like I need to remain glued to the hip of the Dragonborn anymore. I was strong in my own right now. I was a mid to long range fighter. Sure, when someone closed ranks I had trouble. But I suppose that's what a party is for. With Areana pulling of mid to close range pretty well, and Lydia being a nightmare up close, we had a solid team. But that didn't mean we couldn't split up for a time.
It was a passing thought. Nothing serious. But upon reflection, it wasn't that bad an idea.
I looked over to the two of them talking. Lydia was an obvious fit in for the companions. And Aerana was no slouch up close. She had a strong Spell-Knight thing going.
Yeah, it could work. While they do that, maybe I'll try to figure out enchanting.
"Hey, you two. I've been thinking." I said after a pause in their conversation.
"Don't hurt yourself Sheo." Aerana teased from behind her own drink.
"Yeah, yeah." I said, but I was still smiling. "But seriously. How about you two go join the Companions? You go do some stuff for them. Meanwhile, I'll stay here and try to figure out enchanting. What do you think?"
Lydia looked across Aerana to stare at me suspiciously. "And just what brought this on?"
I kept my smile on and waved my hand dismissively. "Nothing really. You two just seem to be enamored by the idea of it. And We've got some time before the world ends. They could use you, I'm sure."
Lydia looked thoughtful, but Aerana put her flagon down and eyed me.
"And what will you be doing?"
My disarming smile only made her narrow her eyes more. If it was possible to preform an anime sweat drop, I'm sure I would be doing so. "Like I said, I'm gonna try my hand at learning enchanting. I have a few objects in my invit-err. Oblivion. They're enchanted and I want to see how they work. I might practice a bit of magic as well. We have the MacGuffin, so we don't have that hanging over our heads. I say we split up a bit and try to get a bit stronger. You know?" Her glare didn't relax. " I promise I won't do anything more dangerous than go fan an occasional walk."
She relaxed a bit at that. Sheesh. You'd think I was a trouble magnet or something.
"Well, I guess that would be ok. Though, it's going to be a little weird not being able to just know about things. Any hints you wanna offer us?" It did feel nice to be useful, but this quest line was pretty straightforward. I smiled as I thought of an answer.
"In the near future you will be collecting fragments of a racist boat paddle. After that you might have the option to become a furry."
Her face scrunched in annoyance and confusion. I just cackled madly. Suffer! Then Hulda put another drink in front of me. I smiled in delight. Let the fun begin!
The rest of the night went on in a blur. We drank, we sang, Lydia broke some idiots lute over his head. It was wonderful.
Morning:
The birds were too fucking loud. I felt light on my face, but I wanted so badly to go back to that place I was before. That blessed nothing. Then those damn birds made noise again.
I groaned in pain as I woke up. My eyes squinted at the light. My head was killing me. Stupid party. Stupid alcohol. Stupid Sam. Wait, was Sam there? I racked my brain for a few seconds. I felt like he was, but I couldn't narrow it down when specifically he was there. Whatever. Fuck you Sam.
What time was it anyway? From the way the light entered the bedroom through the thatching, I could figure it was late morning to noon. I groaned as my head pounded.
If there was one thing convenient about this world, it was how easy it was to switch clothes. Just a thought and your Oblivion would absorb what you were wearing and have a new outfit on you. So no stumbling through that at least.
But moving took way more effort than it should. It was a chore just to open the door to my room.
I made my way down the stairs rubbing my forehead. The head ache just would not leave. Wasn't this body in it's 20s? I didn't have hangovers this bad when I was an adult before. Stupid random god who put me here. Gave me a stupid weak ass body.
"Hey!"
I nearly cried at how much that sound had hurt. After unclenching my eyes, I saw it was Hulda. She looked at me and gave me a sympathetic face. She beckoned me to the bar.
I dragged myself there and sat down. Laying my forehead on the cool wood of the counter. I felt something being set beside me and looked up.
"Here. My friend next door is an alchemist. She brews these for hangovers. It's easier to get folks out when they're not half dead. Drink this, give it a few, then you'll feel right as rain." I looked at the opaque green bottle, before I popped the cork and downed it. It was oddly thick, but had no taste. Well, now that I finished it, I could tell it had a small after taste. It was kinda chalky. It reminded me of the after taste of tums.
Sure enough, proof that magic was bullshit, after a few minutes I felt much better.
"Feel better?" Hulda asked while she cleaned a glass with a rag. I nodded gratefully.
"Yeah. Cleared me right up. Thank you. What did you need?"
"Well, to start with, that'll be three septims."
My eyes twitched as I realized I had been taken advantage of. I grumbled as I brought out the money and laid it on the bar. Hulda just pocketed it without any preamble. It was just enough money to be annoying, without being something someone would refuse to pay. This woman was vicious.
She handed me a note from under her counter, and I was starting to wonder what else was down there. "Your fellow thane and her house carol left this for you. Said to give it to you when you woke."
I took the letter and thanked her. She nodded and went back to her duties. After opening it, I began to read.
Sheo.
Myself and Lydia are at the Companions hall. We decided to leave you to your sleep, and remind you to apologize to the woman you started a fight with last night.
Your friend
Aerana.
I noted that in the corner, in a rougher, but still elegant script was another note.
Sheo .
Don't apologize. Uthgerd is a mean old bitch. She shouldn't have been running her mouth.
Lydia.
What the hell had happened last night?
I decided against apologizing, and if I encountered Uthgerd, I would just play dumb.
I then proceeded to make my way up to dragons reach. I had plans of studying Enchanting, and the Farengar could hopefully help me. Hopefully. As I walked in the hall, I overheard a conversation between Irileth and Hrothgar.
"I tell you, the boy shouldn't have been running his mouth. He got what he was asking for. He thought just because the Dragonborn wasn't as skilled as him, her house carol wouldn't be the same. I heard young Lydia broke the blowhards nose." The Dunmer said conversationally.
"Ha! That a girl! I bet he won't be so arrogant now. I'm a proud man!"
Huh. I guess the companion initiation went well.
Now, to ask about enchanting. What could possibly go wrong
Omake: An impossible seduction.
Sam was having the time of his life. This weird Daedra thing that he had found in a dawnstar bar was a freaking riot! They had been jumping all over the place causing mayhem.
After one jump that landed them at a crossroads just outside Falkreath, his good buddy leaned on him and seemed to have a thought.
"HEY! Hey, hey-ey. Sam. Sam." His buddy looked at him intensely. "Why d'ya think them springins look like women?"
Sam pondered that as he took another swig from his eternal jug. A warm glow was on both their cheeks as they stood in the middle of the woods at night. "I don know."
His buddy swung his arms, then tried to over correct as he nearly fell over. Sam grabbed him, but he just fell too. They both laughed as they struggled to get up. "I-I wanna grab a woody tiddy."
Sam burst out laughing at the idea. Sheo looked offended at his laughter, but that only made him laugh more.
"Why do they have them if they're not fer grabbin. Ya know?"
Sam thought about that. That…was an excellent point!
"I don't know! Hey. Hey. Sheo." Sheo looked at him.
"Bet you can't cop a feel."
They looked at each other for a few seconds.
"Yer on!" he said enthusiastically. "Wat er we bettin?"
Sam thought long and hard in it. Then he got an idea. "I say, if I win, you gotta marry a hag Raven, then you gotta steal one of those statue thingys from that place in marky. Merkoff. Markymoo. That stone place! The one with all the ladies!"
Sheo nodded, seeing that as perfectly reasonable.
"What about if I ween~" he said ending in a sing song voice.
Sam had to think about that, but his head was all cloudy. "I don know. What doya want?"
Sheo sat there in deep thought for several seconds. Sam took another swig while he waited. He passed it to Sheo after, and Sheo took a swig.
"You ever play saints row?" he slurred.
Sam had to think hard about that. "I think so."
Sheo nodded rapidly. "I want one them dick bats. But, with like, fire. Cuz, the fire is like herpes. Hehe, Herpy Derpy." They both broke down in to hysterical laughter at that. Sam fell to the floor and started crying. Everytime he thought he had control of himself, one of them would whisper "Herpy Derpy" and it would all start again.
Several attempts later, they finally, finally stopped laughing. But only because when Sheo tried to say it again, Sam clamped his hand over his mouth.
"so, how you gone do it?" Sam said as he sat on the ground. Another swig.
Sheo looked like he was in deep thought, before he jumped up. Then fell on his face. But then he jumped up again, and only swayed. "I'll use my illusion magic!"
With that he made balls of green, pink, and blue light from his hands and had them fly around him. "Just you watch! I'm gone grab their ass too!" then he ran into the forest. Sam thought about informing Sheo that he didn't know any illusion magic.
But this promised to be much funnier.
He ran for quite a while, Sam following from above. He had become intangible, because being drunk, while flying through a forest is not a good combination.
Every once and a while Sheo would get his clothes stuck on a briar or branch, and Sam watch amused as Sheo got his shoe stuck in a root patch. He couldn't figure out how to release it, so he just abandoned the shoe. This gave Sam…a wonderful idea. After that, Sheo lost nearly every aspect of his clothes to a branch, a briar, and some other conveniently placed obstacle.
Because Sam thought that was funny.
Until his buddy ran full Sprint through the forest bare as the day he was born.
And then, finally, it happened. Sheo came across a spriggin. In fact, several spriggins. Three to be precise.
The readied their claws to fight, but Sheo just screamed "Behold my power!" and unleashed what looked like hundreds of those tiny balls of light he had shown before.
The wood women were surprised at first, but then they were quickly distracted by the lights. Sam wondered if they had mistaken the magic display for a group of fairies. Something rarely seen so far north. Or at all in this age. At least not since the alyids.
And immediately, the wood women's opinion of his buddy changed entirely. He watched as the tallest, and oldest, picked him up bridal style. Sheo laughed and laughed, all the while producing more sprites and directing them to dance around the forest.
The juvenile spriggins chased and danced with the lights, meanwhile, the matriarch placed Sheo in her lap and ran her claws gently through his hair. He laughed, copped a feel, then for some reason cuddled close into the matriarch's embrace.
He looked like a child compare to her, and as Sam looked closer, he saw his buddy had fallen asleep.
After a while, the lights faded out and disappeared into the ground. The juvenile spriggins ceased their dance, and came to gather around their eldest.
Yet they did not harm Sheo. How odd, how wonderful.
Materializing before them as his true self, he watched as the patriarch stiffened protectively around Sheo.
"Calm yourselves. I mean neither you, nor him, any harm. In fact, that one is a good friend of mine. I appreciate you sparing him. He's an idiot, but he was a fun idiot."
The wood woman spoke in her people's tongue. It was the creek of the trees, the whisper of the wood, and the thunder under the crust.
Greetings, Oblivion Lord. We did not know this one was yours.
Sam nodded. Sober on demand. "Completely understandable. I wasn't exactly advertising my presence after all. Though, if I might ask, why did you spare him? That's not your folks norm, if I recall."
The spriggin did something akin to a nod.
We thank you for your understanding. The answer to your question is a simple one. While we initially would have simply dispatched this child, he provided the children a great boon. And so we must offer a boon in return. The fact he came to us as nature intended only shows respect for our kind. It reminds this one of the days of old. When the druids walked these lands. So very long ago.
Sam ran a hand under his chin as if thinking deeply. "You don't say. May I ask what this boon was? I'm curious?"
The juveniles sat near their mother, leaning against her.
All may ask, but not all may gain insight. But the answer to your question lies in this child's actions. Long has it been since the fae folk walked these woods. These ones have never been in the presence of our neighbors. They left at the beginning of fantasia. Though I might share my memories with them, it is not the same as to experience such majesty for oneself. In this, even as an imitation, he has given those of mine a gift quite precious. In return, I will guard this child as it sleeps, and leave the forests blessing with him as a parting gift.
Sam nodded along. After she finished he clapped his hands as if coming to a decision.
"Alright. I'll leave you to it then. But be warned." His eyes grew dark, and a feeling of bloodlust and domination sank up from the ground to surround them all. Sanguine's eyes burned with all the fires of a desolate world. The juvenile Spriggins clung to their mother in fear, and the matriarch herself bowed her head slightly in submission. "This one amused me. I am fond of him. If any harm shall come to him while under your watch, nothing in this world or any other world will be your salvation from my wrath."
Then the feeling vanished, and sanguine was smiling again. "I leave him in your care. Toodle-oo!" and with that Sanguine disappeared into a heart shaped mass of smoke.
The eldest simply sat on the ground, holding this half thing's body close, and running it's claws through his hair gently.
Idly, she made a simple garment to cover his dignity. As the dawn broke, she placed a wooden ring with her blessing on in upon his finger. Gently, she laid him on the ground, and beckoned her daughters. He woke just as they left, she could not help but smile at this new thing she had witnessed.
A/N
Sorry for taking so long. I started a new job, and it takes up a ton of my time. But it pays good and I like the work. So I can't complain. Between that and the holidays, it's just been crazy. I haven't really had any time to sit down and write. I'm interested in a beta ready, but I'm unsure how to go about such a thing. If anyone know, pm me. We have around 3-4 chapters before the end of the first arc. After that, I'll do dawngaurd, then Solshiem. I'm unsure about after that. But I have plenty of inspiration, so I'm not going anywhere any time soon. If I don't update for a few months, just assume life is kicking my in the balls and I just need time to recover. Happy new year everyone!