Her eyesight had been mysteriously restored yet Galatea couldn't make out the details of the darkened corridor. Only two spots were somewhat lit, herself, oddly her outfit was that of a transparent nightgown that barely left much to the imagination, and her destination, everything else was barely visible, only just enough to see that she was in this stone hall that was rather clean, more so than even that of the church of Rabona. Clean enough that feeling the cool stone directly under her bare feet didn't bother her. In fact, she felt an odd sense of peace here, like she truly belonged and the feeling of such inner warmth only increased as she made her way to the wooden door at the end of the hall. There was light making its way from room, slipping out through the crack under the door and the faint shadow indicated someone was in there, possibly waiting for her arrival.
She paused once she made it to the door, wondering why she was feeling this way and why she was so eager to see the person on the other side. Without realizing it, she was moving and the door was already wide open to reveal a finely furnished room, a small table with a vase filled with roses and a bed for two. She entered and saw just who was waiting for her.
Galatea paused right there. Despite being two feet away, he, as this person was clearly male, was still shrouded in shadows and Galatea could only see the outlines of his body. Then he turned to her. His face was hidden, but his muscular form was visible with the exception of his groin, also shadowed. He came closer to her. A large hand gently caressed her cheek and moved down to her shoulder. The other seized her hip.
Her body was heating up from the touch, waiting, anticipating the moment the final distance would be closed as her nightgown seemed to slip away on its own. She heard his sharp intake of air as her naked glory was revealed. So close yet so far. Just one more inch and she would be able to feel his warm lips on hers, to feel their tongues caressing one another. The stalling was killing her. What was he waiting for? Couldn't he see how her breath was getting shorter, making her breasts heave? How stiff her nipples were? How her wet folds were peeking from between her slightly parted, endlessly long legs?
After Divines know how long, he moved down to kiss her and at that moment…
The bells of the Rabona cathedral rang to signal the coming dawn and the time for people to begin their morning duties.
Galatea's eyes snapped open but she couldn't see anything. She felt herself blink several times but nothing changed. There was no silence, the quiet ambiance of that room with the two of them, only the chirping of birds and the early bustling of the city.
The wetness between her legs was still there though.
The loud stream of blasphemous profanity she let out earned her a scolding from the head priest and some extra chores. Monster slaying nuns shouldn't wake up horny and angry after all. It was bad for her image.
She would require a drink or two later on to settle her nerves... and perhaps a conversation with that man yet again. Considering she hadn't felt such a way up until after that man, Raki, slew that dragon in the outskirts, it was rather obvious he was connected and the faster she found out about this, the better.
()()()()
Raki had woken up to many strange occurrences since he started traveling with Clare and that itself was tame to his time in Skyrim, such as that one time that little vampire assassin had managed to drag him unconscious to a shack filled with hostages. Still, some things could still make a man simply uncomfortable. Waking up next to a cute lady wasn't new to Raki, but said cute lady herself was a stranger and that itself made the experience uncomfortable. She at least had clothes on though. But what made the situation even worse was the fact a child was between them and cuddling them both like they were her actual parents. She certainly talked like they were yesterday evening before they all went to bed and somehow that made Raki more uncomfortable than usual.
Neither Raki nor the claymore had any say in the matter as the girl literally carried the woman into his room and they were all forced to sleep in the same room. All the girl could do was mumble, "I am so sorry," before slept eventually took them. Poor girl looked redder than a tomato. She was incredibly thankful Miata didn't do her usual routine that very night or her head just might've exploded from the sheer embarrassment. If there was an afterlife, she would have never lived that embarrassing death down.
Raki gently rose from the bed, carefully doing his best to make sure no one would wake from his rising, "Papa." Never mind. He turned to the source of the whisper and saw Miata facing him, her no doubt open eyes hidden behind her hair long hair over her face.
"Yes," he whispered and took a moment to remember her name, "Miata."
"When momma wakes up, can we play?"
He hesitated for a moment. He didn't really consider himself all too great with children. He felt awkward around them. Maybe it was due to the fact he didn't have many children in his hometown to play with or something along those lines. Still, he was never one not to try. He reached over to pat her head and she didn't shy away. "Sure. When momma wakes up, we can play. I promise." He meant that too. What they would play was anyone's guess but he figure Hide and Seek may be good enough. Possibly tag too. He never really did get to play tag growing up now he thought about it.
"Good." The next sound to come out of Miata after a few seconds was a very light snore. Raki had to admit, she was adorable despite the oddities but then again, weren't so many Claymores like that? Quietly, he put on some casual clothes given to him by the priest, a simple tan tunic, brown pants, and black boots then set out of his temporary room to wander about Rabona. It'd be a nice change of pace with all that hasty travel he's had to do lately. Sometimes even a dragon had to unwind.
Once he closed the door, which made a faint click sound, he heard some footsteps come his way and turned to see Sid again, by himself this time. "Hey there, pops."
"Haha." Raki sarcastically chuckled. "So, what's up?"
With a light punch om the arm, Sid told him. "Taking you out for drinks and some good food. It's the least you're owed after what happened yesterday."
Raki let out a nervous chuckle and waved it off. "Oh, that isn't necessary. I was just doing my duty, that's all." This wasn't so much Raki trying to be humble so much as him trying to avoid another unnecessary predicament again. Raki and booze didn't mix all too well.
Sid gave him a sharp pat on the back and scoffed. "Oh, bullshit. You fight dragons, as far as I'm concerned, the goddesses themselves should bless you."
"Funny you should say that." Raki muttered. If only Sid knew the irony of his statement.
"Now come on. I managed to convince the bartender to give us a special brew." He eagerly told him.
"Oh, great." Raki muttered again as he reluctantly followed Sid. The words "special brew" only made a chill run up his spine. Granted, he doubted it would be as strong that time but one could never be too cautious. Didn't need to wake up with an arrow in the knee, that's for sure. "So, is Galk gonna join us?"
"Later." He replied. "Galk wants to make sure the soldiers are more prepared next time you aren't here and make sure we're more in order." The chilling fact was that Raki was the only one who could really keep the dragons permanently at bay. Without him, they could only suppress dragons and even then, the Claymores were vital in helping them. They were vulnerable and they needed to fix that hole as much as they could possibly could.
After that, all that would follow is casual conversation about Rabona while Raki was gone. The Claymores' arrival, the battle with Agatha, and the fight with the frost dragon. Sid didn't know much about where they went but figured Galatea could tell Raki more at some point. That's all he really focused on except for one thing. One man wearing a dark gray cloak was in the center of the town square and was shouting about the End of Times. Raki couldn't resist. "The End of Times was avoided about a year ago! You're welcome by the way!"
Being Dragonborn. It had its perks.
()()()()
"Is all this fuss necessary?" a female voice exhaled childishly. A young woman in a simple sundress was laying down on the grass with her eyes closed and arms behind her head, simply basking in the sunlight after a hearty warm meal. "So a dying oversized lizard made us all a tad warm inside? What's the big deal?" To her right side, her other awakened peers chatted and kept watch, primarily over the skies just in case. After the incident yesterday, the Awakened group was on high alert and stuck by this camp they had... liberated from this nice group of bandits. They even left behind some leftovers too.
"Oh, just everything you said." Octavia retorted in a sweet voice as she walked over to her resting cohort. "Dragons aren't exactly a casual subject anymore, Europa."
Lars growled, folding his arms and leaning on a tree next to a seated Chronos. "Lazy bitch."
"I'd punch you for that if I wasn't too comfortable, skinny." Europa drawled.
"I'm telling you, that weird fuckin' guy you chatted with had something to do with it!" Catherine yelled. Out of the entire group, she was the most paranoid of the bunch which was fair given her scuffle with the frost dragon. "No one like him has ever shown up and this is happening!"
"Probably." Chronos concurred. "But what could we have done?"
The irate Catherine was prepared to answer. "You -"
"That wouldn't put us all in more danger?" Chronos, however, interrupted her and continued. "I highly doubt his claims are false. Since when have humans ever been so casual about us? Since when are they ever really able to distinguish us outside of the organization?"
"He could just be some organization hound?" Catherine weakly suggested, trying her best to find some hole in his argument.
He merely chuckled. "That's quite the outfit then. Must be quite new."
"I... I get it." Catherine deflated in defeat. It was clear that trying to interrogate the man was not an option given the risk and trying to argue otherwise would, at best, make her look foolish or, at worst, annoy the stronger Awakened she was arguing with.
Lars gave her a dry look and made a shooing motion. "Go play with other kids, Catherine. The grown-ups are gonna talk."
"So says Chronos' pet." She muttered as she begrudgingly stomped away. She knew better than to say it to his face even with said master there to keep him at bay. Where Chronos had more power and skill, Lars was a quick hitter.
With Catherine gone, Only Europa, Octavia, Chronos, and Lars remained in the little circle to discuss their next course of action. Octavia was the first to speak up, "We could investigate Rabona. Considering they've actually faced a dragon and that was where the man was heading, we could find some more answers there."
"You know there are Claymores there right?" Europa piped up. "Sounds rather risky and a potentially gratuitous amount of work for information that may not even be there."
Lars snorted and kicked at her legs. "Oi, you ain't excited about those potential meals?"
She shrugged and replied. "Oh I am, I just don't feel like working too hard for it. They fought off Agatha and a dragon. Sounds like too much trouble for some meals. Maybe even risky."
"Well Europa, I doubt they'd be eager for a fight if we came in with nonviolent intent, especially during these trying times." Chronos reasoned.
Europa opened an eye and skeptically asked, "Really now?"
"Think about it. All this fighting, dragons, and even dealing with us in their walls? Unless we make the first hostile move, why attack? A lot more lives could be lost including theirs. And the Organization, if they're even present, won't make a move in such an area without a good reason considering our numbers and their current focus."
"Speaking of which, how many of us should go then?" Octavia was eager to do some actual digging rather than speculating.
"Nothing too big and nothing too small." Chronos rubbed his index finger on his chin. "I'd say - "
Europa raised her hand. "I'll pass."
"Noted. Anyway, a group of six will do. Us along with Cecilia and Catherine. Not exactly non-threatening but that's the point. We just need to deter an action against us and make our peaceful intent clear."
"I said pass." Europa repeated with a tiny hint of irritation and a small flare of Yoki to emphasize it.
Chronos waved it off. "True, but you're a very good deterrent. And Octavia will happily drag you."
"Ugh." Europa groaned and rolled onto her belly as her Yoki flaring ceased. "Fine. But don't expect me to talk."
Lars let out a dry laugh. "We always prefer your silence. You're mildly less annoying."
Europa sighed and stood up to the group's mild surprise. She pointed at Lars and lazily said, "Chronos, you'd better shield your wife before she gets hurt."
"I'm not afraid of you, shrimp." Lars barked, no longer relaxing against the tree. He flared his Yoki and made the small woman quirk a brow, rather unimpressed with his display. It was respectable to her but not enough to frighten her.
Europa giggled out, "You see, that was your first mistake." She flared hers and Lars growled. She had more power than him but as far as he was concerned, he had more skill. He was of the first generation after all and a single digit. Besides, he's fought alongside Isley. This was nothing.
Octavia, who backed away to give them some space, noticed from the corner of her eye that Chronos was walking away and caught up to him. She whispered. "Are we not going to stop them?"
"Only if it gets too serious." Chronos replied casually. He smiled and pointed his thumb in their direction, "I say let them get it out now before later."
()()()()
The tavern was rather nice looking. The building was made of granite while the furniture inside consisted of polished wood tables, chairs, and a counter top where the bartender made his drinks. Men and women chatting it up while some stopped to listen to a bard play some merry tunes. Raki wondered if the wandering musicians would like a copy of 'Songs of Skyrim' to expand their repertoire. People would probably enjoy Ragnard the Red. The only thing it was missing was two drunken warriors beating each other senseless. That'd probably happen soon enough.
"Oh, my spot." Sid led Raki over to a table near the wall and more far off from the crowd. "Wait here kid. I'll get us the starter drinks from Sam.:
Raki did a double take and nearly squeaked asking, "Who?"
"Sam. Man has been here for a while now. Good guy, I think you'll like him." Sid explained as he went over to the bartender. The dark hair, rugged, laid back seeming bartender, who winked knowingly at him... Raki was not drinking a sip of his beer once he got it.
Now that he thought about, he wondered how Renee was doing over there with Serena and the dragons. He didn't worry about her being physically hurt but he did worry for adjustment. She really sounded a little sad seeing him head out after they spent those few days together. And Raki knew how much a few days could affect someone isolated from humanity for so long. Now she was living a strange den filled with things she had yet to understand. Still, he hoped for the best and knew Serena would take care of her, and the dragons were only interested in what was best for him, in this case being Renee's welfare.
Raki was broken from his musings as a jubilant Sid sat down and slammed the mugs and food, two platters of mutton, onto the table. "Hot damn, Sam is the best. Alright, with our food and drink served, how about we start some conversation on that land you went to."
"You wanna know more about Skyrim?"
"Hell yeah." Sid took a nice swig from his mug. "First things first: how are the women?"
Raki wasn't surprised by that in the slightest. There were a lot of things he could say, a lot descriptions he could use. There were a lot of women in Skyrim but all of them had some key things. "The women there are tough beauties. Gorgeous women who could probably beat most of the men here to a pulp. The nords, the natives of Skyrim have a saying: you don't really know a woman 'til you've had a strong drink and a fistfight with her."
"Oh, fiery types. I like it!" Seemed as though Sid was already getting a wee bit tipsy despite having drunk just a little, reinforcing Raki's caution. "The sex has to be good."
"Oh hell yeah." Raki blurted out after a swallowing a piece of his mutton. He didn't catch on to what he said until he noticed Sid's eyes go wide. He elaborated on. "After fighting alongside some of them for a while, things got more intimate to say the least."
Sid guffawed, slamming a fist on the table. "Hah, figured you'd save it for that Claymore!"
Raki shrugged, not exactly sure how to respond to that. "Yeah, well, who knows. She may not be my first but -"
"Oh, tell your buddy, how was your first?" Sid cut him off, eager for more about Skyrim's treasures.
Raki hummed in thought, remembering every detail of his first sexual experience. Despite being drunk, his mind held onto to every little detail of that grueling yet rewarding night. "Long, hard, and even a bit scary. And I loved moment of it. She, Aela, actually gave me a couple of scars that night."
"What, the big dragon slayer got pinned down? Sounds like a real beast." the shorter man laughed.
Raki's answer was dead serious. "You have no idea." He then smirked a bit. "Though I did my share of the pinning."
"I hear that, brother. Hey, you ever need any tips, just know that I'm your guy." Sid jabbed a thumb at his proudly puffing chest with a shit eating grin.
Raki couldn't help but sarcastically mutter with a small smile, "I bet."
Sid's thoughts went to something else other than ladies after his boast. "So, speaking of beasts, they got any shit like the Yoma down there? Know they got dragons."
Raki's mind flashed with many monsters, animals, and anomalies from Skyrim. "Oh, they have much more than dragons, Sid. A lot of those monsters can make the average Yoma look cuddly by comparison. Ferocious trolls, freakish undead, ravenous saber toothed tigers, powerful giants, spiders -"
"Wait, spiders? You're complaining about spiders of all things?"
"You've seen a spider, right? Well, imagine one as high as this table." Raki slapped his hand on the piece of furniture. "All scaled up. The eyes. The fangs. Then add the legs to match. All eight of them. Imagine the way they eat their prey, finding dried up humans corpses in silk cocoons."
"I think I got it, kid." Sid gulped, looking a bit green and more sober now. "Gotta say, to survive all that... I should've given you more credit."
Raki waved it off. "Not like I was a convincing survivor." This made him think back to his first time in the harsh lands and his less than warm welcome. "Motivation is a powerful weapon but if it hadn't been for fate..."
()()()()
Icy air filled the panting boy's lungs as he struggled to breathe, and cold snow scrunched under his feet as he kept going, half-running and half-staggering, exhaustion plaguing his motions but still stubbornly moving forward.
Don't stop. Don't look back, he told himself.
Truly he didn't know if he was lucky of cursed. One good thing was always followed by a bad one, and vice-versa. Fate was twisted back and forth ever since he had been separated from his friend.
'Clare.' Her name rang in his mind and the memory of their promise gave him another burst of strength and will, as it always did. His next steps had more energy in them, his pace quickened just a little.
Misfortune and fortune. After being captured, he had been shipped off somewhere. He hadn't even known his land was but a big island, and that it had ships that could make it to the mainland he didn't know existed. A storm during the trip. Howling winds, crashing waves, wood creaking and breaking. Panicked voices, water filling his mouth, hands desperately clutching a large wooden plank to stay afloat.
Thankfully they had not been far from land it seemed. He had regained consciousness on a snowy shore, alone. Soaked and tired, hungry yet not starving, the piece of wood he'd been using as a lifeline turned out to be a wooden chest that was treated to protect its contents from water.
It hadn't contained any food, but dry clothes he happily traded his drenched outfit for. Lack of warmth was made up by piling as many layers as he could over his form, wrapping extra fabric around his hands and his thin shoes to help protect them. Sure he looked utterly ridiculous, but it was better than freezing to death. Then he had tried to walk away, to find a path to civilization, to try to know where he was, and how to return home.
To her.
Instead he had found a bandit camp. Promptly captured again and thrown into another cage, to be sold to slavers no doubt. Still, his captors tossed him a pitcher of water and some bread which he ate with relish. He was worth nothing dead after all.
And in the dead of the night, shouts had rung. An attack. Soldiers, or a rival band? He didn't know. All he knew was that one of the men had fallen dead in front of his cage, skull pierced by an arrow. The keys dangled temptingly within his reach. Chance again. He seized it. Seized the keys, opened the lock and ran, only slowing on impulse to snatch a dagger on a table. In the middle of the fight and with the cover of the night, no one noticed the young boy escape, or cared about it.
In the icy tundra however, light was reflected off the snow, allowing him to see better. He had seen the ghostly forms at the edge of his vision, fleeting in and out of sight. He could faintly hear an echo to his panting, as if someone or something was following him, chasing him. Thoughts of home, memories came back. Golden eyes, fanged maws, claws to rend flesh. Were they in this land too? No, they wouldn't play with their food. It was something else, weaker but no less dangerous to a weak human boy.
A howl filled the air.
Wolves!
He didn't have the time to think as he was tackled by a furry form. The beast pinned him while his fingers dug into the fur on reflex, attempting to push the slobbering mouth back while other beasts circled around. The wolf's fangs glinted dangerously in the night, snapping for his throat.
He had had bigger fangs aimed at him in the past.
Thrashing under the animal, the prey desperately tried to think. 'You survived Yoma and Awakened Beings! A wolf is nothing to that! Fight!' a part of his mind shouted at him. 'You must live! You must survive! And you must meet her again!'
Something cold in his hand. The wolf's muzzle, he thought. He squeezed the tender organ and the animal recoiled briefly. Just long enough to grab his stolen dagger. He stabbed it in the neck. The wolf let out a canine howl of pain. The boy managed to reverse their position, pinning the beast.
'Live!'
He pulled the dagger out and stabbed down again. And again. And again. He was barely aware of the blood that spurted as he severed an artery, drenching him with its coppery scent. He couldn't hear the pained yelps of the animal he was killing for his own survival, or how they decreased. He kept stabbing even after they'd stopped. He didn't hear himself screaming inarticulately all the while. Not in fear. Not in defiance. Just a single unending scream that carried all his will to live, to survive. A scream so horrible and primitive that even the circling wolves didn't try to approach their frenzied prey until it wore itself down.
And finally it did. Seeing the boy collapse, finally exhausted yet still not unconscious, the beasts moved in for their meal.
'Hey. This is it I guess. Sorry Clare… I was too weak.' This time even the thought of cold yet gentle silver eyes failed to push him back. He barely managed a burst of clarity, enough to see the closest of the wolves lunge at him.
*Twang*
And with the same clarity, he saw an arrow hit the animal in mid-air, an instant kill. Two more arrows flew, killing two more wolves. The rest of the pack knew the tides had turned and scurried away, disappearing in the night.
The last thing the boy saw before losing consciousness was two pair of armored feet approaching him.
()()()()
"Oh, and who were those people?" Sid asked, not having taken a single sip since Raki began reminiscing.
"Well, uh?" Raki stopped midway once he noticed a familiar face enter the bar. "Isn't that the nun?"
"Nun?" Sid turned to see the woman Raki was speaking of and beamed. "Strange, Latea's usually here later. A welcome surprise though."
Indeed, the Claymore had entered the bar, eager to get a drink after an already rather long start to her morning. Her abilities made her tasks rather quick, but the subject lingering in her mind made things feel more stressful then they should, 'Dragons, Yoma, and goddess knows what else out there and here I am getting frazzled over a mere dream.' She purposely ignored the fact that she was more 'hot and bothered' than frazzled, and that no mere dream had ever required her to change the bedsheets afterwards.
"Yo, Latea!" Sid called out to her and she turned to the sound of his voice. "Grab a seat by me and Raki after your drink!"
Galatea sighed. Not that she didn't like Sid's company or had any problem with Raki, but something about the latter was really making her feel off since he made his presence known to her. But she supposed this would be for the better, not only to take her mind off last night, but to also possibly get some more information from the dragon slayer himself. So, with a stiff drink in hand courtesy of Sam, she went over and took a seat by the two men.
"Never thought I'd see a holy woman drink so much." Raki joked. In truth, he had seen quite a number of holy people drink enough to put down a bear.
"To be fair, you've probably never met one like me." Galatea giggled, taking a good, long sip of her drink. "I could probably out drink you if I wanted."
"Yeah, probably." A part of Raki wanted to challenge that claim but his rationality made him hold back. All his other drinking contests ended with him not knowing what he should and in questionable positions to say the least. He really didn't want to risk that here... not with that bartender around.
"So, since you too were already here and no doubt chatting up a storm, perhaps one of you could catch me up?" Galatea asked, hoping Raki would be willing to do so as to provide her with some possible insight.
Sid spoke up first. "Eh, Raki here was just talking about what he's been up to for the past seven years."
Galatea's brow rose and she grew a small smile. "Really? Mind telling me?"
Raki hummed, briefly thinking it over. "Hmm... sure."
"Oh, start with the women again," Sid said eagerly before he quickly added, "and go into greater detail." He took a large gulp of his brew, not noticing the stares he received from his comrades.
()()()()
Riful was utterly bored. After all the excitement of meeting Raki and the news of dragons coming to Toulouse, sitting by, simply consuming flesh, and amassing a small group of friends, other awakened and some Yoma "lucky" enough to meet her and Dauf, felt so mundane. Not to mention she didn't have the special type of warrior she needed to help her out with her latest pet project. Everything felt so stagnant despite the times being more exciting than ever.
Not only was she bored but she was sexually frustrated as well. Dauf's performance has been lacking ever since his little battle with Raki. Not to mention the poor bastard couldn't even light a fire without flinching now, and his face was still horribly burnt, having barely begun to heal. She couldn't fault him entirely, even she hadn't been burned before, definitely not like that, and it's not like she had chosen Dauf for his looks, but still, she had her needs.
Her mind couldn't but wonder where that man and the dusky-skinned Claymore were at. Hopefully, she could catch them separated and the fun could really begin. She couldn't help but shudder imagining that power of Raki's, whatever it was, under her along with that Claymore to finally reveal more about the other thing she kept below her castle. And if all went incredibly well then dragons, Awakened, Isley and the Organization would be dealt with, and she's be able to live peacefully with some carefully chosen friends, and Toulouse as her food supply.
If only she could go out in search of her new favored friends but alas, she had promised, and someone had to keep an eye on that thing until further notice. Hopefully she'd run into to someone of importance. As if on cue with her thoughts, she felt a pressure that nearly made her flinch, approaching fast and accompanied by other auras significantly less dense. They stopped just outside her lair and she decided to cautiously check it out. Based on the sounds, these would be guests unlike any other.
Riful was came out from her lair. Flanked by the hastily arriving Dauf, the Abyssal of the West had come out to meet the intruders. Only her decades of seeing the most grotesque forms warriors could take upon Awakening, alongside the rumors that she wasn't foolish enough to write off, dulled her surprise at the sight.
Three creatures that could only accurately be described as dragons circled her grounds. Two of them were flying higher, and the last, and largest one, looked straight at her with no fear whatsoever. Bluish-white, with shockingly bright blue eyes that seemed to glow even in the daylight, its body was covered with rather angular spikes and ridges, and five jagged horns sprouted from the back of its head, their length enough to cover nearly half of its neck.
"Zu'u Daanlotfel." It boomed. Riful had no idea what those words meant, but the next ones left no doubt on the purpose of its presence. "Submit or die."
Such an invite could only be answered one way. A brief ripple across Riful's body, and the small, thin preteen girl was replaced with a swarm of black razor-sharp ribbons that sailed at the airborne beast. It flew back upward while inhaling.
"YOL TOOR SHUL!"
A large jet of flame spewed from the dragon's maw and engulfed the ribbons. Before it could spread to the rest of the body however, they were disconnected and fell to the ground. In the meantime, the large mass of tendrils writhed and formed the true shape of the Abyssal of the West. Towering regally on her crinoline-like lower body, she looked up as the dragon flew around with her deep, soulless red eyes.
"ARGH!" Dauf couldn't hold back his scream when the words were spoken and the flames appeared. Memories of white hot pain and the stench of his own face melting assaulted his mind. Just looking at the fire sent him into shock.
Despite himself, Dauf fell to his knees, a look of horror on his burn-scarred face.
The mighty dragon named Daanlotfel eyed his opponent cautiously. Reportedly one of the strongest beings in these lands, despite having the outside form of a kiir, she might have been a powerful subordinate and enjoyed the rewards once the Dov regained their rightful place under his guidance, free from the Way of the Voice Paarthurnax wanted to enforce. Alas, she had made her choice and would now suffer the consequences.
He was curious about why the male had collapsed in fear at the sight of the fire, but the distinctive injuries on his face led him to believe he had faced a Dov recently, one blessed with an extremely powerful Thu'um. Daanlotfel would have to look into this, as he had not heard of any noteworthy Dov dwelling on this island. Another ally, or a threat to be erased, he would have to see, but for now he had a battle to fight.
"Hin Slen nis bo." he stated after a few more seconds of analysis. "YOL TOOR SHUL!"
Judging from her Awakened appearance, it was easy to think that Riful could not move very well, as she had no legs. And indeed, any Claymore who had fought her, and survived, would tell the Abyssal hardly moved from her starting point in battle.
This assumption was wrong. Riful usually didn't move because she didn't need to. With a tricky body that was near-invulnerable to blades, it was unlikely, and served to demoralize her opponents further. Against a stream of fire however, the situation was different.
Having expected the attack after seeing it already, Riful's body suddenly disassembled itself and seemed to flow way, briefly looking more like a stream of water than a solid mass. More flames were sent on its trajectory, but it veered, split and reunited with uncanny precision every time, not missing a single step until the assault ended.
By the time Daanlotfel was done, the ground was scorched, though thankfully nothing had caught fire. Unfortunately, when he had tried to steer her into the nearby forested area, where he could have trapped her in a blaze, she had noticed and managed to foil that part of his plan. Still, the other part had worked; with the ground now unbearably hot, she wouldn't be able to move freely on it for a while.
Reforming herself, Riful noticed the same thing. Prolonging the fight would only result in her disadvantage, as her mobility would be impeded further. To her dismay however, the dragon was flying out of her attack range. She could only stretch her ribbons so far after all. And since it didn't look like it would come at her, she would have to take a risk.
Digging deeper into the ground, the ribbons of her lower body tensed and coiled onto themselves. Her demeanor remained unchanged, yet a sensor-type Claymore would have detected a powerful contraction of her Yoki. As her opponent was now hovering, she suddenly released all the energy at once.
In a way between an arrow shot from a bow, and a spring extending, Riful shot upwards at the dragon, the distance between them shrinking in the blink on an eye. Already the ribbons of her head were aiming at her enemy, ready to skewer him. Between the kinetic energy and the sharpness of her weapons, she was confident she would score at least a crippling blow, or a lethal one, regardless of how tough those scales could be.
Daanlotfel had not expected such a move and reacted on pure instinct at the rapidly approaching Awakened. The Thu'um he used may not have been the most suitable for the situation, but it was nonetheless effective.
"FUS RO DAH!"
The Unrelenting Force hit the incoming projectile head on and lived up to its name. Upon impact, and with a deafening sound like the ringing of a gong, Riful's ascending form was unceremoniously sent back down at twice her original speed. An even louder crash was heard when she hit the roof of her lair and smashed through it.
Amidst the ringing in her brain, Riful had one clear thought. '… Is this what hit Dauf that time? Fuck me! If I hadn't known what those words do, if I hadn't relaxed my body and spread the force across it… Even then, I feel like Isley rammed into me at full speed.'
"YOL TOOR SHUL!"
Riful hurriedly moved out of the way in time to avoid the flames. Unfortunately, this meant her already wrecked lair was now on fire. Damn it, this meant her spare clothes were gone as well, and since she had changed without taking off her dress, she'd have to walk around naked when they were done!
Forcing herself to remain calm, Riful started to realize she was at a disadvantage. She was facing an enemy who could move freely in the air, and could attack from a distance. If only the beast would land, or if she could make it land, she was sure she could at least fight it equally, but unless she resorted to throwing stones at it, she was in a dead end. She made a note to experiment with a ranged attack of some sort, in the likely case she found herself in a similar situation in the near future.
"Tch! Are you going to stay up there all day?" she said half to herself, not really expecting an answer. So it was an unexpected turn of event when she got one.
"Zu'u niid Pahlok. Hin Mulaag los lot." At her puzzled look the dragon let out a rumbling chuckle. "Ah, Krosis, apologies. I know it is rude to reply in another Zul, language, but we Dovve find the Rottesejoore, the mortals' words, unsuited for our minds. I shall introduce myself again, if my words were not understood. Zu'u Daanlotfel. I am Daanlotfel."
This made Riful's brow raise bemusedly. "I am Riful of the West. So, what now? Do we go on like this? I cannot reach you up there, you are too slow to hit me. However I don't think you'll be able to flap those wings forever. You will tire and either retreat or land, eventually."
The whitish dragon laughed in reply. "Indeed. Brit Ro. A beautiful balance. Nuz Hi Folass. But you are wrong." Daanlotfel smirked wickedly at her. "QO NOS FAAZ!"
Any Dov could Shout, and crudely adding more power was the mark of the young. Older Dovve refined their Thu'um, learning the nuances of each word to alter the effects of a Shout in obvious or subtle ways.
But only the greatest had created new Thu'um.
Daanlotfel was one of those very few, and Riful had earned the honor to witness it.
Riful barely heard the words. Bright jagged lines briefly filled her vision, but it was already too late.
Pain!
The most horrible pain she had ever felt had instantly seized her body, permeating every fiber, every cell, every thought. Her entire nervous system seemed to scream in agony at the same time, demanding, begging the owner of this body to get away from this unrelenting torture. Yet even if her mind had not been dealing with the pain, she would have been unable to. Each of her ribbons was seizing up uncontrollably with such strength they were starting to tear themselves apart, leaving her paralyzed at the same time.
Delirious with pain, she found herself unable to maintain her full form, yet was also prevented from turning back into her human body. The majestic Riful simply seemed to fall apart, a lifeless mass of ribbons that flopped and spasmed on the ground, barely managing to hold itself together by inborn instinct.
Seemingly after an eternity, it stopped but the damage was done, her ribbons rent and her nerves shot. Her mind started to work again. Oddly enough, she remembered her battles as an Awakened and as a warrior, Awakening, and even being cut open and turned into a half-Yoma, but nothing compared to the pain she had just felt.
Amidst the pain, she registered the scent of something burning. Was the dragon breathing fire at her as well? No, she realized, she was burning from the inside out, like her body fluids had been boiling. The jagged lines still danced in front of her closed eyes, burnt into her retinas. They reminded her of watching lightning bolts during a thunderstorm, absent one second, present the next, then gone again.
Lightning?
Had this dragon breathed lightning at her?
The dragon hovered down closer to the ground but did not land. "Hi los balaan hokoron." he praised. "Nuz nu hi dir." Riful attempted to attack, but her ribbons barely twitched. "YOL TOO…"
"LEAVE RIFUL ALONE YOU LIZARD BASTARD!" Dauf bellowed and tackled it in mid-air in his own Awakened form. Thankfully, seeing Riful hurt had snapped him out of his shock.
"Tahrovin!" Daanlotfel roared in outrage. "Hi volaan ko Nonvul Krif!"
The massive Awakened forced the dragon to the ground and began punching it wildly. "SHADDAP! I CAN'T UNDERSTAND A THING YOU SAY ANYWAY!" His right forearm was caught between the dragon's fangs. They didn't pierce his armor, though, especially with the thick rods chambered under the plate, but the pressure quickly began to crack his arm. Dauf didn't care and used his hand to punch the dragon's head. Accordingly, dents started to appear on the tough scales.
"IIZ SLEN NUS!" One of the two remaining dragons shouted at Dauf, freezing his trapped arm solid.
"FUS RO DAH!" With infuriating familiarity, the Awakened was sent flying away, the sound of shattering ice accompanying him as the whitish dragon hadn't released his right arm, hence snapping it when he was flung away.
"Los Ahraan, Thuri Daanlotfel?" the first one asked while hovering a short distance from the ground.
"Niid." Daanlotfel replied after shaking his head to clear it. Flapping his wings, he quickly returned to the sky and watched the male stand up, unconcerned by the missing arm. All three dragons had to hurried climb higher to avoid an absolute hurricane of ribbons. One of his subordinates was not quite fast enough and roared as he lost a leg.
Riful glowered at the trio. While she had managed to recover thanks to Dauf's intervention, her attack had been a bit sloppy. Dauf was injured, though he looked ready for more, and she was not one hundred percent fine yet. Meanwhile, now it looked like the white one's subordinates were about to enter the fray, as opposed to the previous one on one duel.
Honestly, she was at a serious disadvantage, even without counting that absurd lightning breath.
'Tch!' she hated it, but she had no choice but to retreat. "Dauf!" she called. Obediently he fell back to her side. She seized him in her ribbons, lifting the heavy male like he weighted nothing, and in a rare display of her true speed, vanished from sight before any of the dragons could stop her.
Daanlotfel chuckled, "Ru, dovfriin kiire, ru. Hi niis filok dii krongrah."
()()()()
Galatea leaned forward and asked, "So, two people found you and took you in?"
"Not just any people. Some of the best I came to respect and look up to." Raki spoke fondly, sounding so grateful.
Sid chuckled, noticing how Raki was talking as if he was speaking of parents and couldn't help but ask, "More than me?"
"Yes." Raki answered immediately. "I hardly looked up to you when I was a kid."
"Certainly walked into that one." Galatea giggled. Internally, she was going over his story and Raki's personality. Still nothing malicious, in fact, he was admittedly pleasant to be around so far. If this story was true then he was certainly a lucky case, so lucky in fact that he may have been special.
Sid quirked a brow and asked in a mocking warning tone. "Hey, is that a short joke?"
Raki couldn't resist going a little further. "No, you just came up short of role model material is all."
"Why you - "
"Now Raki," Galatea said in scolding tone, "You shouldn't mock Sid." Then she smiled. "The man's fuse is as big as him."
Raki snorted and Sid took a bigger sip of his mug. "I didn't come to be mocked, you assholes. Say what you will, the ladies are into me!"
Ladies. Speaking of ladies, Raki had to ask. "By the way, Galatea, I have to know, where did the other warriors go before I came here. I remember you said you had an idea."
"I did." Galatea thought it over for a brief moment and felt no harm in telling him what vague information she knew. "They split off into different directions, one group going west and the other going south. They said they'd make a decision at the crossroads farther off from Rabona."
"Is that all? Can't you sense them? Tell me where Clare went?" Raki asked eagerly.
To his surprise, Galatea shook her head. "If they were merely using suppressant pills, I could. Unfortunately, they have been suppressing their Yoki for years, to the point even a sensor like myself cannot find them."
"I see." Raki mentally cursed. Another lead but nothing too solid. He wasn't sure if Galatea was telling the whole truth or not but considering she wasn't giving any signs so far. At least from what he could tell, given her empty eyes. "Is that all?"
"I'm afraid so. They're searching for someone." She leaned in to whisper. "Someone called the Dovahkiin."
Raki felt his heart stop for a second. Galatea's blindness made her miss his reaction, but Sid opened his mouth as he remembered hearing this word from the dragon before Raki finished it. Thankfully, before he could say anything, the doors were busted open by a girl. From the looks of it, Miata was on a mission again. Ignoring all the stares and mutters of most of the other customers, she marched right up to Raki, grabbed his hand, and said. "Momma's up. Let's play."
"Oh, well, I'm actually," He looked towards Sid who shrugged, and Galatea chuckled, knowing full well that Raki had no choice but to leave at this point. That girl was rather determined. "You know what, sure, let's get momma and play. I'll talk more with you guys later, especially you Galatea."
The Claymore nodded. "I'm looking forward to it."
Raki didn't really get to say more as Miata once again dragged him away. The girl was certainly strong, even for a Claymore. It felt like if Raki tried to resist her at all that she could easily tear his arm out of his socket without even trying. She dragged him all the way back to the church where they met the embarrassed Clarice who ran towards them and begun to sputter out apologies.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." Clarice said as quickly as she could, nearly fumbling her words. "Miata doesn't usually act like this. She's just been on edge lately." She then looked towards Miata and scolded her. "Miata, you can't just drag him off whenever you feel like it."
Miata shrank under Clarice's puppy dog glare and weakly protested. "But papa said we could play once you woke up. He promised."
Miata went wide eyed and looked towards Raki. He chuckled and nodded while patting the child's head comfortingly. "She's telling the truth here. I promised her right before Sid dragged me off to drink." He realized that sounded somewhat wrong given the situation and immediately followed up with, "Which I didn't do. I'm not much of a drinker."
"Uh, okay." Clarice shifted her gaze between them, thinking about this situation as a whole yet again. This was strange but for now, Clarice would go along with it as she did and continued to scold the girl. "Well, from now on, don't be so pushy with papa, especially when he's out with friends. That's rude."
Miata nodded. "Yes, mama."
"Good girl." She said, patting her surrogate daughter's head as well. "So now that we're all here, what do you want to play?"
"Hide and seek." Miata answered.
"Oh, sounds fun." As long as Raki didn't use his life sensor Thu'um, which he wouldn't. "So, who's it?"
She pointed right him. "You."
"If you want." Clarice added.
"Sure. I'll start counting down from thirty right now if you guys are ready." They nodded and Raki turned to lean his head against a wall and countdown. Been a while since he played this game and it was nord children rather than Claymores. They certainly didn't have a an area nearly as big either. He was genuinely looking forward to this little game. "Ready or not, here I come!"
()()()()
AN: Hope y'all like a thicc chapter. It's filler mostly but it'll head somewhere as will the next chapter be. That's right ladies and gentlemen, our big bad has been formally introduced and yes, he made his own shout. Oh, whatever shall our intrepid heroes do!
Also, to Chemiczen, I have a criticism for your criticism. That wish fulfillment line is off course and makes me think you don't entirely understand wish fulfillment. I've seen wish fulfillment fics and chieftain, this ain't it. But in a way, you're right, ey Dany boy?
As for the rest of what you said, I disagree, I've seen those types of MCs before and I'm not seeing it here, including the OP line considering the circumstances, but this is my, well me and Dany's writing so bias could easily be argued. Still, me and Dany will be on the lookout for those traits, thank you.
Dany's note : Well, I'll add that fanfics are wish fulfillment by definition - altering canon to make your own story with it. The real matter is, to make a good story. And I hope Serendipitous and I are managing to do that. Of course, feedback and reviews are always encouraged as they give us motivation and help point out some issue we could miss.
On Daanlotfel having a lightning shout, I thought that was missing in Skyrim so why not? Though he does have other surprises in store. Oh, and feel free to look for the small easter egg we've hidden with him.
SHP: Remember to be safe everyone and I'm also taking commissions if you're interested. You can check it out on my profile.
Translations:
Ru, dovfriin kiire, ru. Hi niis filok dii krongrah: Run, dragonkin children, run. You cannot escape my conquest.
Hin Slen nis bo : your body cannot move
Zu'u niid Pahlok. Hin Mulaag los lot : I am not arrogant. Your strength is great
Qo Nos Faaz : Lightning Strike Pain
Tahrovin : Treachery
Hi volaan ko Nonvul Krif : you intrude on a honorable battle
Los Ahraan : Are you injured?