Sapphire Night Eye ver2

by Risemonger

She is the shadow on the wall, but a beacon of hope. A mistress of the night and a hero of the day. Join Ty'ani as she is transformed from Riften's most feared thief to Skyrim's greatest hero. Khajiit protagonist. Rated M.

13. Chance's Folly

4E 202
9th of Morning Star

The winter had been very harsh to the province of Skyrim, the blizzards becoming more regular in the southern regions and were difficult to deal with, but they were an absolute nightmare up north in Winterhold. At this very moment, the old city was being pounded by one of the worst snowstorms of the winter, snow and ice layering over the roads and buildings, hiding them from view which made it difficult for travellers whom are on the move.

However, for the two women walking toward the old town, the snow and freezing winds were not a bother. Only because Serana and Senynda were vampires of course, but people didn't need to know that, so they had worn fur cloaks and hoods to keep up appearances to the mortals. Therefore, no one batted an eye as the two made their way toward the incline leading to the bridge for the College.

On their way, Serana gazed around, spying many of the citizens in a melancholic state. And for good reason, since the once great city had been demolished by natural means many centuries ago, the houses looking as though they had been dragged down the cliffs. Amazingly though, the College itself was still in good shape, which was a feat in itself. As a result, the Nord vampire had noticed that the people were keeping a wide berth of the College, as if they believed it was cursed or something. Of course, she knew that most Nords don't tend to trust magic anyway, but this was something else entirely.

Either way, she didn't bring this up to Senynda. Reason being, there was no doubt the Redguard was fully aware of the destruction of the town, perhaps she even lived during the time it had happened, since Serana had figured out that Senynda was very old, if not ancient. Clearly not as old as she is, but the other woman had more experience out in the world, since she had lived through it rather than being locked in a cave for centuries on end.

Not only that though, but in the short time Serana had known the other woman, she had proven to be quite bloodthirsty and have incredibly little remorse for human life. All she cared about was preserving her own standing in the clan on top of fulfilling her father's supposed prophecy. Despite that, Senynda was very dignified and polite when being spoken to, but while they journeyed together, Serana had witnessed her brutally killing her victims when feeding or fighting.

Put simply, Serana didn't feel all that comfortable speaking casually with the woman, but she remained polite toward her. It was simply in a bid to stay on the woman's good side, as she wouldn't put it past her to kill her own kind if she feels threatened.

As they approached the bridge, the two had become increasingly wary of the rising sun. Even though the sun is hidden behind the voluminous grey clouds, they could still feel the draining effects of the daylight. Thankfully, since they were both extremely old vampires, they had gained the ability to withstand the sun's effects for an extended amount of time. But they were both still eager to get inside the College to shelter from the harsh rays for a while. By the looks of the sentry wizard standing guard of the bridge's entrance however, it looked as though they would have to wait a little longer.

The Altmer woman frowned at the two when they ascended the incline, holding up a hand as she stood directly in their path. "Cross the bridge at your own peril!" she called out over the storm. "The way is dangerous, and the gates will not open. You shall not gain entry!"

Standing before the woman, Senynda glanced over to Serana, one elegant brow arching as though she had a plan worked out already. Gazing back at the Altmer, she spoke back to her in an apologetic tone. "My apologies, I wasn't aware this place was locked down. We were merely curious on what this building is."

The high-elf's demeanour changed then, tension leaving her shoulders instantly. "Oh, forgive me. Most who arrive here do so because they have heard of the College beforehand." she explained, before gesturing to the grand building itself. "This is the College of Winterhold, a safe haven for mages in Skyrim. A place of wisdom and arcane knowledge."

"Interesting." Senynda responded, her tone suggesting that she was fascinated with this knowledge, but Serana knew better. This was Senynda doing one of the things she does best; deception. It was clear that she had perfected this technique through centuries of practise, as she is an artist at deception, making lies seem like truths and vice versa. Also in suggesting ideas to people in a way to make them believe that it was theirs in the first place. Truly, if there was one thing scarier than a bloodthirsty killer, it was a bloodthirsty killer that could get into your head.

Senynda spoke again before long. "Would it be at all possible for us to enter the College?"

The Altmer cocked a brow. "Perhaps. But what is it that you expect to find within?"

"Why, to unravel the mysteries of Aetherius of course." Senynda answered without pause, causing the high-elf to glance at her in approval.

"Ah, the immortal plane." she elaborated with a nod. "It is said to be the source of all magic. This is a noble goal, indeed. It would seem that the College has what you seek. The question now is what you can offer the College?"

The two frowned at that. Clearly it would be harder to gain entry than initially anticipated. "What exactly do you mean by that?" Serana asked sceptically.

Glancing at her, the high-elf responded. "Not just anyone is allowed inside. Those wishing to enter must show some degree of skill with magic. A small test, if you will." she gestured to the circular symbol that sat on the ground behind her, which depicted the College's sigil.

On her part, Senynda didn't look the slightest bit worried. Yes, they both knew some magic- most originating from their vampiric state- but it was clear that the woman wasn't about to comply to this elf's whims. "Oh, come now." the Redguard began, placing her hands on her hips. "I am certain that we both know that we will succeed."

The Altmer frowned, crossing her arms. "No, I'm afraid I don't know anything of the sort."

"Oh, but you do." Senynda retorted, her head lowering minutely as her gaze became more intense. "You know because it is clear that you are a master of your technique. Therefore, it is no doubt child's play for you to see that we both hold great semblances of magic."

"I fail to see your point." the woman responded with a hint of annoyance in her tone.

"My point is that you are clearly a well trained mage whom has no need to see if anyone is skilled in magic. You can sense it, can you not?"

The Altmer blinked at that, beginning to look increasingly sheepish as time went on. "Well, I will admit that I frequently study magical essences that resonate through the air..."

"Therefore," Senynda interrupted. "It is clear to you that we have more than sufficient magic to enter your College. And I am certain that you will be thankful that you did not turn us away when we bring our knowledge and skills to you."

"Well," the woman mused. "It is not unheard of that many find different aspects in the schools of magic. If that is so, then I'm sure if you share your own knowledge, it would increase the Colleges reputation that much more, and perhaps bringing more wizards to our doorsteps."

"Precisely." Senynda nodded with a 'genuine' smile.

The high-elf nodded. "Very well, you both may enter. I think you'll both be superb additions to the College. Welcome, Apprentices. I'll lead you across the bridge and once you're inside, you'll want to speak with Mirabelle Ervine, our Master Wizard. Please, follow me." at that, the high-elf woman turned and began marching across the bridge, the two vampires behind her. On her way, the mage lit up a total of three stone wells, which are known as the Mystic Focal Points of the College, making them glow blue and reach high to the sky. Upon reaching the end of the partially crumbled bridge- of which was very icy and was missing the side railings in most sections, which threatened a fatal fall to the clumsy- the Altmer lit the final focal point, which opened the grand iron gates, admitting them to the College courtyard.

As the woman turned to walk past them- and return to her sentry position no doubt- that was when Senynda suddenly struck out. It was without warning, so Serana hardly had time to react before the Redguard's newly grown fangs sunk into the mage's throat. The high-elf's scream was swiftly muffled before a single sound came out, as Senynda snapped her hand over her mouth in less than a split second. Soon enough Senynda released the woman, whom now looked as though she was in a daze. It was clear what she had done.

Grabbing the elf's chin in a firm hold, Senynda licked the wound on her neck, healing it up instantly, before she forced the half conscious woman to look onto her caramel eyes. "Return to your post." she commanded. "You will forget this encounter and plead ignorance of our presence." at that, she released the woman, letting her walk back across the bridge.

Serana glanced to Senynda, her mind racing but outwardly she kept her expression blank. "I'm going to assume that she will not stay that way forever."

"You assume correctly." the Redguard answered, wiping off a small line of blood that dribbled down her chin with her thumb, sucking it off as her fangs retracted. "And if I can predict your next question; I did not kill her because she is obviously a prominent member of the College, and she would clearly be missed. We cannot afford to have our positions compromised Serana, so be sure to erase these mortals memories before we leave."

"I'll be sure to remember that." the Nord woman responded, her voice monotone as the two entered the College grounds.

The courtyard was quite an impressive sight, with multiple focal points dotted around the circular edges with a statue of the College's founder, Shalidor, dominating the centre. The courtyard branched off into three halls: the Hall of Attainment, the Hall of Countenance and the Hall of Elements, which was their destination. As the courtyard was deprived of life due to the storm, it was easy for the vampires to cross to the opposite side, entering the double doors and freeing them from the burning daylight temporarily.

Inside the foyer, the two immediately spotted a gate that separated them from the main chamber. In the centre of the circular room was a focal point, one that was larger than those outside. In the hall were many mages, all dressed in various colours of robes; clearly the students. Others were dressed in darker or more elaborate robes, indicating that they were the lecturers or teachers. Either way, due to the number packed in the room, Senynda could guess that the vast majority of the residents were inside and were focused on their studies, which would make it easier to sneak through unnoticed.

Turning to the right, Serana and Senynda slipped through a door which the vampires knew would lead to the Arcanaeum, a library that housed numerous books that students used for studying. That being said, Senynda knew that the one person in the College that would know about any Moth Priests would be the overseer of the Arcanaeum. Climbing the stairs, they soon emerged into the entrance hall of the vast library.

Stepping further in, the library opened up into a large circular room, a study area in the centre which was sunken down lower than the rest of the room and flanked by stone walls with alcoves. The outskirts sported multiple bookshelves, all of which was securely locked. Looking around, there appeared to be only two people inside. One was a male dark-elf sat on a chair to their left, staring blankly at a wall, and another was sat at a desk at the far end. The one at the desk was an Orc surprisingly, his white hair and beard trimmed and neat and his gold robes clean. He seemed to be very dignified for an Orc, which was quite unusual for the species as well.

Approaching him, he snapped his head up toward the movement, a frown forming on his face as they stopped behind his desk. Straightening, he crossed his arms as he greeted them gruffly. "Not seen you two before so obviously you're new here. Know this; you are now in the Arcanaeum, to which I am in charge. It might as well be my own little plain of Oblivion. Disrupt my Arcanaeum, and I will have you torn apart by angry Atronachs."

Arching a brow, Senynda nodded. "Understood." she responded respectfully. Turning to Serana, she made eye contact with the woman before the Nord turned and paced away, heading toward where she saw the other occupant of the library under the guise of browsing the books. Looking back to the Orc, Senynda spoke again. "You take your work very seriously, I assume?"

The Orc frowned at her, as if what she had said was the most ridiculous thing to grace his ears. "Of course I do." he huffed. "If I didn't, most of these books would've been burned to ashes or dissolved to nothing before the Third Era. Mages need to be reminded to be careful around research materials. Now, do you require assistance?"

"Indeed I do." she acknowledged. "I need to find a Moth Priest."

The Orc frowned in confusion at that. "A Moth Priest? What in Oblivion do you need a Moth Priest for?"

Senynda crossed her arms as she replied. "My business is my own. Tell me what I need to know, please."

"Fine, fine." the Orc relented with a wave of his hand. "No need to get your breeches in a twist. The obvious answer is to go to the Imperial City. The Moth Priests make their home in the White Gold Tower, but sometimes they go out looking for Elder Scrolls. Lucky for you, there's a Moth Priest in Skyrim right now, doing just that. He stopped in to do some research in the library, then left for Dragon Bridge. If you hurry, you might catch him there."

Senynda nodded at this information, circling around the desk and leaning on it, giving the Orc a toothy smile. "Thank you." she purred, allowing the Orc a brief show of her fangs growing- enjoying his widening eyes as he swiftly figured out what she was- before she struck, grabbing the Orc and sinking her teeth into his neck. She also briefly heard Serana do the same with the other person, hearing his brief cry of surprise before she muffled it. The Orc too attempted to yell out, but Senynda cupped his mouth to silence him. He fought back too, but Senynda's supernatural strength soon proved to be superior to his as she easily held him down. Once he relaxed, she released her hold, licking the wound on his neck to heal it before commanding him to go about his daily activity and forget he ever saw them. Before long, the two women exited the Arcanaeum and out of the Hall of Elements, swiftly leaving the College behind them.

Back in the town, the two exchanged gazes. "So, to Dragon Bridge then." Serana stated.

"Indeed." Senynda responded. "We must make haste, we cannot lose that Moth Priest now." with that, the two left the old city behind, beginning their journey west to Haafingar and ultimately, Dragon Bridge.

oOoOoOoOoOoO

As the winter continued on, it seemed as though the days were getting longer and longer for Ty'ani. The blizzards that hit Whiterun had begun to grow steadily worse, and made travelling out into the tundra perilous. Even Altwen had complained about the weather, telling them it was near impossible to hunt outside the walls. Due to that information, Ty'ani had worried that her companions wouldn't be able to afford to stay at the Bannered Mare any more, but to her surprise, they continued to do so. They never told her where they got that much coin from and she never pried, it wasn't her business anyway.

As of now, Ty'ani was sitting within Jorrvaskr and was staring out the window that showed the training yard. The blizzard that was going on this time was the worst one by far, as snow and ice blanketed the whole area making the yard barely recognisable. Even with her eyesight, it was very difficult for Ty'ani to see anything through the storm, only managing to see up to the city wall. It had gotten worse since they had all rushed in from training, and Ty'ani was suddenly glad they did. She didn't like the cold at the best of times, but this was absolutely deadly. If this was how bad the storms got in this region, then that yet again begged the question as to why the Khajiit had thought it was a good idea to come to this province in the first place.

As she stared, that was when the white Khajiit felt something rest on her thigh, followed by a whining sound. Tearing her eyes from the lack of view outside, her sapphire orbs met the baby blue ones of Ar'jenn.

Over the past week, the dire wolf pup had increased in size quite a bit, as her head now almost reached up to Ty'ani's hips. The Khajiit could barely believe that the wolf was only seven weeks old, as she looked like a fully grown dog. She dreaded to think how big Ar'jenn would be once she's fully grown.

She smiled when Ar'jenn stared back up at her, her chin resting on Ty'ani's leg as though she was begging for something. Ty'ani had a feeling this probably meant the wolf was hungry, or she wanted her attention. So to find out, Ty'ani shifted in her seat, which caused Ar'jenn to raise her head off her thigh, as the girl buried her fingers into the wolf's soft white fur and began stroking it.

"What's the matter girl?" she asked. Ar'jeen merely continued to stare at her with her large pleading eyes. Of course Ty'ani knew that the animal couldn't answer her back, but for some reason it felt right to talk to the wolf like she was a person. Or a child maybe. She guessed that it stemmed from her knack of talking to herself whenever she's alone- and whenever she's not alone sometimes. It was a habit that she had yet to break out of, so maybe she thought that was the reason she spoke to Ar'jenn so much even though the wolf couldn't talk back. That and it felt like whenever the Khajiit spoke to the pup, she felt that it was nice to speak without interruption or judgement. Divines knew she has so much to vent about nowadays.

Either way, Ar'jenn's fluffy tail and her ears perked up when Ty'ani spoke to her, the fifth appendage wagging slightly. That caused the girl's smile to widen. "You hungry girl? Is that it?" she asked and the pup perked up even more, her tail wagging more energetically as she stepped back from the seated Khajiit, seeming to dance on the spot from excitement. Ty'ani couldn't help but giggle at that as she rose from the seat. "All right, let's go get some food then."

She made her way over to the horse-shoe shaped dining table in the centre, where some of the other Companions were already helping themselves to food. A few of them were absent, having gone out on contracts and Ty'ani hoped that they were managing the storm alright.

She picked a seat at random as Ar'jenn bounced around with little barks of excitement, but the dire wolf soon stood at her master's side as the Khajiit picked up a slice of cooked beef from the platter in front of her. Using her claws, Ty'ani ripped the meat in half, placing one half back on the table for now as she turned to Ar'jenn with the other.

"Sit." she commanded, firmly but softly. Almost immediately, Ar'jenn obeyed. Ty'ani praised her as she offered the meat with a reminder to the wolf to be gentle, to which the dire wolf pup took with only the barest snap of her jaws.

As Ty'ani had spent as much of her free time with the dire wolf as she could, she had made quite tremendous progress with her training. She often did as she commanded, but when the pup got too excited it did take a few tries to get the wolf to calm down. There were still a few kinks that needed to be worked on with Ar'jenn, but Ty'ani was determined not to give up.

As she grabbed the second piece, that was when she heard a chuckle not too far from where she was sitting. Once Ar'jenn gobbled up the remaining meat, Ty'ani turned her head round toward the sound, spotting almost immediately that it was Farkas. The tall Nord man regarded the smaller Khajiit and the wolf as he placed down whatever he was eating. "You know," he began after he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "You did a really good job of training her."

Ty'ani smiled back at him. "Thank you, I try."

"I'm gonna be honest," he continued. "I didn't really think that you'd be able to train a wild animal like her. Or, you know... get as far as you have in your own training. I'm kind of glad you proved me wrong. Haema really was right about you."

Ty'ani bit her lip bashfully at that, lowering her head to her wringing hands as she responded. "I'm just happy to have this opportunity."

They fell silent after that, with Farkas returning to his meal and Ty'ani continuing to feed Ar'jenn. Before long though, a sudden strong gust of wind blew past, which rattled the roof above them as though it threatened to be torn off. It held thankfully, but to the people inside, it was a little worrying.

"Storm's getting worse." Aela observed with a frown. "Didn't think it would get this bad."

"What do you mean?" Ty'ani asked, confused at the woman's words. "Aren't the storms usually like this?"

Aela glanced over to her as she replied. "Not this bad. The buildings round these parts are built to withstand the weather, and I've never known a storm to get so bad that it would rattle the roof like that. That either means the weather is becoming worse, or something is going on to make the weather this way."

"Wait." Athis piped up next, giving Aela a look that betrayed his disbelief. "You're saying that something out there could be making the storm worse magically? I've never heard of such magic."

"I'm not entirely sure," Aela confessed. "But the blizzards don't usually get like this, so it could be possible."

Needless to say, this information got Ty'ani worried. If the storm was being influenced by magic, then what sort of magic was it? She'd never knew that there could be spells that could affect nature itself. Of course, Ty'ani didn't know a single thing about magic anyway, so really the best person to ask was Alasse. However, the high-elf seemed to have become rather withdrawn as of late and whenever people spoke to her, the most they got out of her was one worded answers. It had Ty'ani greatly concerned in truth, but she knew from experience that if anyone pried then she'd get annoyed, so she left the mage to open up to them in her own time.

But at the moment, Alasse was the least of her concerns. She knew that with the storm the way it is, anyone outside the city walls could potentially be in danger and this had her worried for Ri'saad and his caravan. They had turned up a few days ago and would originally be on their way back to Markarth by now, but with the raging storm that meant they would be trapped where they are until it passes over. Divines only knew how long that would take.

Against her better judgement, she decided to go out there and see if they were alright. Yes, she would much prefer not to go out in this blizzard and potentially freeze to death but she had to make sure, if only to give herself peace of mind.

Therefore, Ty'ani rose up from her seat and made her way down to the lower level to retrieve her weapons. Most would call her paranoid for doing so but anything could be hiding out in this storm, and since the Solstice she had the constant feeling of being watched, which had her fur standing on end. It may be nothing, but she would much prefer to remain safe than sorry.

Ar'jenn, upon seeing her master get up and walk away, ran after her without any prompting. It surprised Ty'ani when the dire wolf rushed past her and circled around for a moment, but she smiled when she realised the wolf wanted to come with her. May as well let Ar'jenn come with her, and then see if Haema could take care of her while she was out. Even though Ar'jenn could more than likely hold her own in a fight, Ty'ani would rather not risk it and end up losing her.

"Come on then, Ar'jenn." Ty'ani told the wolf, walking past her and down the stairs, sensing the dire wolf following behind.

Upon reaching the bottom floor, Ty'ani turned right and headed directly down the hallway. She greeted Tilma as she passed the old woman, making sure to give her a wide berth so she doesn't get in the way of the elder's sweeping. She soon reached the end of the hall, thankful to see that the double doors leading to the Harbinger's quarters were wide open. She knew that Haema tended to have an open door policy, but she would prefer not to just waltz in unannounced and potentially startle the warrior.

Therefore, she stood in the doorway whilst peeking in slightly, seeing the blonde Nord woman seated at her desk and writing. Biting her lip, Ty'ani knocked on the edge of the doorway, instantly gaining the woman's attention as she turned to look in her direction. Seeing who it was, Haema immediately placed her quill in its inkwell and brought her full attention to the Khajiit.

"Ty'ani." she greeted with a smile.

"Hello Haema." Ty'ani said back as she stepped fully into the room. "I was just wondering if you could look after Ar'jenn for a moment?" she placed a hand on the wolf's head as she asked this.

Haema subtly cocked a brow at this, but she nodded regardless. "Well of course, but may I ask why?"

Ty'ani bit her lip again before answering. "I'm worried about Ri'saad and the caravan. The storm has gotten worse and I just want to see if they are alright. And if there's something out there, I would prefer Ar'jenn not getting hurt."

"Ah, I see." Haema nodded. "Well, be sure not to take too long. If the storm is as bad as you say, I would prefer you not being out there longer than necessary."

Ty'ani nodded as she coaxed Ar'jenn to Haema's side and getting her to sit. After ensuring the dire wolf pup would stay, the Khajiit girl looked back up at the Nord woman. "Don't worry, it shouldn't take too long. Thank you." at that, she turned and exited the room and made her way back down the corridor. She turned into the sleeping quarters where she is staying and immediately collected her weapons, plus the new steel short sword Eorlund made for her. The sword was made in the same fashion as the weapons the other Companions possessed, with the blade sporting the beautiful wavy patterns, the hilt covered in soft leather and the pommel sporting a wolf's head. Once the weapons were all in place, she wrapped her cloak over her shoulders as she headed back up the stairs.

Back in the meadhall, she was about to head out the door when a voice stopped her. "You're really going to go outside with it like this?" turning, she noticed Ria was right behind her, giving her a look of concern. During the time Ty'ani had been in the Companions, Ria had grown fond of the young girl and treated her like a younger sister. Ty'ani, in turn, felt that Ria was like a big sister as she constantly watched out for her, but sometimes her concern can be a little overbearing. Letting go of the door handle with a sigh, Ty'ani turned fully toward her.

"I'm not going to be long, just checking on the caravan outside." she replied.

"Are you sure?" Ria asked, her tone betraying her worry about the small girl. "The storm's really bad, and it will be very cold. I know what you're like with the cold."

"I'll just be outside the gates." the Khajiit reassured. "Besides, if something happens I have my weapons with me, so I'll be fine."

Seeing that she wasn't going to talk the girl out of this, Ria shrugged. "Okay, just be careful."

Smiling at the woman as she walked away, Ty'ani opened the door and swiftly closed it once she stepped out, ensuring the chill wouldn't creep inside. The moment she stepped outside, Ty'ani immediately gasped in shock from the frozen air, wrapping her arms and fur cloak tighter around herself. Her hair was being whipped about by the strong winds and she squinted her eyes against the snow flying into them. By Gods, if this storm was really being influenced by magic, then this must be a very powerful wizard.

Either way, Ty'ani folded her hood over her head and forced herself to descend the stairs into the Wind District, before turning to the stairwell to the Plains District. On the way, the only people she saw walking the streets were the city guard, each one wrapped almost head to toe in fur to ward off the freezing winds. The marketplace in the bottom most district was completely devoid of life as well, and the stands were empty of the usual produce that sat upon them. The Khajiit had never seen the market so empty before. It truly felt like a ghost town, causing a chill to run down her spine- of which was not the result of the storm- as she made her way to the city gates.

With every step she took, she fought to keep the cloak wrapped around her body. It was very difficult to stay warm when the wind kept her cloak whipping around, as the only part of her body that was truly covered were her shoulders and head. This almost made her second guess herself and return back to Jorrvaskr, or maybe even the Bannered Mare since it was closer, but she had to make sure the caravan was alright. Therefore, she pushed on as she stepped through the main gates and made her way to the outer wall.

She was glad that Ri'saad's caravan wasn't that far away from the outer wall, which meant it wouldn't take long to talk to them and head back into the city. She instantly saw the caravan, with all the occupants either sheltering themselves in spare tents or warming themselves by the fire. But before she passed the archway leading to the outskirts, she spotted someone standing at the main tent with Ri'saad.

At first she thought nothing of it, since people tend to trade with the caravans often, but when she studied the person more her eyes narrowed in confusion. It was a man, that much was obvious, but he was covered with tanned monks robes- on top of the fur cloak draped over his shoulders- and he appeared not to be trading with Ri'saad but talking to him. What was a monk doing talking with the caravan leader?

Suddenly curious, Ty'ani used the storm to her advantage as she ducked behind a collection of rocks close to the camp, keeping herself hidden but the two men in her sight. She strained her ears to hear them over the howling winds, soon picking up that the two of them were speaking in the Khajiiti tongue. This surprised her as she listened to their conversation.

"I understand your feelings, Ri'saad," the man in the robes told Ri'saad, as he knelt beside him and placed a hand on the older Khajiit's shoulder. The fluid dialect and the lack of accent in his voice instantly told Ty'ani that this man was a Khajiit as well. She frowned as she listened on. "But surely you must know the ramifications of revealing that information to her. If she is exposed too soon..."

"Yes, I know." Ri'saad answered, his tone dejected as his head lowered. "But it is difficult. For so long I believed her to be dead, and now that she is here..."

"Ri'saad." the robed Khajiit said, bringing the older Khajiit's eyes to him. "The time will come soon, and then you may hold her in your arms once again. But until that time, it is better and safer for her if she is left in the dark. I'm certain the last thing you want is the Dominion finding her."

"No." Ri'saad snapped as he glanced up at the Khajiit monk, his amber eyes taking on a look of determination. "She will not fall to their hands. I will not allow what happened to my mate to happen to her."

The hooded Khajiit man nodded, squeezing Ri'saad's shoulder as though he was consoling him. "Then be patient, my friend." it was then that the robed man looked around, prompting Ty'ani to duck down a little as to not get spotted by him. However, she could still see him and she was shocked to find that she recognised the man under the hood. It was the strange Khajiit that had run into them when they were heading to High Hrothgar. What was his name? M'iaq? Yes, that sounded right.

She wasn't sure if M'iaq had seen her but if he did, he did well hiding it as he turned back to Ri'saad and stood back up. "I apologise, my friend, but I must leave."

"I understand." Ri'saad nodded. "Be sure to watch your back out there, M'iaq. The Dominion has taken full advantage of this war, and are spreading rapidly in the Imperial regions."

"I always do." M'iaq answered before turning away and disappearing through the snow.

Watching him go, Ty'ani couldn't help but think about what she had just heard. It was clear that she missed the brunt of the conversation, so therefore she couldn't begin to guess who this mystery woman was. Whoever she is though, she seemed to be very dear to Ri'saad if his words were anything to go by.

Ty'ani stayed crouched where she was for a little while longer, in spite of the cold creeping in her very bones, not wanting to clue Ri'saad in on the fact that she was just eavesdropping on him. That was a conversation she really didn't want to get into, so she stayed where she was until she deemed it safe enough for her to come out of hiding. However, she sneaked back round to the archway of the outer wall until she was out of sight before standing straight. She hugged herself in a desperate attempt to warm up as she walked back out the archway, heading over to the caravan without hesitation.

As she approached, Ri'saad glanced up from staring into his lap, blinking when he saw her. "Ty'ani?" he questioned in their mother tongue as he rose to his feet and guided her toward the campfire. "Whatever are you doing here? Come, you must be freezing."

As she knelt before the fire, she waved briefly to the others as she hovered her hands over the flames. She sighed as the warmth trickled in, but it wasn't quite enough to completely ward off the cold. As she tried to warm herself up, Ri'saad knelt beside her, prompting her to glance at him. She smiled. "Sorry," she began. "I just wanted to make sure you all were alright, this storm is pretty bad."

Ri'saad smiled back at her when she said that. "Oh Ty'ani, this isn't the first time we were trapped by Skyrim's winter."

"Yes." came the voice of Khalya from across the fire. "But this storm is far worse than what we have dealt with before. It makes me long for home that much more."

Ri'saad nodded in understanding of that. "Yes, I know."

That made Ty'ani think though. There wasn't really anything to stop Ri'saad and the other caravans from returning to Elsweyr, or even going to a warmer province, so that begged the question of why they didn't just leave. Was Ri'saad really telling the truth and taking the opportunity to sell their wares where others were too frightened to do so, or was there something else that kept him here? The conversation she overheard made her overanalyse, thinking that maybe Ri'saad was staying so he could be reunited with the mystery woman.

Honestly she wasn't sure, and it was bad to jump to conclusions so she kept her silence about that. She decided to speak of something else instead. "So, the blizzards aren't usually this bad?"

Khalya shook her head. "No, it isn't. I'm not sure if we have just been lucky enough in the past to avoid this, or if this is a sign of a bad omen."

"I thought you didn't believe in omens, Khalya." Atahbah commented cynically from the nearby tent, bringing the guard's attention to her.

"Not usually. But in these times, one tends to have their beliefs shattered regularly."

It was obvious what Khayla was speaking about, bringing the group of Khajiit to silence once again. With the return of the dragons, it had truly blurred the lines on peoples perception of myth and legend. It really made Ty'ani question what was real in this world any more, especially considering what has happened to her since she first arrived in Skyrim.

However, just as another conversation was about to be brought up, that was when Ty'ani spotted something emerging through the storm. Zeroing her eyes upon it, she soon made out the form of a person running across the tundra. The moment the figure was close enough to the camp, it was revealed to be a Nord man, garbed in dirtied clothing. What caught her attention most of all though, was the frenzied look on his face and the haphazard movements of his body. It seemed as though the man had seen something truly horrible.

Suddenly concerned, Ty'ani rose from the ground as the man yelled out upon seeing them. "Help! Please, you must help!"

Immediately, Ty'ani ran over to him. When he saw her, a look of recognition and hope ignited in his expression as she spoke to him. "Woah, calm down. What's happened?" she asked him calmly, though inwardly dread began to circle her thoughts.

He took heavy breaths, panic still obviously stirring his system. "Oh thank goodness, Dragonborn. Please you must help." he told her. "It- it happened so fast. It destroyed my home. My wife... Oh Gods..."

Worry increasing, Ty'ani pressed. "What? What did?"

"A dragon." he simply replied.

Ty'ani's eyes widened in shock. A dragon was here? Hearing the gasps of the Khajiit behind her, she briefly felt dread fill the entirety of her chest. If a dragon was nearby, then that meant that she had to stop it before it attempted to attack the city. But she would be on her own, and she has never taken on a dragon alone before. She knew though that she had to, at the very least, keep it distracted until reinforcements arrived. To that end, she gave the man a determined look.

"Listen to me." she told him in a firm tone, instantly gaining his attention. "Get inside the city and inform the town guard, tell them where they can find the dragon and then get yourself somewhere safe."

After he nodded and ran to do as he was told, Ri'saad snapped to his feet as Ty'ani drew her bow from her back. "Wait, Ty'ani! You cannot go out there and face that beast alone!"

Glancing back at him, her eyes filled with both determination and fear, Ty'ani shook her head. "I have to Ri'saad, no matter how dangerous it is. Do not try to follow me, the last thing I want is for any of you to be put in danger." that was the last thing she said to them as she pivoted around and ran into the storm, ignoring the Khajiit's pleads for her to come back. She ran across the tundra in the direction the Nord man emerged from, keeping her eyes peeled for any glimpses of a dragon and her ears open for their distinct roar.

Even though the winds were strong and impaired her vision, it didn't take her all that long to find the destroyed home the Nord had mentioned. She knew that this place was a little ways from the Western Watchtower, therefore she sighed in relief when she spotted three guards already here. She immediately ran over to them.

"Guardsmen!" she yelled out over the storm, instantly gaining their attention. The nearest guard, upon seeing her, let out a sound of relief.

"Dragonborn, thank the Divines!" he said as she stopped in front of him before he began scanning the skies again. "Be wary of yourself, the beast is still nearby."

Acknowledging his statement, Ty'ani glanced around, noting the carnage of the site. The home was in ruins, the walls completely shattered and the roof collapsed in, as though something had crashed directly through it. It seemed only the frame had survived, making the house a shell of its former self. She also spotted the corpses of a guardsmen as well as the mangled body of a woman. She was too torn apart for Ty'ani to distinguish what race she was, but it was clearly the Nord man's wife. It was very obvious that the dragon was still nearby due to how fresh the bodies were.

Then, as if on cue, the bone chilling sound of a roar echoed through the blizzard. Ty'ani and the remaining three guards rose their weapons, the majority knocking their bows as they frantically studied all sides and the sky. On her part, Ty'ani kept her arrow ready and pointing upwards as she perked her ears up high, hearing only the howling winds for a time. However, that didn't last long as another roar resounded through the air, followed by the beating of wings.

The guards and Ty'ani all snapped toward the source, but the Khajiit girl's eyes widened when she just managed to make out the outline of the dragon flying through the air, the wall of snow blanketing it as it soon disappeared again. It was clear that some of the guards were panicking, but they held their ground as they continued to look around, constantly hearing the clap of the beasts wings at every interval.

Soon enough though, the dragon suddenly burst through the storm and bore down on the group below. Seeing the dragon, Ty'ani felt her chest turn cold in fear, her eyes widening as she instinctively ducked down as the dragon flew overhead.

As it banked around, Ty'ani took that moment to briefly study it. The first thing she noticed was that it was incredibly different to the dragons she had faced before, as this one possessed shimmering blue scales instead of the usual brown. It also possessed a significant increase of spines down it's back as well. Hopefully, this didn't mean that it would be harder to kill.

Ty'ani drew back her bow with a broad-head steel arrow, two of the guards following suite while the last hefted his sword as the blue drake turned on them and pitched downward. As it came close, Ty'ani released her arrow, knowing the projectile struck true when lightning criss-crossed it's form. The guards followed her example, but only one managed to hit its mark while the other missed.

The dragon roared in pain at this as it banked around, flying directly at them again which made the group dive out the way. However, it pitched back up again, beginning to circle overhead.

Ty'ani frowned at this. Was it toying with them? If that was the case then it must find their caution amusing, as it banked down again, nose-diving at them before it suddenly opened it's wings and flapped down. It climbed back up in the sky as the resulting air-blast nearly sent the company to the floor, kicking up snow and ice in its wake.

Growling at this, Ty'ani waited until the dragon drew close again, before she inhaled a deep breath. "Fus RO!" she Shouted, sending the Unrelenting Force Shout into the air. It was a successful hit, as the shock wave struck the beast directly in the chest, which threw it off it's intended course. It was obvious that Ty'ani's Voice wasn't powerful enough to knock the dragon out of the air, but at least now it seemed to have encouraged the beast to cease toying with them.

The dragon bank round again and then commenced to lash out at the group as they fired upon it, occasionally using both claw and teeth to grab them. Fortunately, Ty'ani and the guards had managed to avoid it's swipes as they spread themselves out, but it was clear that fatigue soon began to catch up with them the longer this went on. By that time though, the moment they were waiting for came. It was clear that the dragon had become infuriated that they continued to be illusive, and therefore allowed it's pride to get the better of it.

It flew off through the screen of snow to gain distance from them, turning sharply in the air and unfurling it's wings completely. The ground shook as it landed not too far from them, bellowing in a challenge as it lumbered toward them. The guards and Ty'ani held their ground, waiting for it to get nearer.

As it broke past the storm again, the dragon arched it's long neck backward, roaring as it let loose a ball of ice at them. Ty'ani's eyes widened in shock at this for a split second, before she yelled out to the guards to move. The four instantly dove for whatever cover they could find or ran out of the line of fire, allowing the ball of ice to hurtle past them and explode on the half destroyed house, sending shards of the crystallised water in all directions.

By Gods, this was an ice dragon. That meant that half the enchantment on Ty'ani's bow would not work on it, which will make it harder to kill.

Turing back to the beast, she witnessed the guards let out a chorus of war cries, charging and surrounding the creature, swinging at it with their weapons. The strikes were true as the dragon's flanks were split open by the swords, prompting it to bring it's attention upon the guards, roaring angrily. The Khajiit grabbed another arrow and nocked it, intending to support the guards from a distance.

A guard slashed at the dragon's lower jaw, splitting open the skin between it's scales. It went to snap at him, but another guard distracted it by striking at it's underside, the sword penetrating deep into the soft underbelly which flooded the guard's armour with blood when he pulled it out. The third attempted to disable it's wings by ripping the membrane, however he was swiped aside by the appendage as the dragon swung it's head back. One swipe caught the guard to it's right, knocking him aside with no effort before it rose up, readying another Shout.

With a roar, it released another ball of ice toward Ty'ani. Upon her seeing it, she attempted to move out the way so she wouldn't be hit directly. Unfortunately though, the ball exploded upon the ground close to her, the force of the blast throwing the Khajiit off her feet. As she was tossed a few feet, she didn't have any clue which way was up or down as she tumbled with a shriek, before she rolled harshly across the snow. The white substance clung to her fur as the Khajiit recovered, groaning as she felt her flesh sting as some areas was split open from the shards of ice. Fighting against the pain, she tried with all her might to get back on her feet, gripping her bow in a tight fist.

By the time she got to her hand and knees, she glanced up when she heard one of the guards cry out. Her sapphire eyes widened in horror when she saw that the man was snapped up in the creature's jaws, before it chomped down and ceased all movement. She could hardly watch as the guards torso fell limply down to the ground, while his legs disappeared down the dragon's throat, all the while a river of blood cascaded down the beast's maw.

However, just as it was about to attack another guard, that was when an arrow suddenly punched into it's eye, causing it to recoil back and shriek in pain. Surprised, Ty'ani glanced over when she heard a yell. "Have at us, you giant lizard!"

The forms of Altwen, Alasse, Lydia and Haema, as well as six more Whiterun guards and four of the Companions burst through the storm, each charging the dragon with their weapons raised. Their arrival sparked new life into the Khajiit as she scrambled to her feet, pulling out and notching an arrow in an instant, beginning to fire upon the dragon again. Alasse fired lightning bolts as Altwen and Aela fired arrows at the drake in rapid volleys, whittling down it's defences as the warriors approached.

The guards surrounded the dragon once close enough, a couple sending a relentless hail of arrows at it as the others, with Haema at the front, charged. Knowing that it was surrounded, the dragon roared as Farkas approached, swinging it's head at him to knock him away. It's snout rammed into the man's chest, sending him flying a few feet. Thankfully, his armour spared him from grievous injury. Before it could take advantage however, Lydia slashed her sword at it's jaw while Ria slashed hers vertically down it's serpentine neck.

The dragon recoiled, snarling as numerous arrows penetrated through it's hide. Farkas soon recovered and attempted to get round to the beast's side, Athis at his side to support him, but the drake saw and tried to bite at him. However, it was knocked away by a powerful blow delivered by Haema, her battle axe leaving behind a sizeable slash across it's muzzle. Knowing that it couldn't deal with all the mortals conventionally, the dragon rose it's head and sent forth a haphazard blast of ice their way. It missed, but it was enough to force the warriors back, of which it took full advantage of by spreading it's wings and taking flight once again.

As it took to the skies, Haema yelled out over the storm. "Get that dragon back down!" to which every person that had the means to, fired upon it with everything they had. Lightning bolts, firebolts and arrows, all was sent hurtling at the beast as it flew overhead, with most missing as it let loose another blast of ice in passing. The whole company split up immediately, successfully avoiding the attack.

As it flew over, the ice dragon was yet again knocked off course by an Unrelenting Force Shout, courtesy of Ty'ani. In response, the the dragon flew past all the other mortals, setting it's sights on the white Khajiit; the Dovahkiin. As it dove toward the girl, it ignored the arrows and spells pelting it's hide, not changing it's course at all despite how many arrows the girl herself shot at it.

Seeing that it wasn't changing course, Ty'ani attempted to roll out the way, but she misjudged the distance as the dragon's claw surrounded her. She shrieked as it clamped around her torso, climbing back up into the air with her in tow. As it continued to climb, Ty'ani struggling in it's grasp until she snapped for the short sword at her hip, now glad she decided to bring with her. Tugging it out of it's sheath, the Khajiit didn't hesitate to stab the Skyforge steel blade into the dragon's foot.

In response, the dragon released an audible roar of pain, but it didn't let go of her. In fact, it seemed to clamp down on her harder, which made Ty'ani's bones grind together painfully. Despite the amount of pain she was now in, the Khajiit was unwilling to give up as she gripped the sword in both hands, pulling it out of the foot before stabbing back in over and over again.

The amount of pain that flared up from the dragon's leg must have obviously caught up with it, as she suddenly felt the world tilt and the air whistling through her ears. The dragon shrieked as it began to fall to the ground, and she tucked herself into a tight a ball as she could as they descended rapidly.

They fell for what felt like hours but luckily, the dragon landed directly on it's back but the impact still jarred the girl harshly as they skidded across the tundra. Finally though, after what felt like an age, the dragon came to a stop and she opened her eyes, seeing the damage the creature caused when it crashed. She breathed heavily as she appraised herself, relieved when she realised she was alright- a little bruised and cut up but no worse for wear. However, she had noticed that her bodice had been torn by the dragon's claws, just barely deep enough to punch through, but not so much that she ended up skewered, which she was grateful for.

She was snapped from her musings as she felt the grip around her loosen, giving the girl the opportunity to get out of the dragon's hold. Immediately after that, Ty'ani never gave the dragon a chance to get it's bearings as she scrambled onto it's chest while unsheathing her dagger. Wasting no time, she stabbed the smaller weapon through the protective carapace of it's chest, hopefully where it's heart was, the ebony blade sinking easily through the natural armour like it was mere flesh.

However the dragon didn't move, not even a flinch. Glancing up, she found that the dragon's eyes were closed and there was a distinct absence of rumbling breath. This instantly told her that the impact of the fall must have killed it. Or at the very least, her dagger finished it off. She suddenly felt extremely lucky to be alive, since they must have fell from such a great height for it to kill a dragon. Nocturnal must truly be watching over her.

Just as she withdrew her dagger though, that was when the dragon's corpse began to disintegrate. Knowing that she couldn't escape, Ty'ani closed her eyes and waited for the soul to enter her. The golden lights soon surrounded her form, entering her mind within moments, making her go rigid against the feeling. She grimaced as the soul slowly retreated into her sub-conscience, letting out a short gasp when it ended. She slumped forward, inhaling and exhaling breath like they were her last.

The absorption of a dragon soul is an incredibly uncomfortable feeling, and not one she was about to get used to any time soon.

Just as that thought crossed her mind, that was when she noticed the absence of the howling winds. Glancing up, it didn't take her long to notice that the storm had reduced greatly. It was still blustery, but the storm had completely disappeared. She blinked in surprise at this. How did the storm calm so quickly? It only took her a second to work out that the storm must have passed upon the dragon's death, which meant that it was the dragon that was influencing the storm. By Gods, no wonder the blizzard was so bad. It just made her wonder how powerful a dragon's magic is if they can mould nature itself to their will.

However, just as she came to that conclusion, that was when she realised that she had no idea where she was. Looking around, all she could see was the rolling white plains of the tundra, the frozen rivers and rock formations. There was no sign of Whiterun and ultimately, no sign of the guards or her companions. In fact, there was no trace of anything man-made at all, she was completely alone.

She shivered at this thought, and from the still chilly winds. As she had no idea where she was, she didn't know how to get back to the city at all. She couldn't just pick a random direction and hope for the best, as the distant fog thoroughly hid the horizon so she couldn't see the Throat of the World, or any of the other mountain peaks. The snow could potentially pick up again at any moment, so she needed to find somewhere to bunker down until it stops snowing. Or if someone found her, which looked unlikely.

With that in mind, she clambered away from the dragon bones and began to trek across the plains in hope of finding shelter.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoO

The snow had picked up again by the time Ty'ani found something. It wasn't the most ideal shelter, since it was an outcropping of rock that overshadowed an incline in the dirt, but an abandoned camp site was at the bottom of it, completely untouched by the snow. Ty'ani sighed in relief of this, as she saw- to her luck- that the firepit had some wood already placed, ready to be lit. It seemed whoever was here had to leave in a hurry, since there was a few bedrolls laying out next to the firepit as well. Not knowing if the owners were still nearby or not, the Khajiit wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth as she immediately clambered down into the crevice.

She shivered violently as she made it down, rubbing her arms in a bid to warm herself up, moaning when the pain from her cuts and bruises began to make themselves known. She needed to get warm now, so she glanced around hoping to find something to help her light the fire.

Thankfully, she found a couple of stones that looked rough enough to create a spark. She snatched them up and began scraping them together furiously, hoping they will begin sparking. It took a few tries but the stones began sparking, so Ty'ani immediately hovered them above the wood and attempted to get it to catch fire.

After what felt like a life time- and when she was close to giving up since she was shaking so much- the wood finally caught alight. Ty'ani mentally rejoiced at this, gently blowing on the tiny embers to make them spread. Before long, she had a healthy burning fire and the Khajiit sighed in relief for the warmth it brought. She stayed knelt before the flames, hovering her hands over it as she began to warm up.

When she felt warm enough, Ty'ani collapsed down onto her rear and brought her knees up to her chest, wrapping her arms and tail around them as she stared into the flames. She sighed despondently, hoping that she'll survive until the snow stopped. She wasn't really looking forward to taking her chances out there, since she had lost her bow when the dragon grabbed her before.

However, she soon felt her eyes getting heavy, the fatigue from the fight and the journey here finally catching up with her. She figured that since she was relatively safe, she could bury herself into the bedroll and close her eyes for a little while.

With that in mind, she stripped off her ruined bodice, since it was practically useless now, and wriggled into the bedroll. She draped her cloak over top as she turned onto her side, pillowing her head with her arm as she closed her eyes.

However, after what felt like only a few minutes- whilst in reality it was nearly an hour- Ty'ani's ears pricked up when they picked up an out of place noise. Eyes popping open, she snapped up to her hands and knees, suddenly on alert. There was something- or someone- nearby.

Grabbing her cloak and wrapping it over her shoulders, Ty'ani unsheathed her short sword as she rose to her feet. She kept her eyes on the entrance of the alcove, searching for a silhouette of a person or animal against the still falling snow. Thankfully it seemed the fall had lessened during the time she slept, so she cautiously crept up the incline, her weapon poised and ready.

Once she was outside the safety of the crevice, Ty'ani yet again felt the full force of the cold as it hit her warmed body. She muffled her gasp, focusing herself to endure it as she glanced around. The Khajiit didn't see anything immediate but she didn't relax, she knew she heard something and she couldn't rest until she dealt with whatever it was.

As she stepped further away from her shelter, that was when a subtle noise caught her attention. Knowing instantly what the sound meant, she threw herself to one side just as an arrow struck the ground right where she was standing. Now definitely on edge, Ty'ani whipped around with her sword raised, seeing the forms of four people approaching her. They were all clearly clad in fur and hide armour, three of which wielding drawn swords and the last a bow.

Figuring these were bandits and clearly meant harm toward her, Ty'ani dropped into a combat stance just like she was taught, keeping her own sword raised as the group approached, hearing their taunting laughter.

"Well looky here boys," one exclaimed with glee. "Looks like we got ourselves a little scardy cat hiding from the cold. What say we warm her up?"

His lackeys agreed wholeheartedly, instantly charging the small Khajiit.

Ty'ani barely had time to rise her sword to block an attack from one before another tried to run her through. She darted back while knocking away the first bandit's sword, hoping to gain some distance. However the archer sent another arrow, to which she barely managed to dodge.

Ty'ani's mind began racing as she ducked under an overhead swing. It was clear now that the incline she had found belonged to these bandits, and she cursed her desperate situation. If she had never allowed herself to be grabbed by that dragon she wouldn't be in this situation. These thoughts racing through her head very nearly rewarded her with a cut across her arm. Berating herself to not get distracted, Ty'ani tried with all her might to keep up with the three bandits attacking her at once, not wanting to let them through her defence. It quickly became apparent that fighting someone for real was much different than training, as the threat of life or death hanging over her head very nearly brought her to the edge of panicking. To that end, she continued to stay on the defensive, frantically searching for an opening she could take advantage of.

It seemed luck was still benefiting her in some way though, as one of the bandits raised his sword cockily, believing he had the upper hand on the small girl. Ty'ani took advantage of his blunder instantly by cutting her sword across his abdomen. The Skyforge steel sliced straight through the cheap armour like it was nothing, a spew of blood flooding from the man's stomach in waves, splattering her sword and hands.

The coppery tang of blood filled the air and clogged Ty'ani's senses, feeling the warm red substance on her fur, staining it as it began to rapidly cool in the chilly air. Her stomach roiled with nausea and her gag reflex fluttered, threatening to make her sick. She forced the feeling back down though, reminding herself this wasn't the time to break down.

Unfortunately though, despite of one of their comrades hitting the floor dead, the last two soon proved to be too much for her to handle at once, as her sword was knocked away before a slash crossed her unprotected belly. She screamed in pain, instantly landing her hand on the affected area to stem the bleeding. Thankfully it wasn't too deep, but it was mind-numbingly painful as she fell to her knees, her sword falling noiselessly into the snow.

The Khajiit gulped down breath greedily, gritting her teeth against the burn as she heard the cruel laughter of her attackers. She rose her head up, seeing the bandits surrounding her, even the archer had come to join. As who she guessed was their leader stared into her eyes, he smirked.

"Gotta say," he started. "I was kind of hoping for a bit more of a fight. You ain't no fun at all."

He rose his sword in the air, poised to run her through. Ty'ani wanted to try to run away, grab her sword and block the blow, anything that could get her out of here but she was paralysed and by the time she moved, she would already be dead. But she was unwilling to give up, she couldn't. She may not be able to move, but that didn't mean she couldn't talk. With that in mind, she didn't hesitate.

"Fus RO!"

The shock wave escaped her and slammed directly into three. Unprepared, the bandits were pushed away, landing upon their backs unceremoniously. Ty'ani knew that wouldn't keep them from killing her, but at least it delayed it long enough for her to snap herself over to where her sword fell. At least then, if she was going to die she would die fighting.

The Khajiit girl rummaged around in the freezing snow, searching desperately for her sword as the bandits began to pull themselves up, scowling at her as they stood with swords raised. Her heart raced as she searched until at last, her fingers wrapped around the pommel of her weapon. She immediately yanked it out of the snow and braced herself for the worst.

However, what met her eyes when she looked up thoroughly surprised her. All three of the bandits were still there, but they all had a green glow encompassing them. Each of them were half sat up or halfway to the beginning of a charge, but were all completely frozen in position. The only thing that showed that they were still alive and not statues were their eyes, as they snapped this way and that in their sockets with shock within all of them.

However, before Ty'ani could analyse this sudden anomaly further, that was when the bandit in the centre suddenly had his head decapitated. Ty'ani gasped in horror as the head rolled away with a spew of blood, painting the white snow red. The body was still kept in it's original position though, showcasing that it was thoroughly paralysed.

In the next second, a blur shot past Ty'ani and the bandit to her left was soon left without a head as well. Again, the body stayed exactly where it was as the head rolled off, landing upon the snowy ground with a sickening sound. The Khajiit girl barely had time to look over and see it happening before the final bandit was attacked. The only difference though was that instead of his head being removed, his neck split open with a flood of blood.

Horrified at what she was seeing, Ty'ani watched as the the green glow surrounding the bodies disappeared and the two headless corpses collapsed completely boneless. The last however went limp, but he didn't fall. It soon became apparent as to why as standing right behind him, with his jaws buried in the neck, was a hooded man.

Soon enough, the man released the body, allowing it to crumple at his feet. Immediately, Ty'ani saw that the man was clad in some sort of makeshift leather armour with a bandoleer over his chest, held together with twin belts- which had two long swords strapped to it. He also wore leather leggings, thick leather gauntlets and boots, with a black fur cloak over his shoulders and a hood over his head.

The hood gave her pause though, as she instantly saw a pair of horns sticking out the back of it. She blinked as she studied the man more, seeing that underneath the hood was a face she recognised. One that had his eyes closed in delight, with his scaly jaws parted as he licked blood off his fingers. The Khajiit instantly saw a pair of long and wicked looking fangs protruding from his mouth, both stained red. She watched with wide eyes as the Argonian- as it was obvious it was nothing else- rolled his tongue back into his mouth, his fangs retracting shortly after as he opened his eyes.

Ty'ani flinched when a golden eye and milky white one locked onto hers. She simply knelt there, her sword still raised, as she stared back. Meanwhile, Okan-Ru smirked at her, gesturing to her weapon casually. "You may relax now, the danger has passed."

Upon hearing his voice, only then did Ty'ani noticed the pain running through her system as the adrenaline vanished. She dropped her arm and doubled in on herself with a grunt, squeezing her eyes closed as she gritted her teeth. She pressed her hand harder against the slash on her navel, feeling blood continuing to pour from the wound.

Following that was the reality of what had just happened, of what she had just done before she was injured. The cloying smell of blood blocked her senses anew and her body began to involuntarily shake, her breath becoming harder to draw in and out with every second that passed. Pain and nausea passed through her system once again as her eyes began to sting with tears.

She was so engrossed by the panic running throughout her system that she barely noticed Okan-Ru kneeling by her side, gently placing an arm around her back. "Now now." he purred gently. "Do not fight it, let it out."

Upon the final word, Ty'ani's body won the fight as she doubled over and vomited. The jerky movement of her violent retching caused pain to spike anew throughout her body, causing her to cry out in-between breaths and heaves.

All the while that she emptied the contents of her stomach, Okan-Ru just knelt next to her, still as a statue as he gently brushed her hair out of her face to keep her from spewing in the strands. He never even reacted to the vomit before them as he spoke out softly. "Ah, a first killing up close I see. Worry not, this is a completely natural reaction."

It didn't take long before Ty'ani's heaves came up dry, but her body was still shaking involuntarily, her nose still full of the scent of blood. Not to mention the near unbearable pain of her wound. Once her gagging had slowed, that was when a small red bottle was presented to her.

Unwilling to question anything at the moment, Ty'ani took the bottle and drained its contents. The foul taste that hit her tonsils quickly informed her that it was a healing potion, grimacing as she forced her gag reflex to calm so she could swallow it and keep it down. Once the liquid was down her throat, she gasped as the potion got to work, instantly stemming the bleeding and dulling the pain slightly. It didn't fully heal the wound, but it was a start.

Now with a slightly clearer mind, she glanced back up at Okan-Ru. "W- wha-?" she shakily began, though she couldn't finish the sentence as her throat closed up around the words since she was still in shock.

Okan-Ru only gave her the briefest of smiles as he rose a hand to silence her. "My dear, I will be more than happy to answer any questions you may have, but perhaps it would be best if we focused on patching you up first, hmm?" without waiting for her answer, the dark Argonian wrapped one of his arms across her back and the other under her knees and effortlessly lifted her off the snowy ground. Ty'ani yelped when he did that, the movement aggravating her wound.

Okan-Ru began to carry her back toward the little alcove she had been staying in, still feeling her shaking from the shock and perhaps from the cold also. It was very clear to him from both her involuntary reactions, and her tears that this was the first time the young Khajiit had ever been so personal with a kill. He rolled his eyes at her innocence as he slipped down the incline, being careful not to jostle her. Once at the bottom, he slowly lowered her down onto the bedroll next to the fire. She barely even registered the warmth it provided as she continued to cry, curling up as much as she could before it became too painful.

Okan-Ru didn't even acknowledge her attempt to pull herself in a fetal position as he slipped off the backpack he was wearing, pulling his hood from his head and quickly running his fingers through his blood red feathers before rummaging through the pack. After only a moment, the Argonian pulled out two items; a roll of bandages and an unassuming green bottle. Placing the gauze within easy reach, Okan-Ru looked back to the Khajiit still crying before him as he uncorked the bottle. A strong pepperminty smell was released into the air, causing the Khajiit to choke a little which brought her watery gaze back to him.

"I know this is not easy," Okan-Ru told her, catching her full attention as he lifted the bottle up slightly. "But I will need you to pull yourself together. This will help your wound but it will not be pleasant, so I suggest finding something to bite down on."

Unwilling to argue, Ty'ani took a deep shaky breath while looking around, soon finding a solid looking stick near the firepit. She reached over and grabbed it with a grunt, instantly sticking it between her teeth and biting down. After that, she braced herself for what was to come.

Seeing that she was ready, Okan-Ru carefully untucked the girl's shirt from her leggings, slowly peeling it away from the wound and bunching it up under her bosom. Now with the wound exposed, he pushed her down fully onto her back and held her there, knowing that she would begin writhing soon. He then began to pour the liquid directly into her wound.

The second the substance splashed on her nerves, Ty'ani screamed, biting down hard on the stick between her teeth. She instinctively began wriggling, attempting to get away from what was causing the pain but Okan-Ru held her down securely. He paid no mind to her screams as he continued to pour the liquid into the wound, not letting up until it was all covered. He let her go after that, letting her writhe for a moment as he corked the bottle, placing it back into his pack.

The Argonian then prompted the Khajiit to sit up. "Calm yourself, the worst has passed now." he reassured her.

Grabbing the stick from her mouth, Ty'ani threw it away violently, panting heavily as Okan-Ru picked up the gauze of bandages and tore a strip off before cleaning the excess from her stomach- whilst cleaning away the blood at the same time. Throwing the soiled strip into the fire, he began to wrap the rest of the gauze securely around her stomach, safely covering the wound.

As he did so, Ty'ani glared at him with a still watery gaze. "What in Oblivion was that?" she yelled.

Okan-Ru grinned at her question, continuing with his task as he answered. "A little concoction that will keep your wound from becoming infected."

Ty'ani groaned at that, still feeling the burning liquid attacking her nerves. "Sure doesn't feel like it's helping. Its burning!"

"Then that means it is doing its job." Okan-Ru merely replied back with a smirk. Soon enough though, he finished wrapping the bandage and tied it off. "There, that is the most I can do for now but it will need to be sealed properly. So I would suggest finding a healer if you wish to not have another scar." he empathised that statement by glancing at the pink scar that rested below her right ribcage, the one that was left by Mercer Frey for what felt like a lifetime ago.

Ty'ani forced herself to it up straight, hissing as she did so. Once she was situated, Okan-Ru smiled again. "We feeling better now? It is unbecoming of such a beautiful face to be distorted by tears."

Ty'ani wiped away the tears still staining her face while fighting against her still quivering muscles. Forcing a blank expression, she let out a breath as she replied faintly. "I'm fine."

"Of course you are." the Argonian merely stated before straightening up, smile widening. "Tell me, dear lady, are you going to make a habit of the two of us meeting in a shower of blood? Should I be concerned?" the Khajiit didn't answer him, only giving him a glare as he let out a chuckle.

Sighing, the Khajiit dodged the question by asking her own. "Would you mind answering my questions now?"

"Of course." the Argonian agreed with a nod of his head.

Having the go ahead, Ty'ani began. "How did you find me?"

To this, the Argonian tapped the side of his nose as he answered cryptically. "Trade secret." clearly he had no intention of elaborating. Ty'ani didn't know why, but she felt a shiver run down her spine at that. All of a sudden, she really didn't want to know how he found her. It was then he continued. "Needless to say, I have been keeping an eye on you for the past few weeks now. I must say that I am impressed that you kept your guard up for so long, you clever girl. Paranoid, but clever."

Ty'ani blinked at this. "Wait. You mean to tell me you were watching me the entire time?"

"But of course." he responded honestly.

"But how?" Ty'ani inquired. "I never saw you, not even a glimpse."

Okan-Ru shook his head at that, giving her a look like she was an uneducated child. "I am an assassin and a vampire, Ty'ani, it is my job to hide in plain sight. I can remain unseen for an extended amount time if I so wish."

"That doesn't make me feel better." the Khajiit stated, frowning at the Argonian like he was insane.

"Well, if you did not want my help then maybe I should have let those bandits kill you." he responded none too kindly, though his expression was blank as he spoke.

That immediately silenced the Khajiit girl, knowing for a fact that if he wasn't watching over her, then she would have fallen to the bandits and she would currently be bleeding out on the snow outside. Or already rotting away. She hated to admit it, but she was grateful that he was there when she needed help. "I'm sorry." she apologised. "You're right; without your help I would be dead now, so... thank you."

"It was my pleasure." he replied with a gentle smile, but before long his expression turned serious. "But it seems that no matter what, trouble always seems to find you. Even with the help of your so called friends. To that end, perhaps I should accompany you from now on. I'm certain even you can see that an assassin could better protect you than a handful of rapscallions."

Ty'ani felt great offence to these words. How dare he belittle her friends like that. She would have made that clear to him if the true meaning of his words hadn't hit her. A vampire willing to travel along side her? Gods, she could barely think about what the others would make of this, they'd think that she'd lost her mind. Frankly, she wasn't even sure if she should be repulsed by the idea or relieved by it.

"You are a vampire," she began after a moment of silence. "How could I even begin to trust you? And besides, even if I did let you, what could I tell my companions? They will be suspicious of you."

"That I will leave up to you." he told her. "Tell them the truth or lie, I care not. As for you're first question; I cannot make you trust me. But remember this: if it were not for me, your corpse would currently be cooling in the snow, never to be found again and left as food for the wolves."

Those words stung at her, making her frown. Ty'ani hated to admit it, but he was right. Even still, she really hated having to make decisions like this, since there weren't many favourable things for either one of the choices he gave her. If she lies and the truth got out, she would lose her companion's trust all over again and they may try to kill Okan-Ru as a result. But if she tells the truth straight away, then her companions would think that she had lost her mind and then try to kill the Argonian anyway. Whatever decision she made would no doubt end up with somebody getting hurt, which was the last thing she wanted.

Sighing, the Khajiit glanced back up at the Argonian, regarding him with a pointed look. "Why though?" she blurted out. "Why would you go through so much trouble just to keep me safe? You don't even know me on a personal level, nor I you."

Okan-Ru's face remained blank, "I have my reasons." he replied to begin with. "All you must know, is that I once made a promise a very long time ago. One that I have every intention of keeping."

"What do you mean?" she asked, cocking a confused brow.

The Argonian assassin met her gaze again, giving her a smile. "As I said, it is for me alone to know. So if I was you, I wouldn't even attempt to pry."

Ty'ani sighed yet again, quickly figuring out that was all she was going to get out of him. She glanced down to her lap, idly watching her own fingers fiddle with the stitching on her leggings while Okan-Ru glanced out the exit. Seeing that the snow was letting up, he looked back at her. "I would suggest that we get moving back to Whiterun."

Tearing her gaze away from her lap, Ty'ani met Okan-Ru's eyes as he collected his pack and stood from the floor. Feeling apprehensive about what he suggested, the girl bit her lip. "Are you sure? Do you know your way back?"

"Of course I do." he replied, offering her a hand to help her to her feet, seeing her wince and hold her stomach in pain as he pulled her up and held her steady as she wobbled. "This is not the first time I have been to this part of the tundra. And if you're concerned about the distance, I would not worry about that either."

Once she was on her feet and the pain had passed, Ty'ani blinked at the Argonian as he snuffed the fire and climbed out of the crevice. "You have a horse?" she asked as she gathered her equipment before following him. She made sure to wrap herself thoroughly in her cloak as she exited the crevice.

"Of a sort." Okan-Ru informed her as he folded his hood back over his head. He then looked away from her, raising his right hand as it became encompassed with a purple aura. He charged it briefly before thrusting his hand out. Within half a second, a large swirling portal appeared before the two, making the air vibrate with magic. As Ty'ani watched, she saw something emerge through the apparition and when the magic dissolved, her jaw dropped when she saw what was in its place.

It was a tall, pure black horse. It appeared to be of a similar build as the horses back in Cyrodill, having being much thinner than it's Skyrim counterparts, but that meant it was much faster. The horse had a plain saddle and harness already strapped upon it, having no distinguishing markings or patterns on it to showcase affiliation or nobility. However, the one thing that drew Ty'ani's attention most of all was the horse's eyes. The orbs were a pair of glowing red eyes, set perfectly either side of the horse's snout and it seemed to be boring directly into Ty'ani's soul, even though the horse wasn't looking at her.

She took a step back as the horse trotted over to stand in front of Okan-Ru- the Khajiit noticing tiny clouds of black shadow forming with every step the horse took- bucking it's head as it whinnied softly. He in turn gently stroked the horse's ebony mane before turning to face Ty'ani. "Meet Shadowmere." he told her. "One of the ancient shadow horses of the Void. And she has been my friend for many generations."

The mare then just happened to glance over at Ty'ani, and the Khajiit swore she saw the horse tilt her head slightly, as though in curiosity. But surely that couldn't be, it was just her imagination, right?

Swallowing nervously, she glanced back at Okan-Ru. "You mean, she's not a real horse?"

The horse seemed to huff after she asked that, almost as if it didn't like what Ty'ani said. Okan-Ru however, merely smiled. "She is as real as you and I. It is just that she is slightly more special than your average horse. So, shall we?" he offered her his hand, obviously to help her get up on Shadowmere's back. Ty'ani sighed, allowing the Argonian to lift her into the saddle before he climbed up behind her. Shadowmere seemed to whinny in annoyance at this, as she stomped impatiently on the spot while Okan-Ru got situated.

"Now now, Shadowmere," he scolded the horse, patting her on the neck. "Be nice. You do not want to terrify the poor girl now, do you?"

Ty'ani frowned in confusion when he spoke to Shadowmere like that, as though the black horse were a person. But Shadowmere seemed to huff again before becoming still. For some reason that truly unnerved Ty'ani.

Soon enough, Okan-Ru lightly snapped the reigns, prompting Shadowmere into a trot in a seemingly random direction. Ty'ani leant back a little against the Argonian's chest, trusting that he knew where he was going as the horse soon sped up into a canter across the tundra.

However as they travelled, she couldn't help but allow her mind to wonder back to the fight. To when she sliced open the bandit. Seeing his flesh rip open, the blood cascading from the wound and pouring over her sword and over her own hands. Her body began shaking once again as she unconsciously rose a hand and stared at it. It was covered mostly in her own blood, but Ty'ani swore she could still see the bandit's, could still feel the warmth of it. Of it pulling at her skin and fur as it dried.

It forced her to remember the three scars across her nose, her mind filling with the memory of how they came to be. Of what she felt after receiving them and what she had done in return. It made her sick all over again, stomach roiling. She had to force herself to stem her gag reflex, in spite of the fact she had nothing more to vomit up, but it didn't stop the tears from blurring her vision. Nor could she stop them as they began to fall once again.

Behind her, Okan-Ru felt her tremors and heard her whimpering cries, even with her efforts to keep silent. He couldn't help but roll his eyes. What a poor innocent soul she is, thrust into such a cruel world. A bright little beacon burning softly in a dark abyss, holding out hope for a better future, only to have that hope snuffed out by a merciless reality. In the end though, this would ultimately be good for her. She had to learn to desensitise herself from such things if she ever hoped to survive. How she had managed thus far was beyond the Argonian.

Perhaps he was being harsh, but the real world is even worse he reminded himself. He learnt that lesson a very long time ago. So long in fact, that he can no longer remember a time where he was as innocent as Ty'ani. That man had died centuries ago, buried by the years of loneliness. By the blood of evil men and innocent civilians that forever stains his hands. A cruel, harsh world pushing him down, he only learnt to push back even harder and she had to learn that lesson also.

For now though he allowed her this moment. Allowed her to spill her tears and mourn for the last remaining flecks of innocence she had left.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoO

As time went on, Ty'ani was in a daze but she still began to recognise some landmarks as Okan-Ru guided Shadowmere along. She wasn't sure if they had found a road or not, since the snow blanketed the whole of the area in a seemingly even coat, but at least now she was reassured that they were heading in the right direction.

For the majority of the journey, neither she nor Okan-Ru said a word to each other, unless it pertained to the intended destination, or the Argonian spoke to Shadowmere. In all honestly though, Ty'ani was somewhat grateful for the silence. She wasn't sure if Okan-Ru had heard her crying before, but if he had he made no indication that he noticed. Or cared for that matter. She was glad he didn't try to comfort her or tell her everything would be okay, but she felt worse with the knowledge that he saw her at her weakest moment. The thought that someone she barely knew had that knowledge of her rubbed her the wrong way, but if Okan-Ru wasn't going to bring it up, then neither was she.

But as time went on, it became apparent that the silence was grating on her. Here she was, leant back against a man that she barely even knew, trusting him to lead her back to safety. Maybe her gratefulness to him for saving her life had outweighed her greater judgement, but she couldn't bring herself to push him away even if she had the capability. Sure, it was better to let a stranger that helped her lead her back to safety than to try her luck herself while injured with no clue of her location, she reassured herself.

But still, the silence was unnerving, never mind the knowledge of having such a dangerous person pressed so close. So to ease the tension within her, Ty'ani bit her lip as she inhaled deeply before breaking that fragile silence.

"Okan-Ru?"

Not at all surprised that she spoke up after so long, the Argonian assassin merely responded with a hum of acknowledgement. Now on the spot, Ty'ani scrambled to come up with a topic to talk about. "I, er..." she stumbled, before clearing her throat. "I... wanted to ask you something."

The Argonian gave a private smile at this. "Ask away." he prompted.

"I... I just erm..." Ty'ani paused for a moment as she scrambled to think of anything to ask, before her mind fell back to the deaths of the bandits before. Swallowing down the roll of nausea that hit her at the thought, she forced herself to continue. "Back there, when you killed those bandits, I never even saw you. How did you...?" it was there she paused, uncertain on how to word her question.

Though it seemed she didn't have to, as Okan-Ru understood completely what it was she was asking. "How did I move that fast?" he finished for her, glancing down at her briefly as she nodded hesitantly. "Well you see my dear, it is a trick vampires can master. Needless to say, I am moving perfectly normally, but your mortal perception is far too slow to perceive it."

Ty'ani blinked upon hearing this information. "I didn't know vampires could do that."

"But of course," he answered with a knowing smile. "There are many things mortals do not know about vampires. Such things we wish to keep to ourselves."

He wasn't obvious about it, but Ty'ani still heard the silent threat is his voice when he uttered that last sentence. It was clear he intended not to elaborate, but Ty'ani wasn't going to be intimidated into silence. "So what stories are true?" she asked, feigning bravery.

Amused by her effort, Okan-Ru's smile widened as he replied. "That entirely depends on what you have heard."

"I heard..." Ty'ani began with a stutter. "I've heard you can be turned into a vampire with just a scratch from one."

A cold shiver travelled down Ty'ani's spine when Okan-Ru let out a barking laugh, prompting her to turn her head to face the Argonian, ignoring the sting of her stomach wound as she did so. On his part, Okan-Ru merely shook his head. "Ah yes, that is indeed an amusing rumour. It certainly does well to instil fear into mortal hearts, does it not?"

Swallowing audibly, Ty'ani replied cautiously. "Is it true though?"

In reply, Okan-Ru caught her eyes, his own glinting as he gazed with fiery intensity. Even with her chest becoming ice and her body paralysing with a sudden wave of anxiety, she couldn't help but be entranced by those eyes as he leant closer to her face. The musky smell of his hide filled her nostrils, feeling the gentle brush of his breath across her face, finding it was just as chilly as the winter winds surrounding them. Her ears folded meekly against her skull as a hand reached up and gently caressed her jaw, prompting her head to tilt up higher and expose her neck. In that same moment, the spell was broken as she saw his eyes flash dangerously while sharp claws travelled the expanse of her throat.

Smirking at her look of realisation and gasp of terror, the Argonian whispered seductively. "Shall we find out?"

Hearing this, Ty'ani shrieked, throwing his hand away and jerking her body to get as far from him as possible. Unfortunately for her, this sent her flying off Shadowmere- of which the dark mare gave an annoyed whinny- as the Khajiit slammed hard onto the snowy ground. Ty'ani cried out again as the movement reopened the wound on her stomach, blood beginning to rapidly seep through the white bandage and spread.

Holding a hand to her abdomen as she struggled to her knees, she heard another booming laugh from the Argonian as the heavy footfall of his boots hitting the snow followed and stepped toward her. Forcing herself to face him, she held her other hand up as though to ward him away. "Don't come any closer!" she warned, which only amused the vampire further.

"Do calm yourself, my dear girl." He reassured her, continuing to step closer to her before pushing her hand away with little effort and kneeling. "Really now, why ever would I go through so much effort to save your life only to kill you now? Now hold still or you will bleed out further."

Having little choice, Ty'ani let him unravel the bandage around her stomach, suddenly feeling both so stupid for letting her fear get the better of her, and irritated that he found amusement in scaring her like that.

As he began to stem the bleeding, Okan-Ru caught her eyes again, giving her another smile. "Quite unfair, is it not?" He paused then, only upon seeing her confusion did he bother to elaborate. "So many questions you aimed my way, and yet not once did you allow me the same courtesy."

Understanding dawning on her, Ty'ani frowned as she glanced away. "What do you want to know?" she muttered with annoyance.

Gazing into her sapphire orbs, he asked with no hesitation. "Would you care to tell me where exactly you learned to Shout?"

The Khajiit girl blinked at the Argonian man, a little put out that he asked that question totally out of the blue. But still, her surprise soon turned to a scowl before breaking eye contact with him and responding pettily, echoing the words he used against her not too long ago. "That is for me alone to know."

He let out a low chuckle, returning his focus to his task. "Of course." he replied with clear amusement.

Before she had the chance to speak again, it was at that moment that a new noise echoed through the air. Ty'ani's ears perked up instantly, recognising the sound as a bark. Hope began to fill her as she glanced in the direction of the sound, mentally praying that it was what she thought it was. From through the fog, Ty'ani spotted the form of a small dog running directly toward them. As it came closer though, it soon became apparent that this was no ordinary dog.

Joy spread through Ty'ani's mind as she recognised the white furred form of her dire wolf.

"Ar'jenn!" she called out just as her young dire wolf reached them, stopping a few feet away due to the stranger that knelt over her master. The dire wolf began to bark, hopping back and forth, clearly on edge about Okan-Ru but completely unwilling to come closer.

"Hey, over here!" came another voice, which prompted Ty'ani to glance up and to her surprise, spotted several figures on horses rushing toward them. Her eyes widened when the forms were revealed to be her companions. Once they were close enough, the look of relief crossed each of their faces,. Though upon spotting the Argonian kneeling over her, they immediately were on guard. Instantly, Lydia was off her horse and had her sword drawn in a heartbeat, pointing it directly to the hooded Argonian.

"Step back from her immediately!" she commanded.

Ty'ani lifted a hand to pacify her Housecarl while keeping the other on her abdomen a she struggled to sit up. "No! No, Lydia, it's alright. He's a friend."

Lydia furrowed her brows at this, as though she found it hard to believe as the others dismounted their horses. Approaching the two of them, Haema glanced between them. "A friend?" she questioned warily.

"Yes." Ty'ani replied, allowing Okan-Ru to help her sit upright. "He saved my life."

Letting out a huff, Okan-Ru glanced down to her with mock indignation. "Quite the welcoming commitee you have here. Not even gracing me with thanks, how disrespectful."

Upon hearing his voice, Altwen's jaw dropped before she began laughing. "Holy son of a fuckin' Daedra! Okan-Ru? Tell me that's you!"

On his part, Okan-Ru also let out a laugh as he assisted Ty'ani to her feet. "Well, whoever were you expecting?" he exclaimed as he pulled his hood back, allowing them to see his face. "Tiber Septim himself?"

Altwen laughter doubled at this. "By the almighty Divines, it is you!" it was only after her laughter died down did she notice the growling coming from Ar'jenn, looking down to see the dire wolf with her teeth bared and posture low, glaring up at the Argonian intently. Smiling back up at him, she exclaimed cheerily. "Though I see you have yet to make dogs like you."

Before Okan-Ru could reply, Alasse beat him to it. "I take it the two of you know each other?"

Glancing at the Altmer woman, Altwen nodded. "Oh sure. He and I go way back." she empathised this by waving her hand in an extravagant arch, as though the action alone could tell them of the time period.

Despite his amusement, Okan-Ru could still smell the blood that continued to ooze from Ty'ani's freshly opened wound, never mind hearing her groan of pain as he called attention. "As much as I would love to continue this introduction, I believe we have more pressing matters to attend to." he exclaimed, hinting to the Khajiit he was holding up.

At his prompting, the entourage finally noticed the blood staining the Khajiit's abdomen. With zero hesitation, Alasses stepped forward with a golden glow in her hands. Within seconds, the wound was completely healed, much to the great relief of Ty'ani as she took a wobbly step away from Okan-Ru's side. Once she was stable, it was only then that Haema stepped to her side. "What happened Ty'ani?" she demanded.

"I was attacked by bandits." Ty'ani answered, lowering her head in shame. "I couldn't fight them off. If it wasn't for Okan-Ru showing up when he did, I don't think I would have made it."

Turning a suspicious eye to the Argonian, Haema crossed her arms. "And how did you find her?"

"Is that what truly matters?" he shot back. "Or the fact she is still alive?"

"What I wanna know," Altwen interrupted, pointing a thumb to the Argonian. "Is how you know Feathers here, Kitten?"

To this, Ty'ani bit her lip anxiously. Judging from the friendly excahnge that Altwen and Okan-Ru shared previously, it was obvious that they were old friends, which meant it was safe to assume that the half-elf knew about the assassin's vampirism. The others however, she wasn't even sure what to say to them. She had been debating about what to say since she and Okan-Ru left the crevice, but she still had no idea. But now that she was put on the spot, she decided to say the first thing that came to mind and deal with the consequences later.

"I met him months ago," she told them. "A little while before I met all of you. He helped me out of a bad situation-"

"Of which you often get yourself into." Okan-Ru added, playing to her lie instantly. Truthfully, Ty'ani felt bad for lying, but at least it was hidden behind some semblances of truth. "I swear, me saving your hide is becoming habit now, isn't it my dear?"

"As interesting as this may be, what I want to know about is your motive, Argonian. What are you looking to gain?" Lydia demanded, scowling suspiciously at Okan-Ru.

On his part, Okan-Ru didn't seem the least bit interested in Lydia's threats, merely hooking a thumb casually on his belt. "Now why ever would you think that? Is a man no longer permitted to play the dashing hero to rescue the damsel in distress?"

"I am hardly a damsel." Ty'ani snapped at him, irritation evident in her expression.

"Nor are you hardly a warrior." Okan-Ru countered. "How you managed to survive this long is beyond me."

"Hey, come on Feathers, she's capable enough." Altwen defended, in an attempt to rally the situation before it would get out of hand. Of which it will very soon, if the expression on the Nord's faces were anything to go by.

"Is she now?" Okan-Ru began, turning fully to the half-elf. "Altwen my dear, allow me to ask. Has Ty'ani fought and won in battles on her own, or did she have the help of these rapscallions?"

"Rapscallions?!" Alasses echoed with annoyance. She was truly beginning to dislike this Argonian.

"That isn't fair!" Ty'ani scolded.

"It is perfectly fair, and you know it." Okan-Ru countered. "Be honest with yourself; if you cannot handle mere bandits on your own, then how could you possibly hope to fight a dragon at all? Dragonborn."

That silenced the Khajiit instantly. Usually she would question how it is that he knew that she was Dragonborn, but at this point she realised it would just be a waste of breath. Okan-Ru had already proven that he is a conniving and intelligent man, so it should have come to no surprise that he already knew about her status. Haema and Lydia on the other hand were not about to let such things go.

"How dare you!" Haema bellowed, a deep scowl on her face. "Who are you to come here and say such-"

"Who I am," he interrupted, his own voice raised. "And what I say is of little consequence compared to how little action you take to prepare dear little Ty'ani. I have seen your mediocre methods of training her and you are all soft. Giving her kind words and gestures. That is why I am coming along."

"What," Lydia snapped. "You think you can just waltz on in here and assume that you would be-"

"The decision has already been made." Okan-Ru once again interrupted. At that, without another glance to the entourage of women, he returned back to Shadowmere's side. "Now, I am not sure if any of you have noticed, but the storm will be picking up again soon, so I believe it prudent that we return to Whiterun. Do you not agree?" without another word, the Argonian swiftly mounted the dark horse. Having no more room to argue, the women followed suite after a moment of simply glaring at the Argonian. Altwen assisted Ty'ani onto the back of Acorn. As the group got underway, the half-elf guided her horse to trot beside Shadowmere, giving the Argonian upon the mare's back a sidewards glance.

"You really haven't changed a bit, you know that?" she told him. Okan-Ru merely gave her a half smirk.

"Part of my charm." he replied. "Though I find it curious why it is you travel with such suspicious company, my dear."

"You get used to it after a while." Altwen merely shrugged. "I do consider them good acquaintances after all."

Okan-Ru smirked at her then, pointing a finger in her direction. "Not like you to keep pets, darling."

Ty'ani- who had been making sure Ar'jenn was following closely behind- glanced between the bodies around her. She wasn't sure if Okan-Ru joining the group would turn out well or not, but one thing was for certain; things were about to take a dramatic turn. Whether it was for the worst or not, only the coming weeks could tell.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoO

If your all confused as to where the battle with the dragon takes place, anyone who's played Skyrim probably knows about that old abandoned house not that far from the Western Watchtower, right? The one where you find a chest under the floorboards? Well, I thought to give it a proper back story rather than just have it as a husk sitting on the side of the road like it is in the game. So there you go, that right there is how the house got destroyed.

Oh, and hey, looks like Okan-Ru is actually going to be sticking around this time! Bloody slippery assassin always running off when the plot begins to thicken. At least now I've got a tight reign on him, so he's not going anywhere for a while, lol.

And also, to answer Warden of Lore's review: If I kill off Altwen, then who will you get mad at? You need someone to mentally slap around, don't ya? Haha

Edit: Quite a few things had been changed due to recent ideas that have cropped up.