"I was going to tell you, you know. I just couldn't find the right time."

"No need to explain," Teldryn replied calmly. "I was. . . taken aback, I suppose."

"I know. And I'm sorry for Shouting at you." Terah glanced at him, holding back a smile. "You handled it well, though. Most men probably would've soiled their armor."

He chuckled, "It would take a lot for me to get to that point." His face turned serious. "But I'll be honest with you. It was terrifying."

"Of course it was," she said reassuringly. Men were always too embarrassed to admit how terrifying the Voice could actually be. "Imagine Alduin's Thu'um."

"Thu'um?"

"Yes. It means Voice. It's the special kind of magic that uses Words from the dragon language in the form of a Shout. It's typically inherent in Nords, but it comes to me naturally, of course." A wave of melancholy flowed over her. "All of that you said about seeing Mer in me. . . it's nonsense. What you actually see is dragon, but it was a nice compliment while it lasted."

He rose a brow, "I don't think any less of you now, if that's what you're getting at. I just always pictured the dragonborn to be a big, bold, manly Nord woman who was too prideful and drank a lot of mead. Not some doe-eyed little sweetheart."

She shot him with a glare, "What's that supposed to mean?"

He chuckled. "You are far too kind for a Nord."

"You're far too accepting for a Dunmer."

"Eh," he shrugged. "In my line of work, I have to be. I really don't have a problem with Nords, Bretons, or any other race for that matter. I have a problem with arrogance and stupidity. There's a difference."

"Wow, Teldryn," she grinned. "I'm beginning to respect you more and more every day."

With a sideways glance, he gave her a smirk, "And I, you."

Silence followed as they sat contently and listened to the wind in the trees. The night had crept up on them, and Terah started to feel how fatigued she was. She was still a little weak, so her Shout winded her more than she thought it would. She let out a big yawn and stretched her muscles, and Teldryn couldn't help but notice how much it made her look like an innocent little girl again. The memory of her bloody, oozing face in the temple flashed back into his mind, forcing him to hold back a shudder. Dragonborn or not, how this little thing survived through all of that still astonished him. There's certainly much more to her than meets the eye.

So many stories, and so many questions. The last thing he wanted to do was bombard her with all of the questions that plagued his mind, but it was becoming more and more difficult to keep quiet.

"So," he spoke, breaking the silence. "What exactly does it mean to be 'dragonborn'? Don't tell me you actually came out of a dragon's -"

"No!" she exclaimed with laughter, making Teldryn laugh as well. "I'm not literally born from a dragon! It just means that I have the blood and soul of a dragon, and the body of a mortal." He gave her a peculiar look. "It's a blessing from Akatosh, supposedly."

He replied with a nod, "That makes sense. And that explains why you're wearing this." He tugged at the small chain around her neck, pulling out an amulet of Akatosh that had been tucked under her armor. He ran over the amulet with his fingers, tracing the designs. He noticed her wearing it that morning when he left her company to allow her to sleep, but didn't think much of it at the moment.

She took the amulet from his hand, mimicking his motions as she let her fingers trail over it. "The divine who has blessed me the most," she said fondly, before shrugging, "At least that's what I believe." The amulet disappeared back underneath her armor.

"Soul of a dragon," Teldryn said, more to himself. "Interesting."

She smiled. "Bizzarre, I know. Makes me wonder. . ."

"Wonder what?"

"Where I'll go when I die."

They both sat there for a moment as they pondered the idea. Terah recalled her past; she had spent some time as a werewolf, and as a vampire, but she was cured now and not once had she sworn herself to serve any Daedra. She fell in love with Sovngarde during the short time she was there, and deeply hoped that it would be the place where she'd spend her afterlife.

"If you have the soul of a dragon, you'll probably go wherever dragons go." He glanced at Terah, holding back a chuckle, "I almost pity you."

Letting out a laugh, she replied, "I could be a dragon in the afterlife. That would be something."

He shrugged, "I suppose it's up to Akatosh."

"I suppose it is."

From the yearning tone in her voice, Teldryn could tell that she cared much about where she was going. "Where would you like to go?"

Looking him dead in the eye, she answered, "Sovngarde."

Perhaps the stories he heard about her were true, then. He was simply dying to ask. He had to hear it from the dragonborn herself. "Is it true?"

"Hm?"

He turned towards her a little more, furrowing his brows in thought. His curiosity was becoming more evident, much to Terah's amusement. "Did you really go to. . .Sovngarde?"

A smile formed on her face. With a nod, she confirmed, "I did."

"That's really where Nords go when they die?"

"If they are worthy, yes."

"And you really defeated Alduin there?"

Recalling the words that a certain special dragon had said to her, she answered, "Viik nuz ni kron."

The look on his face was one of the most comical expressions she had ever seen. "What?"

She burst into laughter. The dragon language had become so natural to her that sometimes she wouldn't even realize that she spoke it. "Defeated, but not conquered," she clarified.

Still with a puzzled look, he asked, "What do you mean?"

She formed another smile. "When I slay a dragon, I absorb its soul. You are aware of this, yes?"

"Was I born yesterday?"

"Oh hush, you," she said with a light slap on his arm. She smiled as she continued, "Well, when I had finally slain Alduin, I never actually absorbed his soul. He just sort of exploded," she waved her hands in the air to demonstrate an explosion. "I'm not really complaining, though. I don't think I'd want to absorb a soul so. . . awful."

Teldryn let her words sink in before he replied. "Is he still out there, then?"

She merely shrugged. "He's gone, for the moment, but I don't think he'll ever truly be gone. I may not have actually stopped the World-Eater. I may have only delayed him, as others have before me."

"Others?"

"A story for another time, Teldryn," she said as she rose to her feet. "Let's get some rest. We're going to need it."

In that brief moment, Teldryn could've thought she was middle-aged. She looked strong and seasoned, like she had endured and accomplished more than any Man or Mer could ever dream of.

With a smirk, he stood on his own feet and walked with her back to the Greathall. He was certainly looking forward to their travels together.

Teldryn woke up the next morning to the sound of chattering women. Sleep had evaded him that night; he was too busy thinking about the dragonborn and everything she had told him, and spent half of the night trying to wrap his head around the entire situation. Each question he had only multiplied into more questions, and it was maddening. Pushing his thoughts aside, he dragged himself out of his bed roll and joined Terah and Frea eating near the fire pit.

Terah was already dressed in her dragonscale armor, and Frea in armor of her own. A pair of bright blue eyes met his. They scanned down his body and back up again, taking in his appearance. He was in his underclothes, which was still an odd sight for Terah. Teldryn just wasn't Teldryn without his chitin armor. "Mornin'," she greeted enthusiastically before shoveling another bite of Azura-knows-what in her mouth.

As he ran a hand through his mohawk, he didn't bother greeting her back, "You must be pretty excited to leave if you're up this early." Food was calling his name, so he scooped up some of whatever was in the pot and sat at the table with them.

Terah swallowed. "Well, I'm feeling loads better, so why shouldn't I be? Besides, the dragonborn is always excited to slay a dragon."

A spoonful of food had almost entered his mouth, but stopped as he shot her a look, "You think we're going to run into a dragon?"

"I don't think. I know." She pulled out her map and laid it on the table for Teldryn to see. "This is where we're going," she said, pointing to the Saering's Watch on the map. "I need to learn a Word there, but a dragon will be guarding it."

"Now I see why you didn't want me to go in the first place," he said before taking his bite. Almost immediately upon contact with his tounge, he made a bitter face. Horker. He absolutely hated horker. After swallowing, he asked, "Are you sure, though? For as long as I've been here I've never seen a dragon on this island."

Terah didn't bother swallowing her food yet as she replied, pointing her spoon at Teldryn, "I'll be willing to bet you one of my houses that there will be a dragon. Mark my words."

"One of your houses?" he asked with a chuckle. "How many houses do you have?"

She smirked at him. "Don't worry about it."

Since both she and Frea were finished with their Horker slop, they left Teldryn to force the rest of his food down. Frea was quiet for most of the morning, mostly due to the fact that she was beyond exhausted from being up all night working on their damned barrier. Nevertheless, she assisted Terah with gathering potions and supplies for their trip before escorting her outside.

Teldryn had shoveled the last of his horker down and snatched up his armor. After dressing himself and hiding his face under his helmet once again, he pulled the doors of the Greathall open to join the dragonborn waiting outside.

In her hands was a beautiful white Elven bow, and the arrows strapped to her back seemed to glow with natural beauty. "What is that?" he asked.

She turned to him and beamed. "This," she said while hugging the bow and caressing it fondly, "Is my baby. Don't you hate on him."

"Um," he said, sounding almost annoyed. "I am not. . . hating. I mean, where did it come from?"

"Don't worry about it," she said once again with a wink. "Now, let's get going. We have a busy day ahead of us."

He just rolled his eyes under his helmet.

Surely enough, Terah had been right. In the distance, they could make out a big, scaly dragon who was wreaking havoc upon some old ruins.

"Ha!" she exclaimed, pointing her finger at the dragon. "Teldryn, I think you owe me a house."

"I never agreed to that bet," he corrected. "I don't even own a house."

The pair krept further towards the dragon and settled to hide behind a stony wall. A faint Shout could be heard, and Terah knew exactly what it was. The dragon was not alone.

"You hear that? Draugr." she said, peering around the wall.

A raspy voice sounded behind her. "You think we should just let them battle it out?"

"Nah," she shook her head. "The dragon already demolished quite a few, from the looks of it. Wait a minute," she said, squinting her eyes to get a good look at the dragon. "Odd. That's the weirdest looking dragon I've ever seen."

"Dragons don't normally look like that?"

"No. It looks like a dragon spent a drunken night with an Orc and gave birth to this." She turned her head to Teldryn and could almost feel him glaring at her. "What? Look at that underbite."

"Can we get going already?"

"Oh, sure. Sorry," she said, waving a hand dismissively. "This is your first time battling a dragon, correct?"

"Correct. But I look forward to the challenge," he said with what sounded like a hint of bloodlust in the tone of his voice.

His fearlessness and ferocity excited her, and provoked her to grin at him, "I appreciate the enthusiasm. But I do need to go over some things with you." Her tone turned serious, "Avoid the head; he'll snatch you up and toss you like a rag doll. And stay away from the tail or it'll whip your ass to Oblivion. Attack his wings and sides, and if you can get a clear shot, get him in his neck. He's a frost breather, so use fire. I'll distract him and the Draugr the best I can so you don't become breakfast. And Teldryn," she paused, placing her hands on his shoulders. "I'd be extremely upset if you got yourself killed, so please, don't. And most importantly, trust me."

He responded with a curt nod. He had only known this woman for what, five or six days? That didn't matter. What mattered was that he genuinely trusted her. Teldryn did not give out his trust and respect easily, so for her to have earned it so quickly was new to him. Perhaps it was something in her eyes, but he wasn't sure. Somehow he could see so much good in her, so much strength in her sense of duty. There were many high expectations of the dragonborn, and in that moment, he believed that she was certainly living up to them.

She let go of his shoulders and grabbed the beautiful bow on her back. "Are you ready?"

"Ready."

"Alright. Let's do this."

Without warning, she bolted straight for the dragon like a crazed maniac. The ugly dragon rose into the air with a swoosh of his wings while letting out a roar that could probably be heard from anywhere on the island.

"What- Terah!" he yelled before running after her.

She had stopped beneath the dragon, and he could see her hands ball up into fists ash she puffed up her chest and Shouted, "Joor Zah Frul!"

Her Breath was of pure blue light this time. It reached out to the dragon and ensnared it with a sound like crashing boulders. The dragon shrieked at the foreign feeling as it was being forcefully pulled down to land.

Teldryn felt her Thu'um in his bones once again, but this time was far more exhilarating. It only made his heart pump faster and his adrenaline rush increase.

The reptile landed gracelessly, only to have Terah immediately knock an arrow straight into his neck. The arrow burst into a bright golden light that seemed to burn the dragon like fire. Teldryn rushed in and attacked, slashing his wings and engulfing the dragon in relentless flames as much as he could. Terah was doing well to distract the beast, so he took a chance and ran his sword into the dragon's neck. Either the dragon was really that tough, or his blade desperately needed sharpening; it had penetrated through not even a foot of his neck, which only seemed to piss him off. The blue light that surrounded him disappeared, and he turned his scaly head toward Teldryn as he prepared to exhale a gust of frosty Breath.

"Joor Zah Frul!"

Terah's Shout had ensnared him once again, saving Teldryn from being nearly frozen to death. The dragon snapped his head towards Terah and let out a blood-curdling roar, but was silenced as a blade was thrust into his eye, penetrating deep into his brain. Terah withdrew her blade and he crashed down to the snowy ground, motionless.

The dragonborn tiredly walked towards Teldryn, a grin creeping on her face. "Good work. I'm impressed."

"Same to you," he acknowledged. A ball of restoring light formed in her hands, and she let it wash over her body. Teldryn spotted some nasty frost wounds and a couple of cuts from the Draugr she had somehow managed to eliminate, but they quickly disappeared under the golden light. He felt somewhat guilty for letting her get hurt while she kept him unscathed, but he reassured himself that she was indeed gifted and skilled, and could handle herself.

The dragon began to spontaneously combust as his skin burned away into a white-gold light. Teldryn watched as it left nothing but bone behind. He turned his head towards Terah, only to find a puzzled look on her face. He mirrored that look as they both followed the trail of light, and saw what the light was moving towards. Who the light was moving towards.

"It takes a strong will to command a Dragon's soul," said the all too familiar immortal voice. "Perhaps you aren't as powerful as you think."

Terah's face grew redhot as she seared with anger. Miraak had completely devoured the soul. Her soul. She lunged forward to strike him, but his ethereal form was intangible.

He only chuckled at her pathetic attempt. "I am not on this plane, Dragonborn. And I grow ever stronger."

She growled at him through gritted teeth, "That is my soul you son of a bitch."

"That is where you are wrong. This dragon's soul belongs to me. Thank you for help. We will meet again soon."

He left the last dragonborn standing there, chest heaving with raw fury.

"That was him, wasn't it?" said the much more appealing raspy voice behind her.

She nodded sharply to confirm that it was indeed Miraak, her newfound greatest enemy. Terah didn't know whether scream or cry, so she did what she knew how to do best. She Shouted into the sky.

"ARGH!" Her Thu'um had no magical affect; it was just a way to let out the anger boiling up inside of her. It had greatly startled Teldryn, for he had not seen it coming, but he remained silent. He patiently waited as he watched Terah take deep, deliberate breaths to try to calm herself down.

Finally, he poorly tried to lighten the mood. "Remind me not to piss you off."

"Teldryn," she snapped venomously, "Don't you start. You have no idea how infuriating this is." She was shaking out of anger, frustration, despair, who knew?

"Terah, calm down-"

"No, dont start! You don't understand how awful this feels. This was my kill! Our kill! Killing a dragon without taking its soul is like," she paused, trying to find something to compare it to, "Like sex without the orgasm! Not that I would know," she corrected. Terah heaved a sigh. "I just really don't know how to get you to understand, Teldryn. It was my soul!"

"Wait a minute," he started, a smirk growing behind his helmet. "You've never. . ?"

He was trying her patience. Despite everything, she could feel a blush creep up onto her cheeks. "Look, I never really had the occasion! I came to Skyrim when I was eighteen years old and was arrested the moment I crossed the border. Then I went on to discover that I'm dragonborn, and have had the weight of the world on my shoulders ever since. So no, I have never. I've been a little busy, okay?"

He raised his arms up in defense, and said calmly, "Okay." He was glad she couldn't see his smirk.

She sighed. "Let me just learn this damn Word so we can go."

In awkward silence, they hiked up the stony stairs and met the Word Wall. Teldryn witnessed the same thing he saw in that damned Temple, which clarified what that had really been. He was tempted to say something but thought better of it, so he chose to stay quiet.

"Bend Will," she said confusedly before turning to Teldryn. "This Word. Gol. Earth. It allows me to bend the will of nature."

"I suppose that makes sense, if you're going to be using it against the Stones."

"Alright then," she said as she regained her confident composure, determined to tackle the task ahead of her. "Let's free some people, shall we?"

A virgin? :o There aren't very many virgin dragonborns, are there? lol

Aaaaaand next chapter we will eventually arrive at Tel Mithryn, and Terah will reunite with an old friend. ;)