Hey y'all, long time no update, which is a shame because this has kinda just been sitting in my drafts waiting to be uploaded. I've been doing that thing where I attempt to rewrite the entire story and then proceed to get nowhere with it in a vicious cycle, so I've decided to just keep going with this one. It's a bit short but hopefully it sates your appetite for now. Keep in mind it's been a while and my writing has once again changed, so if you notice a weird change of tense part-way through and from now on, that's why. Also, I'm doing okay! Haven't updated since before Covid, but I'm fully vaccinated! Hope you are all well!

The scent of meat roasting over a fire filled my senses as my eyes fluttered open, the crackle of a nearby flame apparent. I jolted awake with the realization that my companion was no longer beside me, nor holding my hand. Surely he wouldn't stray too far from me, not after this morning. I peered through the furs he had hung up as cover from the outside world, finding Malukh sat on the ground in front of a campfire with his back facing me. I sighed in relief at the sight of him, my fear washing away for a moment.

Today was the final day of the trip to Whiterun. After our talk two days ago, not a word was said about him staying by my side. Did he truly intend to leave? Tch, of course he is. Why would he stay with some useless chick he doesn't know? What could I do or say to possibly convince him to stay? My brow furrowed as I crawled forward, brushing aside the brown furs to pass into the warm summer air and approach Malukh.

"..What time is it?" I croaked while getting to my feet. Malukh jumped at my voice, grumbling as I came to stand beside him. He held two sticks in each hand, both stuck with rabbit meat as he ate from the right one.

"Early afternoon or so." he said with his mouth full, nodding up towards the sky. "The sun tells you all you need to know."

I snorted. "Yeah, but why ask the sun when I can ask you?" I plopped myself down beside him and he handed over the other stick to me.

"You will not have me to rely on for much longer." Malukh replied. He took an aggressive bite from his rabbit before giving me a pointed look. "You must learn, if you wish to survive here."

Suddenly the air was tense between us as he just confirmed he was intent on parting ways. My only companion since my arrival was keen on leaving me in the dust and it kind of.. Hurt. Sure, we're not like.. Best friends or anything but.. Hadn't we bonded even a little bit? He must know that if he leaves, I'm doomed. I did not eat despite my hunger, expression dropping as I just twisted the stick in my hands absently.

"Where do you plan to go?" I asked in a terse whisper while avoiding his eyes, unable to hide my disappointment.

Malukh's brow furrowed, picking up on my upset vibes. "I .. do not know. I hear Cyrodiil has not fared well since the Great War. Perhaps I will simply travel to another hold here in Skyrim. Strangely a bounty does not transfer from one hold to another."

".. Is there any chance I could come with you?" I asked, my voice lacking any confidence. I already knew the answer.

"You do not know what you are asking." he replied tightly. "It is not safe. The path I walk is not meant for someone lacking proper training. I cannot always be there to protect you. Surely you have realized that after.. after last night."

"But you did protect me and I think I handled myself well considering-"

"No!" he snapped suddenly, the finality of his tone immediately silencing me. His brow furrowed as he stared holes into the dirt beneath our feet.

The tension in the air was thick after his outburst. All the words in my mind vanished, as did my courage. It was difficult enough to speak as it was. Malukh sighed, taking one last bite from his rabbit before tossing the stick to the fire. He then brought a hand to his eyes and ran it down his face wearily.

"What happened was merely a stroke of luck, girl." he grumbled under his breath. "Surely some divine intervention must've been involved for us to survive when all of the odds were against us."

"All the more reason to keep me alongside you, isn't it? Maybe I have good luck or something. Therefore, you have good luck by association. It's a win-win." I winked at the moody orc, doing my best to lighten the mood. This heavy atmosphere would not do.

Malukh snorted at this, but his eyes found mine all the same. "I .. enjoy your company, Sara. And that is why we must part ways." His cryptic words caused my brows to furrow. What!? This man made no sense.

"Huh?" I cried. "What does that even mean?"

"That's enough. We should get moving. Pack up." He ordered curtly, immediately standing from the log to move about the camp and begin preparations.

Speechless at his blatant dismissal and strange words, my fighting spirit all but withered away. I could always hire a bodyguard with the reward to replace him… but I didn't want just any old hireling. I wanted Malukh. It felt weird to admit to myself, but I knew that I was safest at his side and well, I liked the guy. From what I'd seen so far, his know-how and skill would surely come in handy down the road and frankly, the dude was insanely strong. Not only strong but intelligent as well. It didn't help that I was growing fond of him...

I quickly began chomping down what I could of the rabbit, not wanting to appear ungrateful.. but it was his fault if I didn't finish since he was rushing me. I then began packing up my things without a word. I'd expressed that I wanted him to stay numerous times. If he didn't want to come, I couldn't make him. Malukh helped as well and soon enough everything was packed and the fire was snuffed out. Honestly, I was still ravenously hungry, as we'd hardly been eating since yesterday. I knew there were no more rations since we finished them off last night. I would just have to wait until we arrived in Whiterun.

We headed back onto the dirt trail and found ourselves traversing a winding path for the next several hours. Malukh grew more and more tense the closer we got to Whiterun, repeatedly clenching and unclenching his jaw. I studied him out of the corner of my eye, not wanting to draw his attention right now. My curiosity over what he was wanted for was growing substantially the more we spent time together and honestly.. I was scared to find out. I didn't want my image of him to be soiled, not after we'd become friends. Not after he'd helped me so many times.

Eventually, as the sun was beginning its descent, we crested a hill- my eyes widened in awe. There it is. I could see the massive hold of Whiterun and it's walls in the distance, plumes of smoke rising into the sky from the fires lit in different locations about the city. The large castle, Dragonsreach, loomed above the rest of Whiterun. It was an awe inspiring sight. I could even see the roaming torchlight of the guards as they made their patrols around the perimeter.

I glanced at Malukh, who continued down the path wordlessly, unaware of my awe. He was clearly very uncomfortable by this entire situation. I actually felt.. pretty bad about having him tag along knowing he's in trouble with the law. Then again, he did agree for a reason other than money, though he never did tell me what. I watched his retreating back for a moment before I jogged to catch up with him, side-by-side.

"Looks like the dragon decided to skip out on this one." I piped up, the first words I'd spoken since early this afternoon. He just grunted, to my disappointment. I pressed on. "Obviously you aren't coming into town with me. Where are you planning to stay? It's getting a bit late for an audience with the Jarl and I might not make it in time."

He grumbled, more agitated this time. "On the outskirts where the guards don't patrol. If you don't return by nightfall, I will camp out here. I will wait until tomorrow afternoon for your end of the bargain. Speaking of.." he cleared his throat. "We must part soon. We are getting close to the guards now. They patrol the road just up to the bridge and no farther." he pointed towards the bridge down the hill, beside the river. "I will wait near here for you to return."

I nodded nervously. I was just praying that the reward was good enough to pay him off and have a bit for myself when he eventually ditches me. We finally found ourselves approaching the bridge he'd been speaking of, the river water rushing noisily beside us as he grabbed my upper arm suddenly. I looked up at him in surprise.

"This is as far as I go." he said gruffly, looking forward, his eyes scanning the road. "Head straight to Dragonsreach and.. be careful. Remember to keep your wits about you."

I couldn't help the small smile that tugged at the corners of my mouth. He was quite the mother hen, wasn't he? His face was definitely a bit paranoid but there was something else there too.. uncertainty? I wasn't too sure. He began to pull away, but I hesitantly took one of his big mitts in both of my hands.

"I will be back soon. I swear." I said seriously, squeezing his hand. "You better not disappear on me."

He snorted. "I could say the same." Malukh, to my surprise, gently returned my grip before pulling his hands away and giving me a shove. "Now go."

I squeaked and gave him one last look, suddenly uncertain. Up to this point, I'd never been alone in Skyrim. Now, I had to go and speak with royalty on my own in a city I never expected to be real. I was a bit.. okay, no, I was very terrified.

I forced myself to walk away from the only person I really knew, closing the distance between myself and the bridge. I wanted so badly to glance back, to make sure he hadn't just been a figment of my imagination, but with godlike willpower I managed to keep my eyes forward.

I crossed the bridge and followed along the dirt path towards Whiterun when, lo and behold, a city guard came strolling my way with a torch in hand. I felt my heart begin to race as if I was the wanted one here. He was wearing the usual yellow armor of their hold and bore the shield with the horse sigil enblazened on it in his other hand, approaching at a slow pace. I couldn't tell if he was looking at me with that helmet on, but I sure hoped nobody paid me any mind.

His head swiveled to look at me and I shriveled up at the sudden attention, gripping at the straps of my pack nervously.

"Evening, soldier." he said with a dip of his head.

Soldier? I glanced down at my armor briefly in confusion before it clicked. The armor of an Imperial captain. I knew I should've changed out of this shit back in Riverwood.

"E..Evening." I replied quickly and sped myself up.

Thankfully, he didn't say anything else as I hastily made my way towards the town, nervously glancing behind myself every so often. Malukh was gone and for some reason the sight made my gut twist painfully. A Khajiit caravan was off to the side of the stables and I couldn't help the way I stared while they went about their business.

Seeing walking, talking cat people was.. an experience. One of them caught me with my jaw dropped and I didn't look towards them again out of embarrassment. I crossed the drawbridge and found myself approaching the main gate, where two guards stood watch on adjacent sides. I knew they would likely refuse my entry as they did in the game and decided to practice my speech in my head as I came to a slow in front of them.

I have news about the dragons from Riverwood, I have news about the dragons from Riverwood, I have news about the drag—

"Halt!" One guard barked as he moved to block the gate, raising a palm to me. "City's closed with dragons about. Official business only."

I recoiled, looking between the two. I gulped and took a breath. You can do this.

"I have news fr-rom Riverwood.. about the dragons. For the Jarl." I silently cursed my traitorous tongue for messing up on me, keenly aware of my mistakes. "It's uh.. urgent."

Immediately, the guard dropped his hand and moved to the side. He wasn't wearing a helmet so I could clearly see the distrust on his face as he looked me up and down.

"Better get moving then, soldier." he said while opening the gate.

And move I did. I hustled past them into the city and tried not to look awed. Now this was a medieval village— Riverwood was tiny in comparison to this place. It was bustling despite the sun quickly approaching the horizon line, the usual indicator that it was time to lock up and head home. There were people all over the place, like a real town, instead of there only being like ten residents and some travelers.

I had to slide past several people as I made my way up the path on the left and hastily sped along, determined to have this meeting with the Jarl tonight. I ran up the steps leading into the cloud district and towards the now ominously looming castle, a sick feeling taking over my stomach. I'm about to do this.

The guards allowed me to pass with a brief warning on their lips and ushered me inside the dimly lit entranceway of Dragonsreach. I gulped as I looked up the steps and could see the blaring light of the throne room ahead, praying this whole encounter remained the same as in the game. The old woman sweeping to the left was glaring at me until I met her eyes, to which they quickly fell to the floor.

I took in a deep breath and did my best to look like an authoritative figure as I strutted up the steps, armor clanking noisily as I did. I felt several pairs of eyes on me as I crested the top, able to see the room fully in all its glory. The broad fire pit along the center of the room was near blinding as I went around the right side to approach the Jarl. My stomach was twisting painfully and my heart beat so loudly it was all I could hear.

I wish Malukh were here. He wouldn't care about any of this, he would just do it.

The housecarl, Irileth approached me aggressively, hand on the hilt of her sword. The freakish red eyes of the Dunmer were narrowed, mouth pursed as she forced me to a stop with her body by blocking my path. Keeping my breathing even was very difficult at this point and I'm pretty sure I must've looked crazy by the slight twitching of my mouth.

She looked me up and down as she snapped, "What is the meaning of this? The Jarl is not receiving visitors."

"I—I am.. so sorry to intrude this late in the evening but.. I've come a long way and it can't wait. I have news." I somehow managed to keep my voice even despite feeling quite the opposite. Surely this should've been easy, but acting it out when these people were real was another story.

"News?" she asked, red brows furrowing. "What news?"

"Helgen has been destroyed… by a dragon. I was there." I gulped, remembering the charred bodies and their scent. "I escaped to Riverwood and now I bring the .. Jarl.. a request from it's people."

Her eyes widened as I relayed the information, hand dropping from the hilt of her sword.

"A .. dragon? I see. Come, the Jarl will want to speak with you personally." she told me, lips thinning into a line as she promptly swiveled on her heel to return to Balgruuf's side.

I sighed in relief once her back was turned to me and cautiously followed behind her. Now what? Do I bow? How do I approach this? Would a Nord even appreciate my groveling? I didn't have much time to think it through as I came to stand before Jarl Balgruuf the Greater lounging on his throne, looking particularly annoyed.

His steward was jabbering beside him though I cared little to listen to his annoying voice. Rather, I was practicing what I was going to say to the Jarl. Before Irileth climbed the steps to stand beside the Jarl, she turned to look at me and warned, "No sudden moves."

I just nodded eagerly and gulped.

She then made her way to his side, dipping her head low to whisper something into his ear. Balgruuf's eyes began to swivel my way slowly, until we were staring directly at each other. Immediately, in a panic, I dropped to a knee, the action sending a jolt of pain through the joint. Better safe than sorry. My cheeks flushed with an uncomfortable heat as I found myself staring at the floor.

"My Jarl…" I began uncertainly, reciting my speech. Ugh, I sound stupid. "I bring news from Helgen."

"Rise." He commanded a bit agitatedly with a flourish of his hand, causing me to raise my head. I hastily climbed back up onto my feet, feeling all three pairs of eyes on me. "Irileth tells me you saw this dragon with your own eyes. Tell me: what happened in Helgen?"

I cleared my throat. "The Imperials were about to execute Stormcloak prisoners when a dragon interrupted. It.. burned everything to the ground." I decided that conveniently leaving out I was one of those prisoners would be a good idea.

"You are one of the Imperial soldiers, then?" his eyes dipped to the dragon insignia on the waistband of my stolen armor. I gulped. Fuck man. I regret not stealing one of those bandit's armor.

"I.. It's a long story. I managed to escape to Riverwood.. Last we know the dragon was headed this way and I traveled three days in hopes of reaching you in time."

This caught Balgruuf's attention, as I figured. He sat up straighter, tightly clenching the arms of his throne with a disbelieving expression. Irileth frowned, eyes glued to her Jarl.

"By Ysmir, Irileth was right!" he swore. Balgruuf shot a dark look towards his steward. "What do you say now, Proventus? Shall we continue to trust in the strength of our walls?"

Irileth cut in before Proventus could speak, a determined look crossing her face. "My Lord, we should send troops to Riverwood at once. They will be in the most immediate danger. If that dragon is lurking in the moun-"

"-The Jarl of Falkreath will take that as a provocation!" Proventus cried in protest. "He'll assume we're preparing to join Ulfric's side and attack him! We should not-"

"Enough!" snarled Balgruuf, slamming a fist down onto his armrest. "I'll not stand idly by while a dragon burns my Hold and slaughters my people! Irileth, send a detachment to Riverwood at once." he commanded, turning to look at her.

"Yes, my Jarl." she brought a clenched fist over her heart in acknowledgement, an almost sly smile playing on her lips at her victory before she turned to leave the room.

"If you'll excuse me, I am going to prepare for bed…" Proventus had his hands crossed in front of him, sounding a bit meek.

Balgruuf waved his hand disinterestedly, avoiding the Steward's gaze. Proventus retreated down the steps, reminding me faintly of a dog with its tail between it's legs. I had just been standing there awkwardly watching the whole encounter, stiff as a board. I suppose I accomplished my mission then? The Jarl sighed as he sat back in his throne, eyes sunken and tired, running a hand down his worn face over his beard.

"Well done. You sought me out on your own initiative. You've done Whiterun a service.. and I won't forget it. I will supply you with a sum of gold as well as a small token of my esteem from my personal armory. Tell me; do you prefer light armor or heavy?"

"..L-Light, my Lord." God, it was weird saying that. I feel so out of place here. The desire to leave was growing by the second.

"I will have it retrieved for you immediately." Balgruuf peered distantly behind me before shouting. "Proventus!"

I glanced over my shoulder to find the steward seconds away from escaping, looking all too miserable.

"Fetch me a suit of leather armor before you retire, would you? " he called almost smugly, voice reverberating off of the walls.

I didn't hear the little man respond but I didn't really care to. I brought my gaze back towards Balgruuf, who was already staring at me with an appraising eye. He leaned forward in his seat, hands dangling from his lap.

"Say.. you made it out of Helgen: There is another thing you could do for me. Something suited to your.. particular talents?" he said and I raised a brow. I wasn't quite sure what he meant by that. All I had done was run away from a dragon. It seemed I had no choice anyway. Everything is going as it does in the game, so I suppose that's a good sign, right? I gave a slow, hesitant nod.

This seemed to please him greatly. He quickly stood up to his full height, holding an arm out in the direction of my right.

"Great! Come, let's go find Farengar, my Court Wizard. He should still be fussing around in there as usual."

Together we went to find the wizard, who we found was in the middle of creating some sort of concoction on his alchemy table. As we came to a slow stop in front of one of his tables, lined with varying alchemical ingredients and the like, he suddenly roared in surprise. We both jolted as a resounding WHOOMP filled the air and a burst of smoke sent Farengar into a coughing fit. We watched him double over, face covered in a black powder of some kind. Well, this was new.

"Farengar." Balgruuf called uncertainly. When the man continued coughing, he called again more insistently. "Farengar!"

The scraggly little man sputtered, eyes snapping up to see our surprised faces. He scrubbed at his face with his hands before wiping the grime onto his blue robe hurriedly, crossing the space between us. "Ah, my Jarl! I didn't expect a visit so late. Excuse my, uh, my appearance. My experiments can be.. Unpredictable, in some cases." he cleared his throat, bringing a closed fist over his mouth. "How can I assist this evening?"

I tried to ignore the putrid scent wafting off of him into my nostrils, schooling my expression into that of a neutral one. Jeez, what the fuck was in that?

The Jarl gestured to me with a hand. "An assistant to help with your.. dragon project. Fill her in with all the details while I retrieve something for her." He turned on his heel and disappeared behind me.

Leaving me standing with the wizard… alone. He was scanning me up and down with a critical eye, a hand studiously placed upon his chin. He held an air of authority and condescension to him that I found surprisingly intimidating, despite the remaining soot on his face being quite silly. And the look he was giving me was.. Well, not impressed.

"The Jarl believes you can be of some use to me?" he scowled, his strange accent lilting occasionally. "Who did you steal that armor off of?"

I blinked rapidly in shock, body stiffening on its own. "I.. What?"

"Your armor." he drawled in annoyance, enunciating as if I was touched in the head. "It is clearly not tailored to you. By the way you carry yourself it is obvious to me you are unaccustomed to its weight. Therefore, stolen."

He could tell all that just by looking at me? I definitely feared him. Not only that, but I was looking at a person who could summon flames from his fingertips, or conjure up a dremora from Oblivion if he so wished. My heart hammered on painfully within my chest and I willed myself to calm down. He's just trying to rile you up.

"Does it matter?" I snapped. "If you have a job for me then get on with it so I can go."

He didn't appear the slightest bit impressed. Farengar sighed.

"I suppose you will have to do, if the Jarl believes as such. I need you to fetch something for me.. Well, when I say 'fetch' I really mean delve into a dangerous ruin in search of an ancient stone tablet that may or may not actually be there. Did you get all that or shall I repeat it more slowly?"

I did my best to suppress my scowl. He certainly was a pompous little cunt, wasn't he? It didn't matter. I knew what to say to please him. I folded my arms over my chest. "Just tell me where to go and what to fetch, please."

His bushy brows rose almost imperceptibly, though I was intently watching his face for changes. I repressed a smirk as he said, "Straight to the point, eh? No need for tedious hows and whys. Huh. I like that. Maybe you are not as dumb as you look."

With every word out of his shitty mouth, I could feel my blood pressure rise. Farengar waved a hand dismissively, either oblivious to my scowling or indifferent to it.

"Anyway, I uh, learned of a certain stone tablet, said to be housed in Bleak Falls Barrow. A dragon stone, said to contain a map of dragon burial sites. Go to Bleak Falls Barrow, find this tablet, no doubt interred in the main chamber, and bring it to me. Simplicity itself." he threw his hands up slightly for effect.

I opened my mouth to speak but was interrupted by another voice behind me; the Jarl's.

"Here." he called, beckoning me to meet him halfway, his hand outstretched and holding a small brown coin purse. "Your reward."

I approached and cautiously held out my palm, afraid to offend the Jarl in some way, to which he dropped the sack in my waiting hand with a faint smile. He suddenly clapped me over the shoulder with his large hand and I jolted under the weight of it with a squeak.

"There's a good 500 gold in there. I usually don't give so much for a simple messenger, but I like you, girl. There is a fire in your eyes. Now, I'm sure you are tired from your journey. Head down to the Bannered Mare and Hilda will take care of you." Balgruuf turned his attention toward Farengar. "This is a priority, now. Anything we can use to fight this dragon, or dragons; we need it quickly, before it's too late."

"Of course, Jarl Balgruuf." the spindly wizard's eyes raked over me for a split second. "You seem to have found me an.. able assistant. I'm sure she will prove most useful." the words seemed to pain him to say aloud and I was sure I heard sarcasm hidden in his tone. I rolled my eyes.

His answer must've satisfied the Jarl because he nodded before looking to me. "Succeed at this task and you will be rewarded once more. Whiterun will be further in your debt."

I nodded, trying not to appear afraid. When Malukh was gone, how would I accomplish this? About eighty-percent of these earnings are going right into my companion's pocket, leaving me with about a hundred gold to myself. I likely won't have enough left to stay at the inn for longer than a week. Before I could get too distracted by my thoughts, the clamboring of a pair of footsteps approaching us caught our attention.

"My Jarl," Proventus called as he came to a halt beside Balgruuf, panting, a bundle of armor in his arms. "The armor you requested." His beady eyes darted to me, before hastily glancing away.

"Ah, thank you. I almost forgot." Balgruuf commented. Proventus stared, unsure of what to do with it. "Well, go on, give it to her. She hasn't got all night."

I tried to suppress a cheeky smile watching the man squirm. He always irritated me in the game and I could still hear him saying 'Is there anything else you'd like to purchase?' over and over. He gawked at me, clutching the armor tighter to his chest, expression turning sour at the sight of me.

"W-What, for her?" he cried in disbelief. "A gift from your personal armory? My Lord, surely this can't be-"

"..Proventus." Balgruuf interrupted his yammering with a grumble, pinching the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger. "I have a hundred more just like it. Just.. give it to her."

The Imperial looked between the Jarl and I repeatedly before huffing, moving to drop the suit unceremoniously into my waiting arms. I grunted and straightened myself up, making sure he saw my pointed glare as he scurried a few steps back. There was an awkward silence as we all kind of just.. looked at each other.

"Well.. Proventus and I must be going now. Safe travels to you." Jarl Balgruuf spoke up, dipping his head in acknowledgement. The two of them walked off together, leaving me with Farengar.

The wizard carried an armful of alchemical ingredients over to his table, not sparing me a glance as he began a new concoction, one I didn't want to be present for. I couldn't bear sharing this foul smelling space any longer, so I quickly made my way out of Dragonsreach to the outside world.

The sun was still just over the horizon as I stared out into the landscape around Whiterun over its walls. It was beautiful. My favorite regions in the game were Whiterun Hold, Falkreath Hold and The Rift. All the autumnal areas. The reds, greens and browns were quite aesthetically pleasing to me in particular but seeing this world in person was.. enchanting.

Eventually, I couldn't admire the land any longer. I had to go find Malukh's wherever he was and I still needed to change into this new armor. Hopefully this one would fit better. Frankly, anything was better than the one I wore now. I drew too much unwanted attention wearing the armor of an Imperial captain.

I scurried down the steps out of the Cloud District and made my way into the market. The flow of travelers and residents had died down considerably in the time I spent up at the castle, being practically barren except for the occasional straggler. I quickly made way for the smithy down the street, the name of which I couldn't remember, and prayed they were still open.

The store came into view finally, the sign displaying Warmaiden's proudly. Avenicci's daughter was still outside, sitting on the grindstone and working on a greatsword of some kind. She told me they were open for a little while longer and to speak with Ulfberth inside. He allowed me to change into the leather off to the side before I traded my old set over to him for a good two-hundred-fifty gold. I was surprised to even get that much and left the shop with a cheeky grin on my face.

Now I carried seven-hundred-fifty gold on my person, using the coin purse the Jarl had given me to carry all of it, storing the pouch inside my backpack for safe keeping. The last vestiges of sun were basking the land in a deep golden hue as I made my way out of the gates and past the cautious guards. I made my way past the bridge and the familiar winding path I had taken to get up to Whiterun itself, passing the stables and soon the farms. I scanned the woods for any sign of Malukh.. but didn't see anything.

I found myself just about to pass the bridge the patrols stopped at, my confidence wavering. Past this point, I was on my own. If anything were to happen, I would be defenseless. I took a breath, willing myself the courage to proceed. I took a few steps while adjusting my pack on my back, only to hear a sharp whistle to my right. My eyes snapped towards the sound, which was near the backside of the building beside me. Malukh rested against the wall, his arms crossed over his broad chest and a wary expression on his face.

I gasped and immediately felt myself brighten at the sight of him, as odd as it was. He motioned with a jerk of his head for me to join him, which I didn't hesitate to do at all. I scurried to join him under the shade of the building's rafters, my mind already reeling with what I wanted to say.

"You're here!" I cried in a hushed tone, looking up into his eyes.

He snorted. "As I said I would be." He looked me up and down with a quirked brow. "I almost didn't recognize you in that getup."

I glanced down at my attire, the new set of leather armor from the Jarl. "Oh, right. This was a gift from the Jarl as a reward.. Plus the money for delivering the message. Speaking of…" I trailed off, pulling the pack off of my back with my better arm.

He watched me silently as I dug out the coin purse full of gold, opening up the ties keeping it sealed. As I went to start counting out his share, he held out a hand in kind of a 'stop' motion.

"Wait." he said gruffly. "I've been thinking… you should keep it. You're going to need it."

My gut twists in the way that it does when he's around me. He's.. letting me have all of it? I must've been gaping like a fish because he snorts and slaps a large hand on top of my head before ruffling my hair.

"You're a nice girl. You could have just stayed inside and I would be helpless."

I try not to scowl at the fact that I hadn't considered that even once. Is he slyly calling me an idiot?

"I guess so…" I mutter, my head feeling heavy under the weight of his hand and forcing me to look at his chest. "Are you sure? Do you even have any money?" I tried to look at him from under my lashes.

He slowly removes his hand and I watch the soft expression on his face fade as he likely starts thinking of what's next for him. "I'll manage. I always do."

I hated to think it, but I was so, so glad to keep the money. This is likely all I'm going to have to survive on for a while. A man like Malukh could probably find work anywhere, where he's not wanted, that is.

"Okay then.." I say finally, moving to put the pouch back into my bag.

Then, silence fills the air. We just kind of.. Look at each other. I'm not sure if it's awkward silence or not. I have to say something.

"Malukh-" I begin, but there's a sound that stops me in my tracks and sends a chill down my spine.

A roar. So distant I almost didn't hear it. I've heard this exact sound in Helgen. No.. no, it couldn't be. I step back from under the roof of the building and look to the sky. He heard it too, his eyes already looking upwards. There isn't supposed to be a dragon until after we get the Dragonstone from Bleak Falls!

Then, I see it. A dragon, approaching Whiterun from our side. It's not Alduin, that much I can tell. Not that it changes much. The creature looks massive even from here as it quickly draws nearer. Screams echo in the distance, back towards the stables, others who have noticed the creature of legend. Malukh grabs my arm and tugs me behind the building again, almost pulling me flush against him. I'm too concerned with our impending doom to really pay attention to that.

"Oh, no… Oh, my God." I whisper in horror, dragging my eyes up to meet Malukh's equally concerned pair. "What… What do we do?"

Malukh and I stare at each other in what feels much like a Mexican stand-off.

There's a choice to be made... and lives are on the line.