(Disclaimer: I do not own Skyrim; just Xana, Brii, and any other OC's I've added/blended into the story thus far.)
(Authors Note: Drem Yol Lok, greetings, dearest readers, fellow writers, fan girls, fanboys, and Skyrim fans/nerds of every race, religion, sexual preference, nationality and Character Race preference! Okay, sooo I know it has been a hot, hot, hot minute since I last uploaded new content for this particular fan fic, and I greatly apologize for that. If you're a fan of my other works (or at least somewhat familiar with them), you'd see that I've been focusing most of (if not all of) my time and attention on my Bayverse Transformers FF's, my TMNT FF's, and my Treasure Planet FF. However, I've been rather slow on most updates in general because my life has been busy and chaotic in some areas: As of recently, I've been sick with an allergy-related chest cold (damn pollen messing with my sinuses), my cat of 20 years passed away (Thankfully, she passed in her sleep, so it was peaceful), and this ungodly heatwave has practically zapped all the energy right out of me because it's been too uncomfortable to do anything (when I find the time to write). But, despite all that and the fact that I've been primarily focusing more on my other fan fics, I still haven't forgotten this story (I merely placed it on the back burner to simmer). In fact, over the last few days, I've actually gone ahead and re-read, tweaked and improved ALL of the previous chapters, so there's that nugget of joy. Plus, now there's this little chapter to add to the story, so YAAAY! Again, I sincerely apologize to all of you for not updating this story sooner, but if I'm being honest, I actually didn't think anyone was still interested in reading it. That is, until I checked the reviews the other day and was like "HOLY SHIT, when in Oblivion did these happen?!" I have a sailors mouth. Deal with it :D Anyways, to those of you who have willingly and or faithfully followed this story since the beginning, thank you so, so, so much for your continued patience, support and understanding! And, to those of you who have recently discovered this story amidst the immense plethora of other fan fics within the Elder Scrolls section, thank you, thank you, thank you for giving my story a chance. It means a lot to know that there are still some who have taken the time to scroll down and read this story. Until next time, feel free to leave a review as I greatly appreciate the feedback (no hate, please), and remember to stay hydrated (seriously, it's feckin' hot out there) and always guard your sweetrolls.)
-Two Days Later-
Upon arriving at her parents farm, Xana steered Braum towards the barn where Reem-Sha warmly greeted them all with a smile: "Welcome back, strangers."
"It's good to be back, Uncle Reem-Sha," Light-Amidst-Darkness cheerfully stated as he hopped down from the back of the wagon with Brii, to which both youngsters were immediately scooped up in his strong, scaly arms, causing them to burst into a fit of giggles.
"My goodness, you two have grown so much since I last saw you. What the heck are your parents feeding you both that's making you grow so fast?"
"Lots and lots of veggies," Brii admitted with a disgusted look on her adorable face. Being half dragon, she didn't like eating vegetables as much as meat, but did so out of courtesy and respect for her elders. That, and she knew she wouldn't get any dessert if she didn't clean her plate.
At her response, Reem-Sha fondly chuckled and gave her a sharp smile, "That's good. If you keep eating your veggies, you'll grow up to be big and strong."
"Like my Bormah," she eagerly asked while slightly swishing her tail in excitement.
"Maybe," he answered with a shrug before noticing the absence of her dragon Father. "Where is Odahviing, by the way?"
"He's out hunting boar," LAD answered as Reem-Sha gently set him and Brii down upon.
"Oh, I see. He's gotten a taste of it and needed to state his cravings."
"Yep," his niece answered with a smile as her tail lightly swished behind her. "Bormah said that he was looking forward to catching some during our visit. Skyrim isn't native to wild boars, so he's going to catch as many as he can so that he and Monah can process and preserve enough meat to take back with us when we leave."
"Well then, I think a hunting trip is in order." He glanced over at the twins and asked, "Sea, Shore, what's say you? Should we plan for a brotherly hunting trip in the near future?"
"Sure. I'd be up for one, provided that we plan it after Renessie delivers," Sea answered as he and Shore helped their pregnant wife dismount from the wagon.
"Of course," he curtly nodded before assisting Xana with unhinging Braum from said wagon.
"So, Reem-Sha, where's Mom and Dad? I thought they'd be home at this hour," Xana inquired as she removed the bridle and gear from the massive stallion before feeding him a large apple.
"They're in town selling some of the wool from this year's spring shearing, but they should be back before dusk," he casually answered as they then led Braum over to the pasture where Blossom and Merriweather were grazing, to which his ears perked up at seeing the painted mare. Of course, upon sensing his presence, said mare emitted a happy whinny and trotted over to the gate to greet him.
"Aww! Looks like Blossom's happy that Braum's back," Brii stated with a smile as the large dapple gray stallion was turned loose inside the field.
"Indeed," Reem-Sha chuckled as he closed the gate behind them.
"Do you think they'll have another foal?"
"Hmm, maybe. We'll just have to wait and see. Of course, it'd certainly be another welcomed boon to the farm. Their colt, Remus, is a great steed to have around as he's both strong and hardy. And their filly, Runi, has been a welcomed addition to Shastan and Marbella's homestead."
"Will we see them soon too," LAD curiously asked him with a slight swish of his tail.
"I reckon you will. Once word gets out that you're all back in town, they'll head on over."
"I hope so," Brii mumbled to herself as the adults began unloading the wagon and carrying the supplies indoors. Since that wasn't a task for children (or Renessie), she and LAD decided to wander around the grounds as a means to pass the time while they waited for their grandparents to return from town.
Running over to the forest's edge, the two youngsters began looking for sticks to use in their current game. "Oh, Brii, check out this one! It looks kinda like a sword," LAD stated as he held up the piece of wood for her to examine.
"Wow, that's really neat! Lookie here: mine looks like a mage's staff," she smiled and held up a gnarled branch.
"Nice. What kind of magic does it do?"
"Every kind," she beamed as her tail swished from side to side in excitement. "I can summon a familiar, or cast a fireball, or even heal a wounded traveler with my staff of 'All Magic'."
"Wow! Do you think my sword can deal lightning and ice damage?"
"I don't see why not," she shrugged.
"Then that's what it does. Now, since we're adventurers, what should be our first quest?"
"Hmm," she pondered for a moment before a flash of white suddenly caught her attention: it was a rabbit. "Woah! Did you see that, LAD?"
"See what?"
"The white rabbit."
"What white rabbit?"
"The white rabbit that just ran into the treeline."
"Sorry, I didn't see it, but I wish I had. Where did it go?"
"Into the woods," she pointed towards the treeline.
"Hey, maybe that can be our quest: the search for the white rabbit."
"Oh, I like that! Let's go look!"
"Okay, but we can't go too far, remember?"
"I know, I know," she smiled before stepping into the treeline, to which LAD followed behind her. Both younglings held onto their 'weapons' as they began their search for the white rabbit. Fortunately, it didn't take long before said rabbit suddenly appeared in front of them, prompting them to give chase as it scampered through the brush and along a well-used game trail.
After several minutes of running, the two youngsters followed the white rabbit over to a large, gnarled tree; however, it disappeared within a hole at the base of the tree. "Oh, rats, it got away! Now what are we gonna do?"
Unwilling to give up the chase, Brii approached the hole and inquisitively poked her head inside, "Hey, this leads into a tunnel."
"Really? Is it very deep," LAD asked as he stood nearby.
"I don't know. It's hard to tell," she admitted before using her magic to cast a light spell down into the rabbit hole. "Hmm, I don't think it's too deep. Maybe we can crawl inside."
"Are you sure that's a good idea?"
"No, but you can't have an adventure without taking risks," the little hybrid stated before handing him her staff and crawling into the hole. However, after a few feet, the ground suddenly dropped to a slope, causing her to lose her balance and tumble down, down, until she ungracefully landed with a *SPLAT*, right into a large puddle of thick, gooey mud.
"Brii?! Brii, are you okay?"
With a groan, she sat upright and looked back up towards the light where the entrance was located, "I'm okay," she hollered back.
"Can you get out?"
Casting her light spell once more, Brii looked around and saw that the slope she had rolled down was slick with mud, but appeared climbable due to the roots and vines growing along parts of the walls. "I think so." Although she wanted to look around, she didn't want to continue this adventure without her cousin by her side: it just wouldn't be fair if he were to miss out on anything exciting. With that, she approached the slope from which she tumbled down, and carefully began climbing up.
Meanwhile, LAD waited by the entrance and noticed his cousin starting to emerge from the depths. Once she was within arms reach, he grabbed her hands and pulled her out before helping her to her feet with an amused chuckle: "By the Hist, Brii, you're absolutely filthy!"
At his jovial remark, she glanced down at herself and smiled, "Yea, it was really muddy in there, but I don't mind."
"Did you find the white rabbit?"
"No. But I didn't really get a chance to look around." She then looked towards the sky and saw some storm clouds slowly starting to roll in, to which she frowned, "I guess we should head back before it starts to rain."
"Agreed," he nodded before they began their trek back towards the farm. Thankfully, the ground was still a bit muddy from a recent storm, so they were able to use their footprints as a guide. As they walked, both LAD and Brii noticed several other sets of tracks in the mud. Among them were deer, boar, rabbit, fox and…something else.
Curious, they stopped to examine the strange prints and noticed they resembled wolf tracks…very large wolf tracks. Noting how fresh these prints were, both youngsters dismissed their curiosity and ran off towards the forest edge where they were met with the familiar sight of the farmstead.
A sigh of relief was shared between the pair before the sound of heavy wingbeats alerted them to Odahviing's approaching presence.