Chapter Text
Daro’Assi stumbled out of the cave connected to the now burning rubble of Helgen, clutching her overexerted brother in her arms. The soldier that was helping them escape, Hadvar was likely his name, leaned on a nearby rock for support as he regained his breath. Daro’Assi ignored him for now, instead choosing to poke her brother to keep him awake. Just because he was small enough to be carried relatively easily, doesn’t mean it’ll make fighting any easier if she can’t use her hands.
Besides, his pride won’t allow it. Gods know he’ll be huffy over being picked up in the first place, once he’s fully lucid that is. Speaking of, J’Din’s eyes cracked open to see the magicka potion she’s now waving in his face.
Before Daro’Assi could open it for him, a loud roar sounded behind them. Right, the dragon.
A large shadow flew overhead, luckily not noticing the three huddling behind a rock as it passed.
Daro’Assi offered the magicka potion again, J’Din guzzling it down as much as he could while not being the one holding the bottle. No thumbs means no grabbing and no magic means no telekinesis. The many woes of being an alfiq.
That and being mistaken for an average house cat. That always manages to grind his gears no matter how often it happens.
Once the bottle was emptied, J’Din leapt out of Daro’Assi’s arms and trotted down the path. “C’mon, I don’t want to stick around when night hits! Don’t know if that dragon will come back either!”
Daro’Assi strided after her brother, leaving behind a somewhat wary Hadvar. Right, he probably hasn’t seen many kinds of khajiit, much less an alfiq before. They rarely leave Elsweyr. For good reason too. Mere housecats, preposterous! Oh well, he’ll just have to get over it.
Hadvar shook his head before jogging to catch up. “Looks like he's gone for good this time. But I don't think we should stick around to see if he comes back.”
Daro'Assi hummed, leaving was obviously the smart choice, though neither her or her brother have been to Skyrim before.
“Daro'Assi does not know the lands of Skyrim well. Or at all. Would you know anywhere we could get supplies?”
“Closest town from here is Riverwood,” Hadvar stated, “My uncle's the blacksmith there. I'm sure he'd help you two out."
J’Din sighed a quiet ‘Thank fuck’ that Daro'Assi couldn't help but to agree with. Today has been long and she needs a nap and food in her belly.
The group trekked down the road in tired silence that’s occasionally broken by the occasional comment on the surroundings from Hadvar. Other than some wolves, the trip to Riverwood was mainly uneventful, thank the gods.
"Things look quiet enough here,” Hadvar said, “Come on. There's my uncle."
Daro’Assi and J’Din trailed after Hadvar as he greeted his uncle
"Uncle Alvor! Hello!"
"Hadvar? What are you doing here? Are you on leave from…” Hadvar’s uncle, Alvor, trailed off as he laid eyes on his haggard nephew. "Shor's bones, what happened to you, boy? Are you in some kind of trouble?"
"Shh.. Uncle, please. Keep your voice down. I'm fine. But we should go inside to talk."
"What's going on? And who's this?" Alvor eyed the two khajiit, not that either can truly blame him. Daro’Assi was dressed in looted imperial armor that didn’t quite fit and J’Din was wearing a dead mage’s hood as a cloak.
"They’re friends. Saved my life in fact. Come on, I'll explain everything, but we need to go inside."
Alvor nodded, "Come on inside. Sigrid will get you something to eat and you can tell us what happened."
The group were ushered inside and into the seats of a dining table.
“Sigrid! We have company!” Alvor called into the house before taking his seat at the table.
“Hadvar! We've been so worried about you!” Exclaimed a woman, Sigrid most likely, as she hurried up the stairs from the basement. “Come, you must be hungry. Stay seated and I'll get you something to eat.”
"Now, then, boy. What's the big mystery? What are you doing here, looking like you lost an argument with a cave bear?"
"I don't know where to start.” Hadvar gulped, “You know I was assigned to General Tullius's guard. We were stopped in Helgen when we were attacked... by a dragon."
"A dragon? That's... ridiculous. You aren't drunk, are you boy?" accused Alvor.
Sigrid interjected as she placed food in front of everyone. "Husband. Let him tell his story."
"Not much more to tell. This dragon flew over and just wrecked the whole place. Mass confusion.” Havar stared vacantly at his plate, clearly remembering the chaos from only an hour ago at most. “I don't know if anyone else got out alive. I doubt I'd have made it out myself if not for my friends here,” Gesturing to Daro’Assi and J’Din, probably the first time eyes were truly on them since they entered the building.
Daro’Assi gave a tired wave from where she was pushing most of her vegetables and half her salmon onto a separate plate for J’Din. J’Din just mumbled a ‘greetings’ between bites of carrot causing some baffled staring.
“I need to get back to Solitude and let them know what's happened,” Hadvar continued, “I thought you could help us out. Food, supplies, a place to stay."
"Of course! Any friend of Hadvar's is a friend of mine. I'm glad to help however I can. Help yourself to whatever you need, within reason. But I need your help. We need your help."
J’Din swallowed his mouthful before speaking, “We’ll be happy to help, how can we repay you?”
Alvor paused, still unused to J’Din talking but unwilling to say anything about it in front of them, before pushing on, “The Jarl needs to know if there's a dragon on the loose. Riverwood is defenseless... We need to get word to Jarl Balgruuf in Whiterun to send whatever soldiers he can. If you'll do that for me, I'll be in your debt."
Daro’Assi nodded, “Daro’Assi believes we should be able to do that. Where is Whiterun from here?”
Alvor breathed a sigh of relief. “Just cross the river and then head north. You'll see it, just past the falls. When you get to Whiterun just keep going up. When you get to the top of the hill, you're at Dragonsreach, the Jarl's palace."
“But you don’t have to go just yet,” Sigrid added, “It’s getting dark so it’s best to stay the night and head out in the morning.” She added more food onto J’Din’s and Daro’Assi’s plates before making a plate for the girl asking a bunch of questions to Hadvar.
Daro’Assi and J’Din made eye contact, coming to a silent agreement to stay the night here. They’re weary and tired and food and rest is the best medicine after all.