An Unexpected Rescue

Chapter 16- Twin Surprises

The morning sun washed over Skyrim, coloring the waters with orange and yellow hues. The birds chirped outside, singing a song of dawn.

Lakeview Manor slowly rose from its slumber as Rayya began her daily routine and Meeko searched for food.

Scouts stirred slightly in his sleep. His eyes slowly fluttered open and he became aware that he was pressed against a firm surface. He opened his eyes and realized that said surface was Forges-Many-Blades' front. The Nightingale's chest slowly rose in a slow and soft pace, breathing quietly.

He looks so peaceful...

Scouts got up, lying on his side as his arm supported his body. Using a free hand, he gently nudged Forges' shoulder and was answered with a yawn from the latter. "Five more minutes, General Tullius, sir," He said groggily and rolled over to his right...
Off of the bed and on to the wooden floor.
"SWEET SITHIS-"
WHAM!

"My Thane?," Rayya called out from downstairs,"Are you alright?"
"I'm okay..." In reality, the impact hurt to Oblivion.

Scouts forced the laughter back down his throat, got off the bed and helped Forges up. The Nightingale blinked the sleepiness away from his eyes and yawned. "Morning..."
Scouts wrapped his arms tenderly around Forges' shoulders. "Sleep well, love?"
"Too well," Forges responded.
He nuzzled Scouts' cheek with his own his rose to his feet.

After having a morning meal, Forges stood out in the open yard and sucked in a gulp of fresh air. Just being outside made Forges exhilarated. The thought of an open terrain filled with foes just waiting to be vanquished was an adventurer's dream.

He felt an arm hug his bicep tenderly. "You just like clinging to me, don't you?"
Scouts purred playfully.
"Maybe I do? What is your solution to this predicament?"
'Oh, I have a solution alright', Forges thought to himself as he reached for Scouts' back, knowing from 'experience' (wink wink nudge nudge) just where to hit.
Careful now. Don't let him notice...

Rustle!
Forges had to put his plan on halt.
"What in Oblivion was that?"
"I don't know," Scouts replied," A rabbit, maybe?" His voice was shaky.

Not wanting to take his chances, Forges pulled out his sword and scoped out the area for intruders.

...
....
Rustle!
It came again. The sound drifted from the small ploy of crops Forges had planted months ago. The large green stalks of the potato plants shuddered just a little too much.
Growing suspicious, Forges walked over to the crops and pushed the stalks away gently with his blade. And there he found his intruders:
Two small children sat in the midst of the vegetables, eating some of the harvest. One was a little Argonian with yellow scales and red markings across his neck. The second was a Khajiit covered head to toe with brown fur with a white muzzle.
Both children were wearing old tattered rags for clothes and shoveling handfuls of carrots and cabbage into their mouths.
"Hurgha", the Argonian muttered through a mouthful of tomatoes, "Eh fah ee eht ot!"*
(*Translation: Hurry! Before we get caught!)
The Khajiit swallowed her potatoes. "Don't rush me, lizard breath! We haven't had actual food in days!"
She slurped down a carrot.
"Excuse me-"
The two children gulped down their rations and looked back at Forges-Many-Blades. And a 2-foot blade.

The Argonian dropped all of his half-eaten food onto the ground.
"It was her idea!", He shouted, pointing at the Khajiit girl. The latter jumped up and stamped her foot, a scowl on her face, her ears flat in her head.
"No, it was YOUR idea!", She sneered.
"Was not!"
"Was too!"
"Was not!"
"Was too!"
"Was not!"
"Was too!"

"Are those children?!", Scouts cried from behind Forges.
'Yelling', He thought. 'Why is there so much yelling?'

Whoever the children were, they were a headache. Still, it was nice to see some 'beast' children around Tamriel.
"Look, you two are apparently lost," Forges said, trying to cover up his clear frustration. "Maybe I can take you to the Riften orphanage and-"

"NO!"
They screamed so loud, Forges could hear his ears ring slightly.
"We can't go back to an orphanage, mister!", The Khajiit whined.
"Yeah, they all they serve is skeever tails and slaughter fish," The Argonian piped in, disgust in his voice.
"And the lady is mean!"
"All the other kids don't like you and call you a lizard!"
"Or a cat!
"And sometimes they'll pull on your tail-"
Forges raised his hand up in a hushing gesture and the children became silent.
Scouts realized that Forges was becoming impatient and would eventually just drag the kids to the orphanage himself. He couldn't let that happen. There was only one solution. And Forges wouldn't like it.

Scouts walked over to the children.
"Where are your parents at," He asked.
The little Argonian shrugged his shoulders. "I dunno. They told me to wait a few days for them to come back and I haven't seen them in a few months."
The Khajiit's ears flicked slightly. "Mommy and Daddy got on a big boat and went far away to the 'Suh-mur-set Eye-ulls.' They said they'd send a letter but they never did."

Abandoned for the first, Forges thought.
The next one made him shudder.
Orphaned for the second...

He had to think fast.
"Dear, maybe we could take them in for a while?-"

"Excuse me-"

"R-really, mister lizard mans?"
The little Khajiit girl's eyes hid dialted and her expression was hopeful.
The Argonian boy wagged his tail in excitement.

Forges realized he was trapped.
He sucked in a deep gulp of air and let out a heavy sigh.
"Fine."

And that's the story of how Forges took his first step into being a dad.