Heartless

Chapter 49 - Part 66

An arrow hit my dagger and knocked it off course as I brought it down on myself, the blade slicing smoothly through the balcony next to me instead. I snarled in hostility and slid my dagger from the surface beneath me, flipping it in my hand and flicking my tail in annoyance as a small group of figures made their ways over the uneven rocks towards us.

'Drop the weapons!'

The air rippled with power as I ordered the enemy around. It wasn't in my nature to be bossy, but in a battle situation it was instinct. On the subject of battle, I really needed to pass that Dragon Crown to Ulfric...

'Shadow, are you nuts? There are six dragons flying this way right now. We need to move!'

My heart simultaneously soared and plummeted as I recognised Vex's signature snap. My truest friends had come to my aid, but six dragons were headed this way right now. It was quite suddenly once again my responsibility to keep my reckless team from getting themselves killed, which was easier said than done when you're facing off against six giant stinking lizards that try and torch or freeze you to death.

'Alright, move towards the overhanging ledges, stay underneath them or in the mouth of a cave. I don't want help, I want you to stay alive. Leave it to me.'

I surprised myself with my bossiness. I really did need to get into more relaxed Stormcloak ways. Nevertheless, my friends scattered and hid while I climbed to the peak of the mountain and sank two spare daggers into the solid rock as foot or handholds for during the battle, unslinging my bow, I reached back for one of my many arrows and twirled it between my fingers as six shapes grew steadily larger as they flew towards me.

As the great big brutes came within firing range, I drew my bow and fired straight at the dragon on the far left. My arrow struck it's mark with perfect accuracy, puncturing the lizard's eye. I drew two more arrows, sending them both into the forehead of the middle dragon before they got too close. I slung my bow onto my back and drew my ebony daggers, crouching upon the mountain's peak.

The dragon from the far right dared get too close to me, allowing me to jump onto it's outstretched wing and run up the resilient thing, giving me the ability to kneel on the dragon's neck and drive my daggers straight through it's skull and kill it instantly. As the dragon fell past the peak of the mountain, I sheathed one of my daggers and leapt from it's quickly burning back, grabbing hold of one of the spare daggers I'd stuck into the mountain.

The next dragon came at me, hurling frost which caked my armour and made icicles form in my fur. Blindly, I thrust my dagger upwards as the beast flew low over me, by sheer fluke did the blade pierce the thick hide of the Dragon and penetrate it's heart, killing the beast. It's scaly comrade flapped in front of me, lowering it's head to breathe flames. Taking advantage of the dragon's lowered head, I jumped towards it and stabbed both of my daggers into it's eyes, using the momentum to flip me up over the lizard's head and allow me to straddle it's neck. That dragon bit the dust as I gritted my teeth and pushed my daggers deeper on an angle, driving them straight into it's brain. I had barely a second to pull my daggers from the dragon's skull before it began to rapidly lose altitude.

Three down, three to go.

I took a deep breath as the next dragon prepared to breathe frost at me, countering it's breath with my own shout of Unrelenting Force, causing the dragon to reel back and collide with it's comrade. Both dragon's snapped at each other before getting into a viscous fight with each other. The final dragon and I shared a glance.

'Does this happen often...?' I asked, gesturing to the battling lizards.

'Sadly, Yes. We almost never get anything done with those two around.' Grumbled the final dragon. 'They're twins. Always at each other's necks.'

I nodded in sympathy. With 24 siblings, I knew what that was like.

'I'm Shadow.' I said. 'Though you might have guessed it by now, I am the Dragonborn.'

'Ah, Yes. I did tell the others not to challenge you.' Commented my new Dragon friend. 'My name is Shadewing.'

'Nice to meet you, Shadewing. I hope you don't mind the deaths of your companions.'

'Not at all. I didn't like them much anyway.'

'You do know you're terrible at fooling me to think you're a dragon.'

'At least I tried.'

Look at him, he's beautiful.
ANSWER TIME DARLINGS

Marvel_fancomics asked Brynjolf:
"Yo Brynjolf, what are you doing while all this is happening?" (I'm pretty sure that's it. Going off memory here)
BRYNJOLF: Honestly I think I've made a pretty good choice in voting for the Dragonborn to die. She's been toying with my emotions heartlessly and I'm sick of it. Last I heard, the lass had been taken to the Thalmor Embassy for interrogation. I don't think that's true though, that elf practically smelled of Lies.