AN: I've taken a few creative liberties with this story, and it doesn't fully follow the plot of the game. I've also downplayed a few things, mainly the effectiveness of healing potions/spells (since there'd be no risk involved if they worked as well as in game) and also adjusted the Dragonborn's Thu'um abilities a bit (the Dragonborn is still more far more skilled than the average person, but learning words take weeks for them as opposed to years for others, and meditating takes a bit longer than a five minute conversation with Paarthy).

DISCLAIMER: I do not own The Elder Scrolls Series, Skyrim, Vilkas or any other characters within this story besides my dragonborn

Thanks for reading, comments and constructive criticism are both welcome.

.Rabbit Hearted.

Prologue

They had caught the scent. Snuffling like blood hounds half the night had finally paid off, and a long, threatening howl escaped his maw. Muscles sprang into action and with liquid grace they ran, the moonlit plains of Skyrim sweeping beneath their paws. The stench of blood and sweat on the breeze was so exquisite he howled again. The hunger burned inside. Soon enough the keep rose above them, the sentries crying out in dismay and rightly so. He and his siblings were an awesome sight. A new scent reached his nostrils, and it was oh so much sweeter than the tang of blood. He whined low in his throat, the beast longing for the source. It was the scent of fear, and he would be well fed this night.

It had caught her scent. Smoke filled the air and blotted out the stars as a desperate cry escaped her lips. The fires blazed, casting fiendish shadows on the walls of the keep. She was frozen in place, guards and prisoners alike running in panic around her, screaming, burning and dying. The great black beast turned its glowing eyes on her and she felt her heart thumping painfully in her chest. She coughed, her mouth full of ash and dust as the beast loomed above her. It opened its jaws. She closed her eyes. A hand suddenly grasped her arm, pulling her. She opened her eyes to find the man beside her. He tried to speak, but she couldn't hear over the sound of screams. He tugged again, and slowly she responded. She felt paralysed by her fear, but worked her legs into motion and ran, the beast howling its rage behind her.