Ixis awoke with a sharp gasp, red eyes fluttering wide open. She was curled up on her side, on the ground, in the fetal position.

Alduin.

The thought blasted her fully awake, and she immediately pushed herself up to sit straight. The abrupt movement caused black spots to dance on her vision, forcing her to close eyes and take a deep breath. She placed a cool hand to her forehead when she felt a headache coming. It took her quite a while to get herself together, more than enough time for her to notice she felt sore all over and that her mouth tasted like cave mushrooms.

When she finally got over the overall feeling of being stomped by a mammoth, she looked around to see she was in some unknown forest. How did she get there? When she entered Sovngarde, she had assumed if she ever returned, it would be to the same area, to find Odahviing waiting for her. Ixis frowned in confusion, reflexively tightening her grip on something she'd been unconsciously holding, and tried to remember.

She alone had slain Alduin, the three interlopers righteously cut down by the enraged dragon. Neither of the two had appreciated the inconvenient intruders trying to interfere with the fight they had been waiting for their entire lives, and the World-Eater had simply acted on their mutual displeasure.

The battle had been long – even within the timeless realm it had seemed to drag on into eternity. Ixis had brought sword, poison, magick and bow to bear on Alduin along with her Thu'um but he simply... matched her. She would Shout and he would fly away, he would call forth meteors and Ixis would scamper off to use her bow from far off. She couldn't have imagined they would be equals on the battlefield, but Sovngarde had proven them both wrong on that account.

Though they had sought to kill each other, at first it must have seemed like they had planned out a mock-battle. They both sensed what the other was about to do and smoothly countered it. It was damn annoying. Thankfully for her, she had found favor with the Prince of Luck despite the issue over claiming her soul.

Two lucky arrows blinded Alduin, and while he thrashed and screamed curses and Thu'um, she had exercised her good fortune and crawled onto the Dragon God's back. By all the Aedra and Daedra, Alduin had not liked- "Being ridden like some mortal's pony!"He started to try to fly while blinded, forcing Ixis into the actual business of Dragon riding, and unlike how she had ridden right behind Odahviing's head, Ixis only got as far as the base of Alduin's neck.

His general spikiness had provided her with plenty of handholds to hold onto, and after five minutes of barrelrolling, Alduin realized flying blind was idiotic since she was not going to fall off. As soon as he landed and started to make like he was going to roll on the ground, Ixis clambered up his neck and drove her sword to the hilt into his skull. She also pulled out her bow and proceeded to have several Sunhallowed arrows explode in Alduin's skull.

That was when she accidentally exploded herself off the dragon's head, and then the world went black and she knew no more. She blinked a bit.

Had she won?

Her attention was yanked to more immediate matters when something started squeaking and rocking in her arms. Ixis looked down in bewilderment. What on Nirn was she holding, and why was she cradling it like it was an Eye? She scrutinized it. It was an oval stone, and she had somehow embraced it without ever knowing it. She put it down right in front of her and observed the odd moving squeaking stone.

It was an obsidian colored rock rippled with scarlet veins, and she thought she could pick out gold specks. She touched it with a finger; it was warm and as smooth as Dwemer metal. But what sort of stone or gem produces its own warmth?

Ixis squinted crimson eyes and tilted her head slightly. In fact... She thought it looked rather sort of egg-like. Though she had no idea what would lay such an egg and then somehow curl her unconscious body around it – or why do it on first place. It was curious, and Ixis could not resist the temptation to not do the sensible thing and back off. She decided to see what would hatch, and her gut was telling her this was a most excellent idea.

The stone egg cracked with no warning about two minutes later, and the sound reminded Ixis of splitting boulders open with her pickaxe to find ore. And then something wet and upset burst out from the cracked shell. She couldn't tell what it was yet, since the poor cub was all tangled up in itself. She watched quietly as it picked itself up, stumbling and trembling from the strain of moving, and met its gaze.

Ixis made a low distressed sound, feeling as if someone had ripped out the foundation of her world.

A stunned baby Alduin was looking at her in wonder. He looked different, smaller and with four legs instead of wing-arms, but he possessed the burning orange eyes that only the World Eater had been graced with. He blinked at her and she blinked back, neither quite believing what was happening.

She was struck with an inexplicable urge to curl around the dragonling and lavish affection on him, her heart threatening to revolt at the sheer cuteness Alduin exhaled like he had once done with dominance. That was hands down the most adorable thing she had ever seen: Alduin was wearing a piece of shell like a dapper cap as he tried to stare her down.

The hell?

The reasonable part of her protested that this was her nemesis, but the unnatural maternal instincts she hadn't known she possessed were much stronger. She was one hundred per cent sure that Alduin must have been made for snuggling, not destroying, and was about to enact said snuggling when the dragon spoke.

"Zu'u lost daal."

I have returned. His voice squeaked like that of a trodden upon mouse.

Ixis could not help but coo softly Dragonish purrs at how Alduin was trying to be mighty. Why had she despised him again? He was much too cute for such nonsense! She reached out to bring him to her, but as soon as her left hand touched his head the world exploded with light and far too much mental pain