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The Vampire Problem for DrakeHavok by Draconicon

"I'll be right back."

Arga looked up from the fire as he heard the words, arching an eyebrow at the lighter-scaled Argonian getting up. Serrek looked back for a moment before rolling his eyes.

"What? I'm just going for a piss."

"And that is all?"

"Isn't that enough? Geez, it's like you still think I'd try to sell you out."

Perhaps you might, but less likely than others, Arga thought as he watched the other Argonian walk into the bushes. Much less likely...but still a chance.

He couldn't help it. Paranoia had been one of the few things to keep him alive over the last few years, ever since he got away from the Thalmor. The few times that he had fully trusted someone, he'd ended up either back in Thalmor hands or nearly in a ditch on the side of the road. It was better not to trust; sooner or later, trust would get him killed.

Despite that, he had found himself extending more trust to his current companion than any other that he could remember. There was something about Serrek, something about the way his marshbrother kept to the shadows, how he made it obvious that he was keeping something close to the chest. It was probably something he'd learned as a thief, but regardless, Arga felt himself able to work with Serrek easier than someone that professed they had nothing to hide. Everyone had something; most people just didn't want to admit it.

The crackling fire provided a nice distraction for a few minutes, but it was only a few minutes. Soon, the thought of Serrek not having returned filled his mind, and he glanced in the direction that his companion had gone. There were no signs of crackling bushes, no sound of footsteps on the return. Admittedly, the rogue-ish one wouldn't necessarily make such things...

What's taking him so long?

Arga waited another minute, then got to his feet. If he ended up disturbing Serrek during an abnormally long piss, then he'd take the embarrassment. If there was something wrong...well, he couldn't afford to wait any longer.

A bit of light bloomed on the back of his neck as he focused his magic down his arm, summoning a dagger into his hand. It gleamed a bright blue, providing enough light for him to see where he was going, but hopefully not enough to give away his position the way that a regular torch might.

Following Serrek's tracks was easy enough. Boot rather than footprints, like his, left bigger tracks and didn't fade so quickly. He squatted down, working his way through the undergrowth with just enough speed to catch up with a walking person, but keeping himself as quiet as he could at the same time.

It only took him a minute to find the end of the tracks. Rather than one person and a small puddle, he found a cluster of footprints and the start of a chase. He saw four sets of boots, and something else. Something summoned, probably. Serrek must have been taken by surprise...or he had summoned some friends that had turned on him. Too many variables, too many things that could be possible.

But in either case, Serrek's footprints led away from the campsite. Arga had to admit, he was surprised at that. For some reason, his companion hadn't come running for help, hadn't come to him and revealed the both of them. He'd run off in another direction. He felt...oddly touched by that, and he wasn't sure why. But that could be examined later.

"I need answers."

Summoning one of his very few illusion spells, the Argonian wrapped himself in invisibility, and followed the trail.

His spell served him well. Arga had been following the trail more assiduously than usual, and nearly walked into a person before he realized they were there. Only his own quiet nature and the spell kept him from being noticed, and even then, he darted back into the undergrowth of the forest before he could be noticed.

He'd found Serrek, already, but so had the Argonian's other pursuers. Two humans, a dark elf, a hooded person, and an ice Atronach surrounded the lighter Argonian. They were quiet, with the two humans holding Serrek down, while the elf seemed more intent on the surroundings, and on the Atronach.

Probably the summoner, he thought, flicking his eyes between them. But what do they want?

"Submit..."

His blood boiled on the word alone, but he forced himself to be quiet. It had come from the hooded figure, he saw, and he could see that Serrek was struggling...but not nearly as strong as he knew his marshbrother could. Why was he holding back?

The hood suddenly flipped down, and Arga bit back a hiss.

Vampire. The red eyes explained everything, including the unnatural stillness all around them. The other people had to be thralls, put under the vampire's sway. They'd be nothing more than weapons, now, if that. They were useless as anything else.

He was surprised to see Serrek still resisting it, but as the vampire began to descend, his mouth open, it was clear that he wouldn't resist for long.

Without thinking, Arga whipped his hand around. The summoned dagger flew through the air and struck the dark elf in the forehead, killing him immediately. Lacking a summoner, the Atronach disappeared instantly, leaving just three opponents rather than five.

Arga was on his feet and closing the distance immediately, light rushing down his arms and filling his hands with magic. The vampire turned just in time to take a lightning bolt to the chest, which knocked him off of his feet. The humans turned just in time to get a hand on their faces, and Arga glared, despite being chest to chest with Serrek.

"You served the wrong master."

With that, flame rushed down his arms and spilled out of his hands. When he let go, the faceless humans fell to the ground, and then burned to ash, as their unnatural life left them. Arga barely noticed; all of his attention was focused on Serrek. Tapping the other Argonian's cheek, he shook his head.

"Wake up. Wake up!'

"Ugh...Stop slapping me."

"Then answer. Are you you?"

"Yeah, I'm me. Who else would I be? You? Nine Divines, kill me if that ever happens."

He let out a small sigh of relief. Despite the rudeness, it was most definitely Serrek that was answering. There was no way that any thrall could pull off that level of sarcasm. Arga nodded his head -

"AGH!"

Only to fall to the side as he was stabbed in the back. A dagger stuck out of him, just barely having glanced off of a rib, and slipped out as he hit the ground and rolled to the side. He looked up to see the vampire, scorched, but very much 'alive'.

"Lightning. Do you know nothing about vampires?"

"Enough to know you're near death."

"And you...will...be -"

Arga closed his eyes, rolling to the side again to avoid the twin magics of the vampire. Seduction was a power that he was more used to, and he felt that he might be able to avoid it another time. But having been stabbed...well, he didn't want to risk it. Nor did he need to feed the vampire any energy, considering the blood-draining magic he could feel near him.

He ducked behind a treestump, and saw Serrek disappearing in the bush. Arga took a couple of deep breaths, shaking his head.

"You lost your prey. Get out before you're destroyed."

"You're hurt. Once I capture you, you'll help me get him."

"Unlikely."

"Heh, not a refusal?"

"I don't know. You might be a god in disguise, in which case, you might be able to convince me. But I doubt you are."

"Divines, Arga, but that was the worst sarcasm I've ever heard."

Both he and the vampire looked upwards, and there was Serrek, bow drawn with a fire burning at the arrow tip. Before the vampire could do more than hiss, the burning shaft shot down. Arga couldn't help but notice the grin on Serrek's face, and for a change, let himself share in it.

As the vampire burned down to ash and his companion leaped down from the trees, Arga used a bit of magic to heal himself. His body glowed like some of the underground moss, but with the extra power, he was able to close the wound with what little healing magic he knew. When it was finally done, he walked around and nodded at Serrek.

"Thank you for that last."

"...Sarcasm, then a thank you? Are you sure that you're not charmed or something?"

Arga shook his head.

"I'm never entirely sure, but this feels normal."

"That sounds a little more like you." Shouldering his bow, Serrek looked around at the group. "You know, I'm starting to wonder why we still travel together. If it's not some Jarl's men trying to throw me in jail -"

"For a reason completely understandable."

" - then it's some ass trying to capture the living soul gem."

He blinked.

"The vampire wanted me?"

"That's what he said." Serrek shrugged. "All that about you and being a huge source of power for any vampire that caught you. I told him to piss off - heh, while pissing, actually - and then he decided to try and turn me into a tool."

"It didn't seem to work."

"Yeah, well, I was running for most of that. He was about to get me."

"He didn't."

"Thanks to you."

It was Arga's turn to shrug.

"I didn't want to lose a...companion."

"Come on, you can say it. If you're already trying sarcasm - terrible sarcasm, by the way - you can try saying 'friend'."

"You are -"

"A friend. Say it. Saaaaaaay it."

"...a friend."

"Who is?"

"Don't push your luck."

The End