Discord stared around at his surroundings in confusion. He had gone wandering around the edges of the Shivering Isles, home to himself and his Dad, and had stumbled across a bunch of doors that didn't actually exist. Always eager to discover something new, he hadn't hesitated to pop open one of the doors and duck through it. Unfortunately, as soon as he was through, the door vanished into total non-existence, leaving him with no way back. He wasn't too concerned, as he'd yet to encounter anything that actually hurt him, and was certain his Dad would come find him before he got in too much trouble...or possibly just after. Either way, fun.
His surroundings now discouraged him in that regard, however. He found himself wandering around a mountainous region covered in white ash. In the distance, he heard boisterous bellows alternating between rage and celebration, and the clash of steel. What made him more nervous was that none of the bellows sounded humanesque. While there weren't any true humans in the Shivering Isles, all the ones he'd seen in his high elevation explorations (Dad didn't want him meeting people freely until he was big enough to properly intimidate) were human in shape, and thus sounded humanesque in their range of noises. These sounded far more brutish.
Cresting a cliff, he found himself staring down at a scene of absolute chaos, completely washing away his unease. The creatures below were roughly humanoid in shape, but with much rougher grey skin with less refined features. The males appeared brutish, while the females appeared feral. All had teeth jutting up from their lower jaws over their upper lip, and all were fully armed and armored. They were in a constant flow of battling each other, drinking and feasting, and doing other things that Discord didn't fully understand but often wound up involving several males and females and resembled a different sort of fight. Some of those below were doing all these things simultaneously. While not the sort of thing Discord wanted to join in, it was certainly something he wanted a better look at. Coming out from behind the hill, he floated over the gathering for a better look.
Before he got far, he felt power seize him. He recognized the sensation as being similar to when his Dad's power gripped him, though this felt relatively weaker and focused very differently. He didn't know who had grabbed him, but his struggles showed him that - at least for now - they were much stronger than he. However, the power also seemed focused in such a way as to not hurt him, so he relaxed to see who was doing it...and how he could give them enough headaches to let him go.
The one that held him in their grip quickly became visible. He was another brutish figure like those below, at least visibly. In fact, he was visibly indistinguishable from those battling - and other things - in the valley save for a massive, bleeding wound in his chest that did not heal. However, Discord wasn't limited to visual identification, and plainly saw the aura of power that suffused his true being, the same aura that held Discord in its grip.
The creature stared at Discord for a time. "Hmm...you are not native to my sphere," he stated softly, his free hand clutching a steel sword as long as his body as the other balanced Discord in his power. "And you are not the sort of creature to take shape naturally in any land I am aware of. What sort of creature are you?"
"Dee Koh!" Discord proclaimed eagerly, wiggling his talons and claws to attempt to shape some chaos. A few butterflies appeared in the air over them, but they quickly dissolved. Discord pouted, not liking that he had so little power here, or in the grip of this one.
"Discord, hmm?" the creature mused. "I am Malacath. To where do you belong, little one?"
"Dada!" Discord declared, flicking himself in the chin and making his head do a flip in the air before landing back on his neck.
Malacath released his sword to stroke his chin thoughtfully. "I see..." he mused thoughtfully, his voice gravelly and echoing. "Plainly, you hail from one of the spheres. A creature such as you would either not last long or have drawn Daedric attention had you been amongst mortals. Tell me, what do you know of your Father's aspects?"
Discord thought for a time. He didn't know what an 'aspect' was, but he got the feeling this Malacath wanted him to describe his Dad. After a bit of internal debate, he figured out the one thing he could manage to say that he felt represented his Dad. "Cheese!"
Malacath groaned, rubbing his forehead. "Yes, you would be one of his, wouldn't you?" He sighed ruefully. "You call him Dad. Is he truly your father?"
Discord tilted his head, not understanding.
"Did he make you?" Malacath clarified.
"Nuh uh!" Discord proclaimed firmly. "He Dada!"
Malacath's eyebrow rose. "He...took you in?" At the nod from Discord, he frowned thoughtfully. "That seems...unlike him. But you do seem the sort that he would enjoy..." Shifting his sword to his back - where it stayed because he told it to - he lifted Discord into his arms. "Well, it would be best if you were returned to him. Assuming he remembers you, he is probably worried by now." Turning he walked off with the tiny chimera under his arm.
"But...but..." Discord yearned back to the gathering they were leaving. "Pah-tea! Pah-tea!"
Malacath blinked in surprise. "You...wish to join the revelry?" he asked, surprised.
Discord looked up at Malacath's size, then glanced at the size of the revelers, then at his own diminutive size before clambering up to Malacath's shoulder, clutching the sword hilt for balance. "Watch?" he asked hopefully. "Fun!"
"You feel no fear in the presence of the Orsimer?" Malacath asked in surprise. "Nor loathing?"
Discord blinked, processing the question. "Fee...ear? Low...thing?" He glanced around, then scooped up a rock, popped one of his ears off, and handed both to Malacath hopefully. "Now pah-tea?"
Malacath stared in amazement. "You who would be outcast and ostracized almost anywhere...you do not even understand the concept of fear and hate..." Taking the rock, he slipped it into a pouch at his waist, then reattached the ear to Discord's head. "I think I will speak more with Sheogorath after all, if only to keep this innocence of yours as long as possible."
"Dada! Dada!" Discord promptly forgot about the party at the mention of his Dad.
Sheogorath paced frantically across the entire Isles. "Where is he? Where is he? WHERE IS HE?" Structures collapsed and mountains sprang into existence from the power of his fretting, leaving even more madness in his wake than usual as plants burst into butterflies and insects bloomed before dropping fruit. Any other day, he'd have marveled at the sight of a fruit fly - a winged piece of fruit that spat juice and seeds to both defend itself and make more of itself - but all his focus was on his missing child.
"While it is surprising to see you carrying a single train of thought for so long, My Lord," Haskill offered diffidently, "it would perhaps be best if you calmed down somewhat. When we do recover the Young Lord, it would be best he had a home to return to, wouldn't it?"
"Do not tell me what to do, Haskill!" Sheogorath snapped, blasting the ground all around Haskill with a thought and leaving the poor chamberlain standing on a pillar in the center of a crater. "I am truly Mad right now, for my son has gone missing-" He paused as he felt a niggle at the edge of the realm. "What is that?"
Haskill quickly interpreted the message. "Lord Malacath desires entry, My Lord," he translated. Feeling another niggle, he smiled in relief. "It appears he has safely retrieved the Young Lord-"
Sheogorath immediately opened the gate between his realm and the Ashpit, allowing Malacath to materialize upon the Isles. At the sight of the creature clinging to Malacath's sword, he let out a whoop of joy and relief. "Discord, my son! There you are!" Rushing forward, he scooped the little creature into his arms, clinging to him tightly as the little chimera giggled happily. "Don't go wandering off again! I'll...I'll explode your head if you worry me like that again!"
Discord blew a raspberry at his father before sprouting a second head, which also blew a raspberry before exploding with a bang like a party popper.
Sheogorath laughed happily. "That's my boy!" His expression then shifted to deadly serious. "But seriously, no wandering off without at least leaving a note or something. Or no chocolate."
Discord's eyes went wide, and he whimpered sorrowfully.
"I mean it," Sheogorath insisted. "I was so worried about you I actually managed a coherent train of thought for a full hour! Don't do that to me again."
As Discord snuggled up to Sheogorath, Malacath smiled softly. "So you did take him in," he murmured softly. "That is...pleasing. He would be ostracized almost anywhere. Seeing him, I had thought only I would look past his appearance and welcome him-"
"I saw him first!" Sheogorath proclaimed petulantly, hugging Discord tighter. "Go get your own randomly appearing magical beast of reality rewriting! This one's my kid!"
Malacath laughed softly. "You might want to start escorting him around to the other realms," he suggested. "He seems determined to explore. He is welcome to visit the Ashpit. He seemed eager to see the 'party'."
"Pah-tea! Pah-tea!" Discord squealed happily, tugging on Sheogorath's tunic and gesturing at Malacath.
"What a marvelous idea!" Sheogorath agreed. "Malt Chocolate! You are welcome to our tea parties!"
Malacath's eyes narrowed. He didn't like the bastardization of his name, but it was Sheogorath. What could one do? Besides, the invitation from Discord was surely genuine. "I shall surely consider it."
Discord wriggled out of Sheogorath's embrace and floated over to Malacath. He looked at his mouth, then floated down to look in his wound. He shifted back and forth several times.
Realizing what he was attempting to inquire, Malacath rolled his eyes and decided to humor the child. Conjuring a mug of mead, he chugged it down, squirming internally as part of the drink spurted out the wound.
Discord and Sheogorath both burst into giggles and laughter, applauding the trick. Malacath blinked for a time...and smiled the first genuine smile he'd experienced since he took up the mantle of Daedra. Perhaps this wouldn't be so bad after all.