Vilkas
"We must get back Wuuthrad!! It was Ysgramor's!" Aela snaps. I nod, agreeing completely. "I will take Baiasma. We will go, kill the Silver Hand, take out the threat, and get back the shards of the battleaxe." Baiasma looks at me, flushing under her fur. I flush too, turning away to look at my brother and Aela. "If Baiasma agrees to this..." I mutter. Baiasma looks at me and nods, "I will go with Vilkas." Aela looks like she is about to fight to go but one look from Farkas makes her close her mouth. "I have been searching and the only remaining Silver Hand camp is in Drift shade Refuge, near Dawnstar. That must be where they took the fragments," Aela says softly. I turn to Baiasma, meeting her yellow eyes. She gives me a soft nod. "We leave as soon as we are ready to go." Everyone takes this as dismissal and gets up. I go down to the Living Quarters, getting my sword and my armor, a few potions and some food before returning to the Hall. Farkas pats my shoulder before going over to Aela. I watch them, shaking my head. He was going to be hurt, Aela loved no one but herself and Skjor. But she smiled at Farkas when he walked over to her, a full smile that was rare for her. "V-Vilkas?" Baiasma says softly, looking at me, blushing under her fur. "I'm ready, let's go." She nods and I hold the door out of Jorrvaskr open for her, which makes her blush brighter. I would have to talk to her before this mission so she didn't blush at my every word or gesture... I follow her to the stables and we both get our horses. It was a straight northward ride, toward the city of Dawnstar, but to the southeast of that city to where we need to be. "Vilkas?" Baiasma's voice is soft and shy. "Yes?" "Why did you volunteer me to go with you?" I look into her feline yellow eyes, "Because I trust you to have my back and I care about you and want you near me so I can protect you." She nods, her cheeks pink beneath her fur, "Alright." We ride out of Whiterun, northbound toward Driftshade Refuge. It isn't until there has been an hour or so of silence before I hear, "Vilkas?" I turn and look at her, "Yes, Baiasma?" She looks embarrassed and uncomfortable. "Why did you kiss me?" I think back and smile slightly. I had kissed her, something I had wanted to do for a while. "Because I wanted to. And it made you stop yelling at me." "Well, you called me a cat. And blamed me for Kodlak's death." I wince slightly, cursing myself for ever having said those things to her. "I shouldn't have called you that, it was horribly mean of me. And I shouldn't have blamed you. It wasn't your fault that Kodlak is dead. His time came and there is nothing any of us could have done to stop that." I meet her yellow eyes, willing her to understand that I meant these words. "I accept your apology, Vilkas." I smile widely, happy that she did. "How much further until we get there?" She asks. I glance at my map and tilt my head. "Oh, another hour or two." She sighs and leans against her horse's neck. "I hate riding for so long... Cats aren't meant to ride horses!" she mutters, making me laugh. She was truly the best woman I had ever met.
Baiasma
I must have nodded off because Vilkas woke me from the back of my horse. "We are here, Baiasma." He whispered softly to me. I slip from the horse and land in the snow, the cold waking me up fully. A small fort stood out in the white snow, some people outside of the entrance. "I see three of them, do you see any more?" Vilkas asks me. Since I see better in the dark with my Night's Eye, I looked around the fort. "No, just those three." He nodded and crouched, beckoning for me to follow him. We slowly sneak up to the refuge. Vilkas points to one, then to me, motioning that he would get the other two. A fierce, vicious smile overtakes his usually peaceful face as we sneak up behind them. I pull my Skyforge steel dagger from the sheathe and stand up behind my target. I smile, reaching around and slitting his throat, watching his body drop into the red snow at our feet. Another thud, then a soft cry of pain and a third thud follows. "For Kodlak," Vilkas says as we walk up to the door. I nod, cleaning my dagger on the armor of the Nord I just killed and sheathe it, pulling my two swords from the sheaths, pushing open the door. Inside are a few Silver Hand and we quietly slaughter them, looting their bodies and leaving them. We go down the stairs and lose ourselves in battle. I don't become a wolf, preferring to take my time with killing them, being close as they take their final breaths. We find a barred door that is impossible to get but leave it, finding the right path, further into the fort. After more slaughter and searching, I find a locked door. I smile weakly at Vilkas as I show off the skills my kind is known for, picking locks. Inside is another bastard Silver Hand, which I dispatch with a quick slice with both swords, severing his head from his body. The next door is blocked with spears but Vilkas finds a pull lever, releasing the offending spears and allowing us to pass through and into the cellar. "Let's rest a moment," I murmur to Vilkas. He nods, looking murderous but still attractive, covered in blood and gore, his lips pulled back in a snarl and his eyes wild with blood lust and rage. After a few moments of resting, we follow the only path out of the room we were in. There is a Silver Hand and a lever not far from me. It is only then that I see the spike trap. I smirk, an evil smirk, and pull the lever, watching the spikes pierce him and kill him. Up ahead, there is a cage. I look inside and a dead werewolf lies at the bottom. My heart stutters in my chest for my fallen BeastBlooded brother. I turn and there is another spike wall. "A pull bar," Vilkas says shortly, pointing to it with his bloody sword. I pull it and open a chest, only to jump back as spikes come from everywhere. Vilkas must have avoided them too because I don't hear them hit anything. I loot the chest, taking everything I want and pull another pull bar to get out, heading through a room to see two Silver Hand. I nod to one and Vilkas smiles as he takes the other, quickly killing them. This sneaking around was not getting me the satisfaction of a messy and painful kill. We go through a hallway and it opens to a snowy cave. The room is two leveled and that it all I see before Vilkas tackles me. I am about to yell at him when another arrow clatters not far from where we fell. "Dammit!" I mutter, cursing myself for wanting a fight. Vilkas pats my head and charges out of hiding, up to the second level, somehow dodging all of the arrows shot at him, and shoves his sword through the archer's chest. She dies with a croak. I go up to where Vilkas is cleaning his sword off on her hide armor. There is a few cages. I look inside one and jump back as a werewolf swipes it's claws at me. "I'm so sorry..." I murmur to it as it snarls and slashes at me again. "You have to leave it, otherwise it will attack us. They can't tell we are friends," Vilkas says softly in my ear. I nod and leave it, looking into the next one. It has a dead horse inside. I leave it locked and walk through the doorway into a torture room. After going through the room is a chamber, with a few people inside. Vilkas and I kill them all and search the room, getting coins and such before going through the only passageway. It leads to chamber with some Silver Hand, three of them. I kill them all while Vilkas watches, then we search the room. A chest contains some good loot, then I hear, "Here it is!" I walk over and there they are. The pieces of Wuuthrad. I slowly pick them up. "Wuuthrad, Ysgramor's weapon." Vilkas nods as I place them into my bag and we take the door to the south, leaving the fort. We find our horses and ride back toward Whiterun, blood covered but victorious.
Aela
It isn't until nighttime that Vilkas and Baiasma return. I run over to Baiasma and she hands me a small pouch, the pieces of Wuuthrad clinking together inside of it. "As soon as the sun rises, we are having Kodlak's pyre," Vilkas says, wiping his face off with a piece of cloth. He takes Baiasma's hand and leads her out of Jorrvaskr, the both of them covered in dried blood. "We'll be back," is all he calls over his shoulder. I watch them leave, it making my heart ache. I could see the love between them, as young and fragile as it was. "They're cute together, aren't they?" my love asked in my ear. I nod, turning to look up into his dark eyes, thinking something along the lines of, 'not as cute as you,' though I don't say it. "Of course they are, your bother is pretty cute," I say sarcastically, just to get a rile out of him. Farkas laughs, rolling his eyes. "As cute as a Frostbite Spider." I laugh too, smiling. He smiles, making my heart skip a beat. I look at him and say the first thing that comes to my mind, "Do you really love her?" He looks confused. "Who?" "Baiasma..." His eyes widen as he remembers. "No! By the Nine, no, not like that. I think of her as my sister. I didn't think you would take it very well if I told you that I loved... someone else. Baiasma was my first thought." I swallow the lump in my throat and look into those dark eyes, "Who? Who is it that claims the wolf warrior's heart?" "You know," he says softly, looking away. My heart flutters in my chest and I take a shot. I grab his face in my hands and pull it to mine, kissing him. He freezes, not moving as I kiss his lips slowly and softly, putting all my care for him into the kiss. "Me?" I ask as I pull away. He flushes a dark red and nods slowly. "It's only ever been and always will be you." I smile, kissing him again softly. "I care for you, Farkas, too. I've only recently found out and been able to admit it. I hope you believe me." He looked shocked, to say the least. "But... Skjor... I'm icebrain.... you tolerate me..." he stutters out. "It wasn't until recently that I realized that I cared for you. When I found out that I was with child." He nods. "Your attitude toward me has certainly changed since... Skjor's death." I take his hand and rub the back against my face, "Because I realized that I cared about you when you comforted me and stood by me. No matter what I did, you were there. Even after all the side things I did with Baiasma and the Silver Hand." Farkas nodded, kissing my cheek. "It hurt my heart, how much you were hurting over Skjor. I couldn't let you suffer like that." I smile, though it is broken by a yawn. Farkas smiles mischievously and sweeps me off my feet and into his arms. "We are going to bed." I look around and see that there is no one around. No one to notice us being together. He carries me down to the Living Quarters and to my bedroom, laying me down in my bed. I reach out for him and pull him down next to me. I snuggle against his chest and close my eyes, quickly falling asleep.
Vilkas woke us up the next morning, the smirk on his face huge. "So, how was your night, Aela?" He asked. "Shut up, Vilkas. I would never have even... not now, with everything that has been going on," Farkas says, sitting up beside me. Vilkas didn't know of my condition and Farkas wouldn't touch me like that while I was. Vilkas sobered up quickly and nodded. "It'll be starting soon. Meet us up at the Skyforge." He then walks out. "Thank you for not telling him," I say softly to Farkas, kissing his cheek. "I know that you don't want anyone to know yet. Vilkas would only tell Baiasma but you don't want them to know." I nod quickly. I wasn't ready to tell the other Companions yet. I kiss Farkas and get up, combing out my hair and pulling my boots on. Farkas gets ready beside me and I smile. We slowly make our ways up to the Skyforge and there is the wood piled for Kodlak's pyre. I hide my face in Farkas' chest with a soft sob. "Easy, Aela, it's okay." I nod and look around. The Jarl and a few other people of Whiterun were there. I lay my head against Farkas' shoulder as everyone looks at me. I clear my throat and begin the prayer, "Before the ancient flame..." "We grieve." "At this loss..." Eorlund says next to us. "We weep." Vilkas looks at the shrouded body on the pyre as he says, "For the fallen.." "We shout." Farkas' chest rumbles as he says barely loud enough for everyone to hear, "And for ourselves..." "We take our leave." Then a quick eulogy is given and I light the pyre. I stay there for a moment, barely a silhouette against the flames, then return to Farkas. He wraps an arm around me and kisses my cheek. "He's with Hircine now." "He didn't want to be. He wanted to go to Sovengarde." Farkas nods, knowing what Kodlak wanted. "Aela, come speak with me," Eorlund says, motioning for me to follow him over to the grindstone. "Yes, Eorlund?" "If you give me all the pieces of Wuuthrad, I can remake her." I hand him the pouch that I carried with me everywhere since Baiasma handed it to me. He looks in it. "Does this have Kodlak's piece?" "Kodlak's piece?" I ask. He nods. "Kodlak had a piece in his room, go get it for me." I nod and walk down to Jorrvaskr and head to the back, to Kodlak's room. I find the piece on his nightstand and takes it up to Eorlund at the Skyforge. "Here is his piece." He nods and takes it. "Your Shield-Siblings are in the Underforge, waiting for you. I'll have this remade as soon as possible." I nod, going down to the Underforge. I walk in mid-conversation. "....didn't want to join Hircine's Hunt. He always wanted to go to Sovengarde," Farkas said. "What is the Nord obsession with Sovengarde? He became one with the BeastBlood, he should join the Hunt happily," Baiasma replies. Normally, I would have agreed with her but this was Kodlak. The old man had never planned to join the Hunt. "Farkas is right, Bai. Kodlak deserves the afterlife he wanted." Baiasma looks at me like I have lost my mind. I was the biggest and firmest believer of Hircine's blessings. Just then, Eorlund comes in with a fully repaired Wuuthrad. "You will need this if you're going to Ysgramor's tomb to cure Kodlak." He hands Wuuthrad to Baiasma and walks out. Vilkas nods and looks to us all, "Tomorrow, we go to the tomb to cure Kodlak of the BeastBlood." Baiasma doesn't look happy but she nods along with the rest of us. Farkas and I leave the Underforge together. "Are you alright?" He asks softly. I nod, "Fine. Just... shocked." "Everyone is. No one ever thought the old man could die." I smile slightly. I didn't think he could die. I though he would outlive us all, would train the children we all had. "I'm going to go lay down, Farkas. I'll see you later." He nods and I go into Jorrvaskr to lay down.
Farkas
"So where is the Tomb?" I ask my twin. "Northwest of Winterhold," Vilkas said as he pointed to it on the map. "Alright. Shouldn't take too long to get there." He nodded. "So, what's going on with you and Aela, you two have been spending a lot of time together," Vilkas asks. I smile despite myself. "Just my helping her grieve and such. Making sure she isn't too hard on herself, especially now." I silently curse myself for saying too much. "Yeah, after having lost Kodlak and Skjor. It must be hard on her. I'm sorry for the things I said about her, she seems to have taken up to you." I smile, remembering her lips on mime last night. "Yeah, I think so. So, Baiasma?" Vilkas blushes brightly and smiles slyly, "I guess I could say she's great." My eyes widen, "You didn't!" "I did." I flush slightly but pat my brother's shoulder. "Congrats. She's a fine woman." He nods, sighing happily, "Yeah, she is. I think I love her..." I look into my brother's eyes and see the love in them, is that how I looked when I looked at Aela? "You love her?" He nods. "Aye." I pat him on the shoulder once again and laugh, "Should I plan the wedding, my dear brother?" He smiles. "Maybe. I still have to ask first." "Ask what?" Baiasma says as she walks in. Vilkas' eyes widen as he looks at her. "Umm.. ask Aela about how to cure Kodlak..." he stutters out. "Oh, I know how to do that," Baiasma says and I chuckle as I leave them, shaking my head. Maybe soon we would be attending a wedding instead of all of these funerals. I go to the inn to get a drink, ignoring the looks I got from some of the people within. I pass the innkeeper a few gold for a mead and sit at the bar, drinking. The bard sang of Ragnar the Red, my favorite song. I smiled softly, finishing my mead. I drank until nightfall, when Vilkas came and got me. He half drug me out of the inn, me stumbling and laughing. "Farkas, you icebrain, Aela would smack you if she saw you like this." I laugh and nod as he lays me down in my bed, letting me sleep on my buzz.
In the morning, Aela wakes me up with cold water dumped on my head. I gasp, then groan. "Aww, Aela..." She snorts. "Get up or it'll be another on your head." I groan but sit up. "We're going to leave soon, so get up." She turns around and leaves. I swallow, knowing that I'm in trouble with her, and get changed into other clothes and pull my other armor on, rubbing my head. It was going to be a long day...
A few hours later...
We make it to the Tomb and get inside, Baiasma putting Wuuthrad into the statue of Ysgramor's hands. It opens a passage way and we go to go through it. "I'm staying here..." Vilkas says softly. We all look at him. "My intentions haven't been pure since Kodlak's death and we don't need that in here." We nod and leave him there. After ghosts of Companions past and some nasty Frostbite Spiders, we make it into the Burial Chamber. Inside is Kodlak's ghost. Baiasma puts a Glenmoril Witch's head into the flames and a ghostly wolf comes out and attacks us. It takes some time but we kill it, thus freeing Kodlak from the BeastBlood. "Baiasma, you have served the Companions well. The only way to repay you is to do this. I, Kodlak Whitemane, make you Harbinger of the Companions." Baiasma gasps softly, looking wide eyed. "That makes her the first leader since Ysgramor's himself..." Aela says softly. Kodlak nods. "So it is." Then he disappears. I look between Baiasma and Aela, then kneel. "I pledge myself to you, Harbinger." Aela follows me and does the same. "Thank you, Aela, Farkas. Your support means a lot to me." She kisses each of our cheeks and smiles. I look upon our leader with pride. The Companions had a leader once again, someone to guide us through the darkness. I was more than happy, I felt whole. With that thought, I remembered Hircine's words....
To make up for not updating, I wrote you the longest chapter in the entire book. I'm so sorry that's been so long since the last one, I've been busy babysitting and shit. I hope you like it!
Andrea