Ara sat on the wide steps that led to Dragonsreach, mulling over the Jarl's would-be request as it mixed with her own thoughts. She was silent as the city below come to life beneath the early morning sun, and her wolf unconsciously processed the onslaught of information that simply sitting in the wind provided; Carlotta already had her fresh vegetables and bread out, and the hunters were getting their stalls prepared, the smell of fresh meat making her salivate. Eorlund was kindling the Skyforge – well, she could see that – but she knew Adrianne was doing the same near the city gates. The forges smelled differently; a fact she knew she'd only discerned because of her blood and the heightened senses it came with.
She sighed contentedly. There were precious few moments like this, where she had no immediate responsibility and could just… sit. She contemplated returning home and crawling under the furs, and her wolf whined against the back of her mind, obviously pleased at that idea. Sleep never really came restfully though, no matter how often or long she slept, and she shook the idea away beneath another sigh.
Her eyes wandered, unseeing, over the upturned hull of the great ship that served as the bones of the mead hall she called home, smiling at the memory of the twins, completely sloshed and trying to help each other fall down the stairs the night before. She'd fended both of their inebriated advances off, oh-so-tempting as they were, and had left them where they'd fallen haphazardly into Vilkas' bed. The drunken sots probably wouldn't have been good for anything anyway, she thought with a grin, and she hummed lightly at the memory of the normally broody and grumpy older twin being unconsciously affectionate to his younger, albeit larger, brother in their drunken haze. Vilkas had made sure Farkas had plenty of blankets and an empty pot close before falling unconscious beside him; the whole thing had been... endearing, and made her realize just how much she adored them both.
"Aaarrraaa." The singsong lilt of her name roused her from her own head, and she glanced up to find the sweet girl she'd taken under her wing staring down at her, her face smudged with dirt.
"Lucia, you startled me!" She poked at the girl's belly, earning a resounding giggle as she tried to protect herself from being tickled, but Lucia's face scrunched in seriousness the next moment.
"What's wrong? I can never sneak up on you," the child tilted her head, her fingers worrying at the shiny skin of the apple she carried.
"Just tired, I guess," she said, pretending to stifle a yawn. "I don't sleep very well sometimes," she curled her fingers in a mock threat to tickle the child again, hoping to distract the girl from her line of questioning, but Lucia just giggled and pushed her hand away as she kneeled on the next step down.
"Is it because of nightmares?" Her eyes were earnest as she sat back on her heels and looked up through a bite of her apple, the juices running down her chin.
"Why aren't you in Hulda's kitchen?" Ara didn't care for being interrogated by the girl, though her tone belied the fondness she felt for the young orphan regardless.
"We finished making breakfast early, so Saadia said I could go play before it's time to do the dishes," the explanation was garbled through another mouthful of apple, and Ara followed the girl's gaze out over the city.
"And why aren't you playing then?" Ara's stomach rumbled at the combination of the girl's crunching and the smell of the hunters' fresh catches wafting up from the market. "I can hear the others already."
"I like you more than Braith," Lucia answered without missing a beat, and Ara couldn't help but chuckle. "Besides, you said you'd sing the tarts song to me! And teach me a new one!"
Ara had forgotten about that promise, and she felt herself smile at the young girl's persistence as she wiped a chunk of apple from her young friend's sticky chin. "Okay, but how about we go find breakfast for me while I do? You're making me hungry, and I have to be back soon."
"Oh yeah, Vilkas is looking for you. He asked if I knew where you were. He seemed grumpy," Lucia twined her small fingers in between Ara's as they rose and slowly descended the long, tiered pathway from Dragonsreach.
"Where did you see Vilkas?" Ara was sure he was grumpy, but she didn't even expect him out of bed yet, let alone conversing with the bubbly girl. "And what did you tell him?"
"Where you live. I went there looking for you," she explained nonchalantly. Because of course you did, Ara thought with a grin. "And I said I didn't know. Cause I didn't. I hadn't found you yet." Ara laughed at the young girl's honesty, but it was short lived as they passed beneath the Gildergreen. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up in an electric prelude to the scent of woodsmoke and the crisp cold of night invading her senses, and, indeed, Vilkas came into view as they rounded the dead tree. He leaned against the stone of the archway that led to the market, arms crossed and looking every bit as hungover as she expected, and Lucia pulled closer to her as they neared him.
"Good morning, Vilkas. Sleep well?" She tried to make her voice as earnest as possible, but she failed miserably, earning herself a resolute scowl from the man as he looked her up and down. Still, she felt no remorse as she continued to lead the child towards the market.
"What do you think?" He ignored her question, giving only a moment's glance to Lucia before stepping more fully in front of them. "Where did you run off to so early?" She smirked lightly as he brushed an ever-errant tendril of hair behind her ear, taking note of the dejection just beneath the heat shining in his eyes.
"To get breakfast," she said, feeling the girl squeeze her hand. "And keep a promise," she smiled down at Lucia, "before I take her back to Hulda."
"Could have at least said something," Vilkas' voice was harsher than it needed to be as he dropped his hand, and she felt Lucia press slightly behind her; but the slight movement didn't go unnoticed, and Vilkas peered down at her. "And you," he poked a finger out at her, "I thought you said you didn't know where she was?"
"I-I hadn't found her yet," Lucia's voice was soft behind her legs, and Ara saw his features soften immediately as he squatted down.
Eyeing the girl who was half-hidden behind her legs, he tipped her nose with the crook of his finger, earning a small, hesitant smile. "Hey, I'm not grumpy with you. I'm sorry if I seemed that way," he said lightly, "I didn't sleep very well, and I had hoped Ara would be around to help me feel better when I woke up." He sent a brief, suggestive glance up to her, a wry grin quirking the corner of his mouth.
"Gods, Vilkas," Ara muttered, thanking the same gods she was cursing him with that the whole thing would probably go over the girl's head.
"Did you have nightmares like Ara?" Lucia peeked out from behind her hip, glancing from Vilkas and up to her. Praise childhood ignorance, she mused, and was just about direct her away when the girl continued. "You should sing to him! That would make him feel better!" The raw innocence in the girl's eyes quelled any irritation she would have normally felt at the girl airing their previous conversation and instead found herself trying to stifle a giggle at what was clearly a very serious matter to the eight-year old.
But the girl's words didn't go unnoticed, and she saw a smirk press into the corner of Vilkas' mouth too. "I didn't know you sang."
"Of course she does! She's got the prettiest voice!" Lucia pulled at Ara, beaming.
"I thought we were getting breakfast?" Ara pinched the girl's nose as she pulled her towards the stairs, feeling her cheeks flush crimson at one of the secrets she'd hoped to share with just the girl being revealed.
"Do you want a sweetroll?" Lucia looked back at Vilkas as he straightened to watch them go, and Ara found herself wondering which daedric Prince was punishing her as Lucia grabbed Vilkas' hand and dragged the man she was normally terrified of along with them.
"Vilkas probably has Companion things to do, Lucia," Ara chided the girl, who let Vilkas' hand fall away with a dejected pout.
"I ate already, but," the telltale glint was back in Vilkas' eyes as he smirked at her again, and Ara groaned internally as she watched the man retake the girl's hand, "I love sweetrolls. Now what's this about a promise?"
Ara couldn't make her mouth form words as the young girl told him all about the songs that Ara had been teaching her, and how happy she was that Ara had asked Hulda to let her help, and about how her favorite thing to help Saadia make was the very same sweetrolls that they were going to get for breakfast, and how Saadia always let her lick the frosting bowl, and how mad he made Ara – which she knew because Ara always talked about it, and how much he looked like Farkas, and how Brenuin kept trying to get her to steal some weird bottles from the kitchen for him, and…
"There you are!" Farkas' voice startled Ara out of her rather embarrassed stupor, and Lucia out of her babbling, and she saw Vilkas rub his temple as he sighed in relief. Their motley band turned to find the crowd parting before the larger twin, as if afraid he'd simply bowl them over if they didn't. "Where'd you run off to?" He swept Ara up in his arms, nuzzling the side of her neck before turning his attention to the girl. "What are you guys doing?"
"Getting breakfast!" Lucia chimed, making Ara's mouth quirk as Vilkas winced and rolled his eyes. Here it comes. "Do you want one, Farkas?" And there it is. The girl was more familiar with the bulkier twin, as evidenced by the delighted squeal she gave when Farkas scooped her up and onto his shoulder. Ara saw Vilkas' pained expression at the girl's exuberance, and she gave a quick wink in response to Vilkas' suspicious glare when he noticed her mischievous grin.
"Lucia…" Ara didn't take her eyes off of the broody warrior. "The Queen of Hearts, she made some tarts, all on a summers day…" she singsonged the catchy tune, watching Vilkas' scowl deepen through another wince as the young girl squealed again and then continued the rhyme, warbling it over the din of the market from atop Farkas' towering form.
"I'm chaining you to the bed next time," Vilkas muttered, nonetheless falling into step beside her as they followed in Farkas' wake. She smiled unabashedly, poking him in the side as he wound his arm around her shoulders.
"And miss sweetrolls for breakfast?" He rewarded her wit with a pained chuckle, and she sighed contentedly again before lending her own voice in temperance to the two singing off-key ahead of them.
A/N: This was originally supposed to be part of Ara's story in Lily and Ash, but I ended up going a different direction than I had planned and this didn't fit. But, rather than let the scene go to waste, I re-worked it to be its own little one-shot and thus is not part of that story/canon - so far. Lily and Ash is still being written, so there is a possibility that this could be worked in later, but for now it just follows the idea that Ara talked Hulda into letting Lucia stay at the Bannered Mare in exchange for the girl becoming a kitchen helper.
I would say I'm sorry it's terrible, but I'm not. I love the twins and I love Lucia, be it drabble, nonsense, or crack #givemeallofit
The song Ara entices Lucia to sing (badly) to annoy Vilkas is "Tarts" by Erutan. (check it out on YouTube!)
Comments and constructive feedback for improvement are always welcome and appreciated :D