The attackers were dead. Farkas wiped his brow, smearing blood on his forehead. He looked around, at the bodies of the members of the Silver Hand. Then he froze. Kodlak was lying on the ground too, pale and lifeless with a pool of blood slowly growing beneath his body. He wasn't moving. Farkas rushed to him and kneeled on the floor, hoping to find him wounded but still breathing.

"He is dead," Nadja whispered, kneeling on the other side of the old man.

Vilkas was standing near the door and staring at them. Farkas shook his head. They did not need words to communicate. Loud crack of the opening door broke the silence, followed by happy barking. Aline was back. Farkas felt sudden rush of anger. Now she was back!

"Where have you been?!" Vilkas attacked her. Of course his brother felt the same. Their thoughts always followed the same path.

"I was handling something Kodlak asked me to do," she explained cheerfully. "Aela said you had a little problem here, right?"

Then she peered inside. Her face went pale at the sight of the old man's body. Farkas watched her with satisfaction. Yes, she should suffer. She should have returned earlier. Perhaps it would be different, perhaps… Kodlak would still be alive.

"I am not going to leave it like that. We have to find them!" Vilkas said to no one in particular, but it was obvious she would listen. There was already a feeling of guilt on her face.

Even the dog stopped barking for a while. She found it during one of her travels and since then it followed her everywhere. "You should not call him it", she corrected Farkas once, laughing. "It is a male and his name is Barbas."

Farkas liked animals, dogs and wolves in particular, but this one was really annoying. Barbas was constantly moving, searching, sniffing, snooping around. And barking. All the time. ALL THE TIME. On the other hand, his fur was long and surprisingly soft to the touch and his eyes looked extremely intelligent. Its. Its eyes, of course.

Farkas shook his head wearily, realizing that the dog is actually laying on the floor next to him, whimpering softly, its black nose touching Kodlak's arm. Farkas sighed and put his heavy hand on the dog's head. Aline kneeled on the floor next to them.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I wish I returned sooner."

"I don't," he muttered angrily. "You wouldn't have helped anyway."

She reached out to touch his arm, but he moved away.

"Leave me," he added. "Just leave me."

And that she did. For a moment she talked to Vilkas in hushed voices. "We are going to make them pay!" His brother said aloud and then they left. Barking slowly died in the distance. Suddenly, Farkas felt guilty. Why did he get so angry? Something was very wrong. It was not the first time he got furious without any reason. Was it… he felt a cold chill down his spine. Was it the beast taking over?

Funeral preparations took them the rest of the day. It was nearly midnight, when Farkas finally went to bed, but the sleep did not come. Kodlak was like a father to him and his brother. He was there when they were just little kids. He was there when they were growing up, supported them even when they became men, strong, resilient and independent. And now he was gone.

He was also beginning to worry about Vilkas and Aline. Vilkas and Aline. Their names fitted together. He did not pay much attention when they left, but now, in the dark of the night, his thoughts were wandering freely. Only the two of them and the entire den full of the Silver Hand. They were so reckless! He should have gone with them! He could not bear losing his brother and Aline... Of course he was worried about her, too. She was the Dragonborn. The entire world needed her.

Farkas imagined his brother and the girl, blinded by rage and guilt, rushing into the Silver Hand hideout. Both were amazing fighters but the numbers were against them. He punched his bed in desperate anger.

A dog barking somewhere down in the village almost made him jump. Right. They had a dog, so there were three of them. She should have a good, strong man with her instead of dragging a stupid pup around. Someone to talk to, to protect her… A good, strong man like him. Or his brother.

Actually, why Vilkas never asked him to come? They just talked for a few minutes and suddenly everything was arranged. He imagined his brother and Aline camping somewhere high in the mountains, making a small fire and clinging to each other for warmth. He punched the wooden frame of the bed again.

"Farkas," Aela was standing at the door, pale and sad in the darkness of the room. "Cannot sleep?"

"Yeah," he grunted. "Sorry, if I woke you up."

"Don't worry, he will come back," she said, as if reading his mind. Well, a part of his mind anyway.

"How can you be so sure?"

"I've seen her fighting," Aela came up to him and sat on his bed. "And we both know your brother. They would need a worse enemy to be in trouble."

"You are right. Thanks."

"I couldn't sleep too. I thought that if I was a few steps closer, a little faster… I could have saved him."

"I know."

"Yes. You do. You thought the same, didn't you?"

Farkas nodded.

"I always liked that about you," Aela smiled weakly. "You never waste words. You know what she said one day?"

"She?"

"Aline."

He winced. Something about him, obviously. Did he really want to hear that?

"I travelled a little with her recently, you know. It is strange. She seems to be an ordinary person. And then you realize that you actually know nothing about her. That there are things going on in her head you can never comprehend."

"What does it have to do with me?"

"Oh, that. She told me once that she could not understand why everyone is only praising Vilkas. Because you are so much more than meets the eye."

"She said that?"

"Yeah," Aela touched his cheek. Her fingers were cold. "I think she was right."

He did not object when her hand sneaked under the covers. Sometimes they spend nights together, to ease the tension. However, this time it did not work. An unfamiliar, gnawing anxiety did not let him sleep for a long time after Aela left his room.