It was an anomaly, this invitation, and most of the companions thought it was some sort of joke; something the bards cooked up for their own amusement. Who knew? Bards got up to all kinds of weird shit.

But she wasn't a bard. She was much worse.

No-one knew what to make of Janis when she showed up at Jorvasskyr, but almost all of them laughed when they realized she was serious about joining. She was pale, short, thin; Aela had to squint extra hard to make out even a hint of musculature. And she wasn't wearing any armor! By the gods! One did not just try to join the companions without at least some form of armor! No, she wore robes; blue pajama-looking things with funny squiggly patterns on it.

She had brown hair that extended to her chin, her bangs parting attractively to frame a round cherubic face. But she was haggard, frayed at the edges. The hair was wispy and coarse; it looked nice but was clearly uncared for. Her robes were thin from being washed one too many times, and despite that they smelled like fire, ozone, and the pungency of Oblivion planes.

She was a mage.

As nervous as that might have made them, the companions just couldn't take her seriously. Much too little, much too thin; she did wield a massive hammer, but even that was funny because she didn't heft it on her back, but rather dragged it around like a child with an over-large teddy bear.

Unperturbed, Janis went directly to Kodlak and asked him if she could join. The old man "hmmm'd" and "ahhh'd" and at last told her "sure, why not?"

When Aela asked Kodlak if he was joking, he scratched his chin, finally saying "there's something about her." Aela rolled her eyes, chastising herself for disrespecting her leader even as she entertained thoughts of his senility.

Kodlak tasked Vilkas with the testing, a responsibility he bore stoically but with the occasional grumbling of a man doing something he knows damn well is a waste of time. Aela decided to watch, planning to rib him about it later.

They gather behind Jorvasskyr and Vilkas delivers his usual spiel about hitting his shield as hard as you can.

"Go on," he said, "hit me as hard as you can, I can take it." She had to give the man credit for at least pretending to take this seriously.

Janis nodded, and to Aela's surprise the Breton hefted the hammer in both hands.

And brought it crashing down on Vilkas's shield like a fist of the Nine.

The shield cracked and gave way, allowing the hammer to travel further and hit Vilkas's arm. He cried out in pain, but waved Janis away when she dropped the hammer and moved to help.

"No, it's okay, I told you I could take it," he chuckled ruefully and congratulated her. He then straightened up, clearing his throat as if nothing had happened, and sent her on an errand. When she left he hunched over clutching his arm, his mouth wide open in a silent, screaming rictus of pain, before hobbling off to get healing.

Aela didn't know it at the time, but Janis told her later that most everything she wore was riddled with enchantments of her own make. Her robes, her gloves, her rings, her necklace, even her boots, pants and that prissy tiara. Aela eventually found out that each one took a tremendous amount of skill, but still thought the girl a cheater (to which Janis always stuck out her tongue and said "too bad").

But back then, as she watched Janis smash Vilkas's shield (and arm) she hadn't known any of that, and consequently she fell off her stool in surprise.

Later Janis approached her in the mead hall.

"Hey Eorland asked me to bring this to you," she extended Aela her shield, a single thin hand clutching it on its edge and extending it at arm's length as if it weighed nothing. Aela was taken aback but didn't comment, deciding to play it cool.

"Thank you, I appreciate you taking the time," she accepted the shield, taking ahold of it by its handle. "I saw you practice with Vilkas earlier in the yard."

Janis scratched the back of her head, "you saw that huh? I didn't get to apologize at the time."

"Bah! He needed a little dressing down, and he did tell you he could take it."

"He did didn't he?" Janis laughed

"How did you do it?"

"What do you mean?"

"Despite the strength of the strike you obviously have no training with your weapon. If he hadn't underestimated you he would have dispatched you while the hammer was still raised. You're not used to its use, but you are strong."

Janis laughed again, "oh that? I used magick of course"

Aela narrowed her eyes, "magick is for cowards lacking courage."

Janis sighed dramatically, "I'm sorry you feel that way." She looked at her for a time, "you shouldn't glare like that, your face will freeze that way and then you won't be nearly as pleasing to look at."

Laughing, she sauntered off, turning away as Aela bristled with irritation.

Their interactions were strained. They rarely saw each other in the mead-hall. When Aela did see her she was always on her way out to a job, or on her way to get a new one. It was obvious she didn't need the money; always wearing different pieces of jewelry and bringing around expensive wheels of cheese and whatnot to the hall's table. It got on Aela's nerves.

It didn't help that Janis was always so sickeningly pleasant when they saw each other, calling her "madam" and paying her compliments on her hair or nails ("Oh Aela you have to tell me how you got your cuticles that way, you just can't find the time for proper manicures these days"). As if she cared about such things! She wasn't some spoiled noble girl!

And the way Janis flaunted her magic! It was against everything the companions stood for! Fucking underhanded is what it was! When Aela saw her in the hall she would sometimes have a wisp bobbing in the air above her head, or when they were at a feast she would use telekinesis to get something from across the table. Worst of all, the others found these little displays amusing. They laughed and applauded as Janis cast her glorified fireworks.

Vilkas especially had warmed up to her. He was training her to use that great hammer.

Two weeks later Aela was eavesdropping on one of their sessions.

"Don't posture your moves, be swift and fluid. Many people think that to wield a two-handed weapon is to be strong and nothing else. Strength is important, but you also need to master momentum."

Janis swung her hammer.

"Good, now hit the practice dummy"

Janis complied, swinging the great weapon into the armored chest of the dummy, lodging it in the dent of the impact.

"When that happens, don't struggle there trying to get your weapon back. Even here momentum is key. Step back and use that energy to pull your weapon."

She did as he instructed, taking a step back as she yanked the hammer one-handed. It came loose and swung in a wide arc as Janice converted her step into a pirouette.

Vilkas laughed as Aela scowled. "I've never seen anyone do that…but it looks effective, so why not?"

The girl grinned, "Just a little dancing from my younger days in High Rock."

As the training session finished and the two parted, Aela remained perfectly still in her alcove, lowering her breath to avoid detection.

As Janis walked by Aela thought she had gotten away with it, but the younger girl stopped. She smiled. "What did you think Aela? Did you like my dancing?"

Irritation burning in her stomach Aela couldn't stop herself from barreling out of her hiding spot and pinning Janis to the wall, taking each of the girl's wrists in her hands and holding them above her.

"I'll take that as a "no". Janis winced, "It's too bad, I was hoping I could teach you. Maybe we could dance together sometime. But...I can see dancing isn't your thing."

"Shut up mage"

"Not going to use my name? I do have one you know"

"You annoy me"

"Little 'ol me? Pray tell, why?"

"You are a mage, and my fellows seem to have forgotten that. Jorvasskyr is not your place, you belong in a tower casting spells, not waving a war-hammer, making a mockery of everything-"

"So you don't like me?" Janis interrupted.

"What?"

"Because if you don't then you shouldn't be leaning over me like this. A girl could get ideas."

Aela realized what this must look like. She was pinning the girl to the wall, their bodies flush. Aela could feel the swell of Janis's bosom pressing against her body with every heaving breath, the two kept apart only by the billowy fabric of the mage's robes and Aela's own scant armor.

The girl's wrists felt frail in her hands, and Aela realized that she yielded willingly; she wasn't resisting one bit. The wide sleeves of her robes slid down, revealing a pair of slender arms. The girl's face was so close to her own that Aela could feel her breath puffing against her cheek. Those cheeks seemed so soft, and her lips were much fuller than they first seemed.

The folds of her robes fell open, drawing attention to a slender, delicate neck.

"Are you okay there Aela?" Janis asked slowly, huskily; a tone not far divorced from her usual, Aela realized.

The question went unanswered, and the girl's breath was like its own magnetic pull. She moved her face closer to Janis's, opening her lips to-

Aela faltered as she grasped the gravity of what she was doing. Her eyes widened and she pushed herself away, bringing a hand to her lips in shock. The mage looked confused but then grinned at Aela's look of mortification. That grin was the last thing Aela saw before rushing off in a panic.

From then on Aela went out of her way to avoid the ersatz mage. It wasn't hard; she still did that ridiculous thing where she sent fancy letters announcing her arrival in X amount of days.

This was how Aela dealt with her conflicting emotions. Out of sight, out of mind; and if Aela could keep the girl out of her mind, then she was happy. She was still angry at her of course, still thought she was insulting the companions by her very presence, yet even these thoughts brought to mind memories of a petite form yielding under her grasp; soft skin and plush body.

And that smug grin of hers! Gah! She would punch it right now if she could! Or grasp it between her hands and bring it closer, taste those lips and rake her teeth across that neck…

Shaking her head, Aela yelled, frustrated. This startled the elk she and Vilkas had been stalking. Fumbling to to make up for her mistake, Aela took aim only to bring the bow to bear, letting the string go too early.

The arrow hit Farkas square in the ass. At first watching him screaming bloody murder was funny, but then she had to help him walk all the way back to Whiterun. She knew she was at fault, but it didn't stop her from finding a way to blame Janis. It was the mage's fault! Not mine! Yeah, that's right; she distracts me even when she's not around!

Just in a different way now.

When they returned to Jorvasskyr, Janis was there, fresh from her proving with Farkas.

The girl's robes sported new bloodstains, and she was a little worse-for-wear, but she was otherwise unharmed. She beamed throughout the entire ceremony.

They feasted that night. Everyone told stories about their battles and conquests, raucous laughter filled the mead hall. Even Janis had a go at it, but she lacked the customary gusto to truly make it a mead story. Even so, everyone laughed and applauded. They clapped her on the back when she was done, if anything because it was funny to watch someone so small imitating a bunch of people so large. The mage was blushing with all the attention, but Aela could tell she was enjoying it.

Vilkas, with his arrow-wound forgotten, was especially attentive. He complimented her on her progress with the hammer, remarking on the growing muscle-definition of her arms.

Aela snorted, the fool probably thought that she would take it as a compliment. He looked so pleased when Janis smiled at him and thanked him for noticing.

Eventually Janis's inhibitions broke down and she let herself start drinking just as much as everyone else. But unlike everyone else, she couldn't quite hold her liquor. It wasn't obvious at first, but Aela took notice when Janis crawled sideways onto her lap when she wasn't looking.

"What are you doing?" she hissed.

Janis giggled. "You feel so nice, just let me sit here for a while," for emphasis Janis threw her arms around Aela's neck and settled her head in the crook of her neck.

Aela froze, so did the rest of the mead hall, or at least those of the companions that weren't out-of-their-minds plastered. Based on prior experience Aela would have punched the girl out by now. Aela hated it when people presumptuously hit on her.

"What are you all looking at?!" They all turned, feigning ignorance.

Janis twisted a bit, trying to find a more comfortable position, plainly not caring what Aela thought of it; it didn't much matter, the girl was so soft, and she felt so small and fragile that it was like trying to accommodate a teddy bear.

A teddy bear with supple buttocks.

Buttocks that ground pleasantly against what was becoming an increasingly sensitive area.

Janis was now sitting on her lap proper, her back leaning against Aela's torso and her head snuggled on Aela's collar bone. Her hair tickled Aela's chin. It felt…nice. "Mage, g-get off."

"You talking to me? That's not my name you know. Call me by my name and maybe I'll consider entertaining your suggestions."

Aela hesitated, not wanting to concede to the girl in any way. "By Talos…Janis get off me, please"

"That's better," Janis giggled again, "I like that. I like how you say my name. Your accent is sexy."

Aela was unsure of how to respond. What was she supposed to say? Thank you? Most Nords talked like she did, she didn't see much of a difference.

"But I'm still not getting off of you. If you want me to take your suggestion seriously you have to put it in the suggestion box."

"Suggestion box?"

Janis looked up into Aela's eyes and smirked. She undid the clasp at her throat, letting the top of her robe fall open and revealing a generous amount of cleavage.

"Yeah, but only you get to use it," she whispered. With that Janis snuggled against Aela, wiggling herself into a better position on her lap, "just put your hand…well, I'm sure I don't need to tell you where your hand goes."

Aela swallowed, snaking her arms around the girl's waist without thinking. Janis actually mewled, and Aela knew she was being duped in some way, led along in a game of Janis's making. The sound quickened her resolve.

Her hand raised by its own volition, sliding easily into the fold of Janis's robes. The flesh of her waist satisfyingly yielding.

"Janis…" Aela whispered, any remnants of her dislike for the girl forgotten in the haze of intimacy, blotching her usually sharpened senses.

Janis didn't answer, and only then did Aela notice that her breathing had evened out, and her head had lolled itself onto her shoulder.

The girl was passed out.

Shaking with unsatisfied desire, Aela made herself stop. After tearing her gaze away from the cleavage, she finally took Janis into her arms and carried her to Breezehome and deposited her into the care of a very confused Housecarle.

She then went through the trouble of taking the coldest bath she could find, which, in Skyrim, was saying something.

Being around Janis was messing with her head. It was like her mind was a fortress outside of which Janis had decided to loiter, and when Aela's back was turned she had already slipped in through the back door. Aela's every other thought was of her. Why did she treat her the way she did? Didn't she know Aela disliked her? Hadn't she made that clear enough during their few conversations? How many insults did one have to hurl before the stupid mage got the point?

But it was like throwing pebbles at a dragon, and Janis had come barreling into her life and lodged herself in Aela's thoughts like a tumor. It had even gotten to the point where Aela would sometimes wake up in the middle of the night, gasping from the magnitude of the night's latest wet dream starring everyone's favorite mage-girl.

When had that happened? All Aela's life she had been attracted to strength, in men and in women. She liked her lovers powerful, and their bodies should be a reflection of that power. Slabs of muscle were the feature of Aela's tastes. But now she was drooling over someone who so deviated from that ideal that it was like developing a sexual attraction to a bunny. Or a kitten. Or a bear cub.

If she was going to call the girl anything, it was cute. And behind that cuteness was a buxom body and a licentious personality that Aela couldn't stop herself from wanting to ravish in public.

But now that she was aware of this attraction she had no idea what to do about it, and so practiced the age-old Nord method for dealing with unwanted truths: denial. She took extra jobs, spent more time in the wilderness; whenever she saw Janis in the mead hall she would grunt and pass her by.

It was working quite nicely until Skjor told her that he would be inducting Janis into the inner-circle, and that he would like to use Aela's blood to do it.

"Why me?! Ask Vilkas to do it, he's the one with the crush."

"You're the one she likes. Though I don't see why, you've been seven kinds of bitch to her since she's been here. Maybe she's a masochist."

"That's not outside the realm of possibility where she's concerned."

Skjor fixed her with that knowing stare of his which said that he knew that she would do it, so she may as well just agree now.

"Fuck! Fine!"

Later that night Janis was staring at Aela with that same twinkle of fascination that made the huntress feel ridiculously self-conscious, even in wolf-form. Unable to resist a chance to rile her up, Janis took Aela's blood into both hands and delicately drank, letting a single droplet of blood roll down her pale neck and into her robes.

Any further attempts at seduction were thoroughly ruined when the Breton doubled over, clutching the ceremonial bowl. Shivers wracked her body as she underwent the transformation, ripping out of her clothes as her limbs distended and the size of her muscles exploded to obscene proportions. Letting out a bestial Shout which shook the foundations of the underforge, she launched herself outside.

Aela ended up tracking her for miles, expending more than a few second-winds. At one point she had to make a detour and feed on a bandit to keep her transformation going; she pounced and savaged him in the middle of a skirmish with a rival band, hightailing it out of there before she lost Janis's scent.

It was a nice scent too. Odd that she would find herself enjoying the smell of fire and ozone, but the signature smell of Janis's flesh was in there too, and everything else just sort of complimented it. It stuck to memory, and she savored it even as she followed it to the top of a mountain.

She found a dazed Janis trying to eat a recently-mutilated troll at the back of a cave.

"That," she said, when she noticed that Aela had walked into the chamber, "was the most intense feeling…ever. And that's…that's totally saying something 'cuz I went to Oblivion once." Her voice cracked like it was broken.

"Are you okay?" Aela asked, moving to the girl's side and gently relieving her hands of a troll eyeball.

"I…maybe? I'm cold. Do I seem cold?"

She did seem cold. She feebly rose one of her arms and produced a flame. She held it close to her chest, but it extinguished when she passed out, seconds later.

Cursing, Aela set about clearing the snow. There wasn't any wood in sight so there was no chance for making a fire. Briefly she entertained thoughts of cutting open the troll and depositing Janis inside, but figured that might be a bad idea.

There was only one thing to do.

"There's only one thing to do" she told the sleeping girl, "I have to do this or you might die. I'm not doing it for any other reason, okay?"

Janis said nothing.

Aela cursed again and took the naked girl in her arms, depositing her in between her legs, letting her lean against her torso as Aela herself rested her back against the cave wall. Shared body heat would be enough to keep her warm until she woke up.

Aela felt her face grow red; the feeling of having the girl in her arms felt…really good. It was like she was a little girl again and her father had got her that bow she had always pretended to not want, and the normally sullen and serious child had to demure in embarrassment after whooping with joy one too many times.

Janis shifted, about to fall forward, so Aela quickly caught her again, adjusting their positions so that she had a better hold of her. It took her a few second to realize she was cupping Janis's right breast. Her hand almost reflexively recoiled, but she staid it, keeping it where it was. It was…very nice; very…ample.

She couldn't stop herself from making an experimental squeeze. It yielded nicely between her fingers and she had to force down the urge to lightly toss it in her hand.

She squeezed again. When Janis didn't do anything Aela caressed it, taking her time as she ran her hand around the flesh, finally taking the nipple in her fingers and pinching it, letting it go and watching it jiggle a bit.

Janis moaned.

Aela froze, stilling her breath as her heartbeat quickened. Was she found out? Surreptitiously she began to inch her hand away from Janis's boob, feeling like a starving dog coaxing itself to let go of a piece of meat.

"Aela?"

The hand darted off and rested innocently on a shoulder. Janis didn't seem to notice, her eyes were still closed.

"Um. Yes?"

"Just making sure...Hey Aela?"

"What?"

"I'm tired."

Aela smiled, "of course you are. You were more trouble than even Farkas on his first transformation." She felt pride at that; Janis had drunk from her blood after all.

"What can I say? I'm awesome"

"I envy you your experience. The first transformation is always the most…intense, and yours was a powerful one."

Janis laughed, "That might be the nicest thing you've ever said to me."

Was it? It probably was.

Janis laughed again, faintly, weakly, "You really don't like me do you?"

Aela searched for an appropriate response, not entirely sure of the answer herself. Aela felt the silence extend and distort so that it felt longer than it probably was. A minute felt like thirty in the dimness of this cave. The silence might have made time go on forever if it weren't for the warm anchor nestled in her arms.

Finally she steeled her courage and settled on, "I…was wrong about you." When the mage didn't respond Aela went on, "I have been unfair. You are a capable warrior in your own right." Droplets of water dripped onto the snow, the silence of the cave enhancing the sound and letting it reverberate and echo; a natural metronome. It had a hypnotic effect.

"Janis?"

"You can put your hand back where it was you know"

"What?"

Janis removed Aela's hand from her shoulder and repositioned it on her breast, shuddering as Aela took its heft in her palm.

Aela was the most turned-on she had been in her entire life; touching this Breton was like brushing her hands against a fire and receiving in pleasure what would have been delivered in pain. A desire burned in in the pit of Aela's stomach, snarling for release, unable to be contained any longer.

She bit delicately down on Janis's neck, savoring the gasp she elicited, all the while kneading her breast, at first gently, but harder as she went on, pinching the girl's nipple, bringing her other hand to feather up and down the inside of her thigh.

"Oh Gods, Aela-" she was interrupted by her own whine as Aela groped the other breast, pinching the nipple a little roughly. She wanted badly to hear more, to do anything to elicit another gasp, another moan. She landed kisses on the delicate arch of her neck, at last making the girl turn her head and claiming those lips with her own, pouring impatience into the kiss. They were still kissing when Aela brought her hand to rest on Janis's wet sex; the mage's eyes widening as she yelped. But Aela wouldn't let the kiss break, pushing her tongue in the mage's mouth and basking in triumph as the girl acquiesced and "mmmmm"ed contentedly.

Suddenly Aela entered her. Janis gasped and whimpered as she was treated to Aela's thrusting and stroking. It was a little clumsy at first as the Nord hunted for the G-spot, but when she finally found it she coaxed it to life.

"Aela!"

Breaking their kiss, Aela bit down hard on the girl's neck as she achieved her first orgasm. Janis arched her back, screaming incoherently as waves of pleasure coursed through her body. The sounds of her arousal filed the cave and echoed off the walls. Aela's fingers curled inside her as they rode out the climax.

"Aaaaeeeelaaaaaa!"

Before she could come back down, Aela attacked again, slowly but decisively, taking Janis's chin in her hand and turning her lips into another kiss. Janis's body tensed against her for the second time and she climaxed again. She was shuddering as she calmed down, mewling Aela's name as she passed out once again, her breathing heavy.

Aela maintained their position, pulling her fingers out of Janis, eliciting an unconscious gasp. She stared at them blankly. She hadn't even noticed that she had climaxed herself.

She drew her attention to Janis's heaving bosom and sighed, settling in to masturbate.

Weeks later and Aela and Janis still hadn't talked about that night. Not because they were avoiding each other, there just wasn't any time after they found Skjor dead at the end of that Silver Hand fort and all kinds of shit hit the fan. For weeks they had been launching their campaign against the silver hand, cutting bloody swathes across the organization. Aela was solely focused on revenge, and Janis was happy to assist her.

They got to know each other, in the sort of wordless way people become acquainted when they routinely stab other people to save each other's lives. It wasn't intimate, and it wasn't all that friendly, but it did solidify a mutual respect between the two women. Janis wasn't her usual playful self, respecting Aela's grim determination to focus on revenge. Aela wondered if she even remembered their night in the cave.

Some moments Aela found herself wanting to bring the subject up, bring it to light so that it could lead to….whatever it was supposed to lead to. Aela wasn't sure, but she knew there was something to it. In her own way Janis was seducing her just by being around, by taking up this crusade without question. It was….well, it was sweet actually.

She caught Janis watching her sometimes, when she thought Aela wasn't looking, and Aela knew better than to assume the glances were innocent.

But Aela shook her head when it wandered too close to such thoughts. Skjor's honor demanded revenge, and Aela was eager to comply.

So engrossed was she in planning the latest raid, that she didn't at first notice when the mead hall's doors were violently kicked open by fanatical warriors wielding weapons of silver. She was late to the fight, scrambling to find a weapon and even just a scrap of armor. Like a single-minded tide the foe rushed in, many of them cut down by arrows and blades, but they had a target. Not Aela, not Farkas, not Vilkas or Ria or Athis was enough to stop them from mobbing Kodlak and cutting the old man down.

The companions rallied in their rage and their grief, but the silver hand retreated swiftly, their goal fulfilled. Only Aela and Torvar gave chase. They needn't have bothered. The remaining foes were cut down at Jorvasskyr's doorstep by a pair of dremora warriors flanking a surprised Janis. She was caring a bloody burlap sack.

Ignoring the dremora, Aela walked to her and yelled in her face, barely able to contain her grief, channeling it as rage; "why weren't you here!? Kodlak is dead because of you!" Janis looked like she was about to yell back but she bit back her response. The accusation stung more than she thought it should, but she knew that Aela was hurting even more, which is why she chose not to comment and stalked into the hall.

Aela didn't notice as Vilkas and Janis slipped out on their revenge mission. She was preoccupied with seeing if everyone was alright, with clearing the bodies, with preparing the skyforge for Kodlak's cremation. Eventually Janis and Vilkas returned, their clothes awash with the blood of the Silver Hand's top-most leaders. Pockets of the enemy remained, but with this final blow they were significantly weakened, and no longer a real threat.

Aela pretended nothing was between them, and Janis made no comment. Like always these days they were focused on other things: setting out to put Kodlak's spirit to rest.

Janis was given Ysgrammor's axe, an honor Aela would have vehemently objected to when they first met. But as they hacked their way through the spectral horde of the Companions of old, she knew there was no-one better suited for the weapon, even if she did cheat by summoning dremora and flinging fireballs. At the end of the gauntlet they killed Kodlak's beast-spirit, and Aela found herself doubting her own nature for the first time.

The silence of the tomb was like the tranquility at the other end of a hurricane. Whatever troubles they had gone through, Aela knew that this bloody chapter in the Companions' history was over. It was liberating, and as she watched the smiling specter of Kodlak fade back into the other realms, a sense of peace collected in her heart at odds with…everything.

"Aela?"

"Huh? Sorry, I was…nothing. What is it?"

Janis's voice was patient, soft; she could feel it too. "You heading back?"

Aela smiled. "I am in the resting place of Ysgrammor, among the harbingers of old and generations of companions before me. I'll head back in a while. I'd like to…commune for a while."

"O-oh, okay. I'll see you at home then." Janis then tentatively placed her hand on Aela's shoulder. Aela turned. The girl seemed unsure, daunted by…something. It was a far cry from the girl's typical oafishness. Janis suddenly rushed forward, bringing Aela into a hug that the huntress dazedly returned. It lasted a while, longer than Aela would have been comfortable, but it was Janis, which somehow made it okay. The mage pulled away and looked into Aela's eyes, looking like she wanted to say something. But she said nothing, deciding to smile forlornly, only to walk wordlessly away.

Aela felt the urge to chase her. What was that about? What did she want to tell me? She shouldn't keep letting them part like this, with things…unresolved. And she hadn't apologized yet for blaming her for Kodlak's death, after all he meant something to both of them. He had even named Janis the next harbinger of all things.

But she did nothing. For the first time in her life, Aela's cowardice kept her from getting what she wanted. Did Janis feel the same way about her? Was it okay to pursue a relationship now? Everything felt so clear and yet thinking about the girl just muddled things up again.

She decided not to think about it for now. She sat cross-legged on the floor, letting the gravity of where she was consume her thoughts.

"Janis?" Aela calls as she walks into Breezehome. When Aela had returned from Ysgrammor's tomb Janis was no longer in Whiterun. She felt the absence like a hollow in her chest, the feeling that something beautiful is within reach if only she could know where it is. The feeling only grew as the weeks went by. Aela did not sit pining away at a window like some pathetic milk-drinker, but even as she hunted, fought and drank alongside the companions she couldn't shake the melancholic yearning from latching itself onto her.

She had chastised herself plenty of times, telling herself to act like an adult and quit mooning like a little girl. Other than their night on Janis's first transformation, there was nothing between them! And Janis might not even remember it…which made Aela a little uneasy. Had she taken advantage? Was Janis unwilling? She couldn't be, could she? There were all those signs…

The insecurity almost stopped her from walking into Breezehome when Vilkas not-so-subtly informed her that Janis was back in town.

"Janis, are you here?"

There is no answer, not even from the housecarle. All is still inside the house, save for the placid motes of dust floating in the air, illuminated by beams of light sliding in through cracks in the ceiling. There are dishes on the table, recently used, smears of sauce and meat-juice trailed in streaks atop their surfaces. A half-eaten piece of bread lies on an ornate dwemer platter on the middle of the table, surrounded by cheese slices that used to be in an arrangement but are now just lying about haphazardly. A wine glass stands nearby, empty save for the tiniest amount of Alto bowled at the bottom. Aela remembers that Alto is Janis's favorite.

So the girl is here, or has been here recently.

Aela cautiously climbs the stairs to the second floor. If she is trespassing then Janis is making it entirely too easy. This is a mage's house, so there should be some magical traps, right? Or maybe a daedric guardian, or at least Lydia should be here if the door is unlocked.

No-one is upstairs either, and everything seems to be in its proper place, everything except for a set of discarded robes arranged neatly on the bed, but not folded. They are a faded blue, with funny squiggly gold patterns on it.

They are rougher around the edges than Aela remembers; more repairs have been made to it, patches cover up rips and tears, making the garment's blue more mottled than uniform. But they are undoubtedly Janis's robes. Furtively Aela picks up the top. The fabric is very soft, but more substantial than it looks.

She brings it to her face, acting on instinct and the vestiges of desire. Janis's distinct aroma lingers between the threads, heady and furtive at the same time; the scent of skin muffled by the ozone of magic. For a moment it's like she's there in Aela's arms.

I shouldn't have left things the way I did, Aela thinks, not for the first time. She has made many decisions in her life, some regrettable, but very rarely had she bothered to think about if she had handled things differently.

She inhales.

"Aela?"

Her voice hasn't changed at all, and hearing it is like being brought out of the water and back on land. Aela lets go of the robes, letting them slowly tumble back onto the bed.

"Janis," she starts, "can we talk?"

She turns, and Janis is standing at the doorway, surprised but not unpleased. This is the Dragonborn, Aela thinks, Harbinger to the Companions and Arch-Mage of the College of Winterhold, and yet here and now she looks like a girl just barely coming into womanhood.

"Yeah, um…" Janis gestures to the corner table and the two of them take a seat. There's a pile of jewels and soul-gems of all sizes, which Janis pushes to one side. "…What did you want to talk about?"

"I'd like to apologize about before. When Kodlak died…I said some things to you I didn't mean."

Janis crosses her arms. "Is that all?"

The terse response stings, and Aela stumbles over her next words. Is that all? She hasn't thought this through. She needs to say something, express something, but she's unsure of what she's feeling, and Janis is looking at her expectantly, her eyebrows are knit together like a puppy's, how cute. How can I-? What do I-?

"Well?"

"Can I kiss you?" She finally says. Timidly. Stupidly. It seems like the right thing to say, but when she says it both their eyes go wide.

"Excuse me?"

"I-"she can't believe she's saying this, "I think we have a connection, or we had one…until I ruined things. I got…signals. Strong signals, I thought-" she's mumbling and her confidence wanes…but it's too late to stop talking, and she needs to say her piece, even if it ends up incoherent.

"I thought-" thoughts form in her head, doing somersaults before being rejected before they can ever leap out of her mouth. Whatever she says, it needs to be perfect.

"Well, I mean-" but Aela's no poet, she knows that, and is actually kind of proud of it. Janis seemed receptive to who she was before; gruff, irritable, direct. Maybe that would work?

Screw it.

"I like you, and I want to kiss you." This is more like it.

"Wh-what?"

"I like you"

"Aela this is coming out of nowhere."

The surprise on Janis's face is gratifying. Aela's confidence builds. "Is it? I think you like me too."

Janis tries to hide a blush, "you're being a bit presumptuous aren't you?"

Aela pauses, "maybe. But you've been driving me crazy this last year with your damned mixed signals. You like having this effect on me," Aela gets up, "which is why you're usually such a smartass. It makes you dominant in a weird way. I can be into that." She rounded the table and leaned over a breathless Janis. "You like me too, let me prove it to you."

"Prove it, huh?"

Aela gently raises the mage's chin with her finger, bringing her face up so that she could kiss it. It's a subdued kiss; soft. But Janis is the first to deepen it, running a hand through Aela's hair, and Aela is happy to oblige, inserting her tongue into the girl's mouth, eliciting a moan. Aela smiles against pert pink lips.

"Why'd you stop?" Janis breathes.

"I was just so worried that I was wrong." Aela is shivering from relief.

Janis smirks, "I don't know, you could still be wrong."

"Don't toy with me Janis"

"Between the two of us, I think you're the one who's done the most, ah, 'toying'"

Aela perks up at that, "So you do remember that night in the cave!"

Janis laughs, "What cave is this? I remember no cave"

Aela smiles, "Insufferable mage!"

Before Janis can say anything else Aela is already kissing her. Janis leans into the kiss, letting out a slight whimper when Aela bites down on her lip.

"Gods you're cute"

"Thank you. When they sing tales of my exploits in Jorvasskyr they'll say, 'by Talos she was cute'"

Aela pushes her hands into the girl's robes, exposing her naked torso. Janis leans so far back that she knocks over the chair, but Aela catches her, slipping off the rest of the top and nipping at Janis's collar bones. The flesh of her lower back is nice, but Aela slips her hands lower, into the girl's pants, for a nicer prize.

She pulls away to smile winningly at Janis. The girl is overwhelmed and obviously aroused, but the warmth with which she looks back at her, makes Aela melt.

Janis grins. "You really shouldn't lean over me like this, a girl could get ideas"

Janis brings a bottle of Alto wine to the bedside before silently rolling back into bed. Aela stirs, groping out with searching arms as she feels the shift in the mattress. Janis laughs as Aela finds her, dragging her into a spoon.

It's an unforeseen development. She knew Aela was attracted to her on a physical level, but hadn't even suspected the possibility of feelings. She hadn't even known that she had feelings, and that was saying something because she was a mage and mages were notorious for being disturbingly self-aware.

But things turned out alright, and she could write to her parents in High Rock that she had found someone, and now she had a legitimate excuse for turning people down at bars: "sorry, I'm taken. Nevermind that I'm the dragonborn and could literally shout you to death if I wanted, because I know that won't deter your drunken ass, but I am taken."

It was nice. A breath of fresh air in a life that was otherwise spinning out of control. Dragons? Ancient artifacts of obscene magical power? Werewoves? If only she could go back in time and tell little 11 year-old Janis, "things do get better."

Beside her, Aela stirs awake and without preamble gropes her breasts.

Indeed, things do get better.