Wow. This has only been up for a day or two and it already has even more feedback than any of my other ones. Thanks so much you guys! This is amazing. In response to one of the reviews, obviously this is going to be a multi-chapter story, haha :D
Annika was in the Companions. Aela had offered to monitor the beautiful woman during her Proving but Skjor of course told her he assigned Farkas the job first. Yet she spotted him pull the ice brain from the banquet table that night. Aela knew that he was just asking then. Skjor didn't want her spending any more time with Annika than she already was, which wasn't much. It turned out that the Nord was also the legendary Dragonborn, which made the huntress even more enthralled with her. Annika was perfect and amazing in every way. Everytime she walked into Jorrvaskr, which wasn't too often, Aela felt herself tingle or freeze where she stood. Sometimes the Dragonborn would look at her but the two rarely spoke. Annika had tasks to tend to, running frequent errands for Farkas. Aela found that she was spending more and more time in the mead hall, not wanting to be absent if Vvanderfell showed her face again.
It wasn't long before Skjor got that look in his eye again. That he definitely had something to tell her but he was keeping it to himself. Companions were good at hiding their emotions but Aela was good at reading through her friend. When she had the chance the huntress pulled him to the side, wondering if she was making a bad decision. For all she knew he might be trying to rekindle their old relationship or he was going to deliver some sort of horrible news. He seemed to be unpredictable.
"Skjor what's going on? You've been acting odd lately." She kept her voice low, the rest of the drinking Companions not far off around the hearth. The distance between the two was fairly large and she planned on keeping it like that, although judging him it might change soon enough.
He shifted from foot to foot, looking more awkward than she had ever seen him before. Aela put her hands onto her hips, brow furrowing. Skjor ran his finger along his large facial scar briefly, "I spoke with Kodlack recently. It was about that new whelp." His arms crossed.
Rolling her eyes the huntress glowered at him a bit, "That 'whelp' has a name you know, it's Annika." Although she sounded a bit defensive Skjor already sensed something between the two. Aela wasn't too good at hiding feelings like that, although she was positive that the Dragonborn had no knowledge of her feelings. Besides, how could Annika know of them if Aela wasn't sure of them yet herself? Her eyes moved away from him, a usual confliction returning.
"I know her name," He shrugged, his shoulderplates clanging a bit, "She's being let into the Circle... Kodlack claims she's going to 'change things'. Old man's losing his head a bit if you ask me." Envy was shown clearly in his voice and expression. It made Aela suppress a smile. Annika hadn't been in Jorrvaskr for a few weeks, at least not to her knowledge. For some reason she felt as if she was suffering withdrawl from a drug. Seeing Annika made her heart swell although she wasn't entirely sure how she felt yet. Skjor put his hand onto his balding head, clearly feeling a bit tense, "You're going to be her forebear. It's tonight. You know the drill." Skjor walked off without another word, leaving Aela to stand with her mouth agape.
Annika Vvanderfell, the legendary Dragonborn, was going to drink her beast blood and become one of the Circle members. It was almost overwhelming. The two had barely had a conversation except for a share of their adventures once at a banquet. But before the two could get fully acquainted she was pulled aside by the drunken boasts of Torvar. Their exchange lasted two minutes at the most and it embarrassed the huntress she had feelings for somebody she barely knew. Shuddering a bit, Aela turned to face the hearth. The Companions bustled about like normal. It was a little reassuring to know that after Annika's transformation things should be returning to normal yet again. If Aela wanted, she actually never had to speak to the Dragonborn afterward. But that would be nearly impossible.
"Oi! Vvanderfell! Come join me for a pint of mead!" Athis' familiar Dunmer voice echoed through the shafts of the ceiling. Aela's attention was averted from her thoughts. Her eyes seemed to immediately locate the beautiful Nord, standing at the entrance of Jorrvaskr, barely having entered. The huntress had noticed that the Dragonborn got along beautifully with races that were discriminated against and Athis took a liking to her.
Aela watched, mouth still slightly open as Vvanderfell descended the few steps towards the hearth. Athis clapped her on the shoulder while Njada shoved a pint into her hand. Annika was a true Nord and she downed mead like it was water, chugging the mug and getting whoops and cheers of encouragement from her Shield-siblings. Aela started quaking in her boots when she saw the beautiful sapphire gaze again. Never had there been an individual who could do that to her. That was when Annika turned her gaze to her, staring. Aela stiffened, not moving an inch. Annika's smile abruptly faded and she set down the mug, walking straight towards her.
Gods grant me power to speak to this woman without sounding like a buffoon... Aela thought to herself, fists clenching visibly as Annika got even closer to her. She stopped, the distance between the two closer than she had been with Skjor. Their eyes were locked.
"Aela, right?" Annika asked, one of her fair hands resting on her enchanted dagger. It remained sheathed on her waist. The huntress got even more tense, her hands clenching together behind her back. Knuckles were white. Cheeks were slightly flushed behind warpaint.
"I-uh-um-" It was ridiculous that she was stuttering so much. Every time she stood in front of this divine of a woman her confidence seemed to fade entirely, as did her composure. It was so foreign and unwanted to her. Not once had she felt like that. At the thoughts she suddenly became able to form words properly, "-Yes, that's me. Did you want something?" Their eyes had been locked but as her willpower faded her gaze drifted. Even though the sapphire was absolutely enchanting she simply couldn't maintain their look.
"I just haven't spoken to you much as all. It seems a bit ridiculous to me, you're simply not very talkative when I see you here." Annika's voice made Aela melt, the sound nonchalantly sultry. Her spine was littered with chills, making her sigh in content.
"I have a lot of business to attend to on a regular basis, I'm sorry we haven't got a chance to converse," Aela forced a very small smile to her lips. It took effort. Her nerves bit at her like a rabid Sabre cat.
Annika smirked a bit as well, something that made Aela actually tremble where she stood. Her plush lips looked absolutely gorgeous when they grinned in that way. The huntress' eyes lingered on them and she tried desperately to pull her gaze away but found herself unable to. The Dragonborn didn't seem to notice, "Well you seem free enough now," She leaned against one of the wooden support beams, her smile not fading in the slightest, "Lets talk. What have you been up to lately?"
Aela knew that she had to try and be cool and collected. The huntress remained stiff as a board, unable to move from her spot to look more relaxed. Eventually Annika would notice that. Somehow managing not to stammer she spoke, "I'm mainly going wherever a Companion is needed. A few days ago I had to go all the way to Markarth just to hunt down a man's goat." Again making a smile come to her face at her attempted humor, when Annika emit an adorable chuckle she thought she might faint.
"Truly?" The Dragonborn asked, Aela nodding a bit. For some reason she felt herself blushing, becoming overwhelmed by this Nord's perfection. Her war paint and the poor lighting of the mead hall managed to hide it from view, or so she hoped., "Well that's quite the tale. I haven't been to the City of Stone in a good while. The last time I was there, I helped a vigilant investigate an abandoned house. Turns out it was occupied by the daedric Lord Molag Bal and I just barely escaped with my life..." She shrugged, "Maybe that's why I don't visit there as often."
Aela let out a laugh, one that sounded far more fake than she wished it to. Annika's brow furrowed and the huntress felt herself get even more tense when she thought that was impossible. The newest Companion pushed herself from the support beam and took a step closer, the space even smaller than before.
"Hey..." Annika muttered, one of her hands reaching forward and resting on Aela's bare arm. The huntress' blush deepened at the motion. Her hands were so soft. Their eyes were locked but the huntress found it hard to keep it that way, "...you seem nervous. Why are you nervous?"
Finding herself more than unable to speak, the veteran Companion's eyes drifted down to the Dragonborn's hand. When Annika noticed this she clenched her arm tighter, surprising Aela a bit. What was going on? Finding it too hard to move, too hard to speak, and far too hard to object to the lovely touch, a silence grew between them. The sapphire eyes of the Dragonborn remained on her face, the blush getting so intense that eventually Aela knew it would be spotted soon. Her fists clenched. And in mere seconds her entire world seemed to stumble over onto itself.
Before she could fully register what was going on, her back was against a Jorrvaskr wall. Wrists were pinned against the wood by soft, beautiful hands with a death grip. A divine face hovered inches from hers, sweet-smelling breath barely touching her lips. Aela thought she might have a heart attack when the gorgeous blue eyes met hers again, silver orbs going wide. The Companions around the hearth were far too preoccupied with their drunken rambling to notice the two. Even Skjor seemed to keep his gaze off her for the time being.
The huntress' breathing became hitched and uneven while Annika's remained steady. How in the world was she remaining so calm? Aela cursed herself for her uncomposed demeanor, but there was no way in Oblivion she would have been able to predict the situation she was in at that moment. The Dragonborn tilted her head in an alluring way, before speaking in a knowing tone, "You like me." Aela's heart skipped a beat, "Don't you?"
Damn my blushing to Oblivion... Aela thought to herself as confliction started to set in. Did she tell the truth? Or would bluffing be a better option? Skjor wouldn't like this, but then again maybe it would be the push he needed to understand whatever they had was done. The other Companions didn't think much of same-sex couples, it was just as normal as any other in this province. But the huntress had to remind herself that Annika was just asking. That didn't mean she felt the same way, maybe she was simply curious? Yet she had just pinned Aela against the wall with decent force. Why else would she do that? Never had she been that confused before. But before she could make a decision her yearning answered beforehand, head nodding ever so slightly.
Annika's expression didn't change in the slightest. It remained stony without showing much emotion other than interest, a sort of curiosity. Vvanderfell inched closer, their bodies nearly pressed flush against one another. Aela's eyes got even more wide and she held her breath, unable to breath anyway. The Dragonborn dipped her head, the two's lips the closest things now. Aela tensed even more. What was she going to do? Kiss her? Or draw away just as quickly as she had pinned the huntress to the wall? Maybe the entire thing had just been a drunken hallucination. Maybe the Dragonborn wasn't even really in the mead hall and Aela was just dreaming it, having dozed off in a chair with her head resting on the table? It was only when she felt something - a wet muscle grazing briefly across the huntress' lips, that she knew it was real.
Annika had just licked her lips. Not her own lips, Aela's lips. She didn't know how to react to it so she sort of didn't simply standing in the same spot as her ears listened intently to the next words said, "Sorry... but I don't get involved with people like that." With those few, confusing words, Annika pushed away from the wall with an adorable wink and walked away, joining the revelling of her Shield-siblings while Aela was left speechless.