When Jergen is still at Jorrvaskr, he doesn't much like to let the twins go to the Bannered Mare with the rest of the Companions. Always says it's too boisterous for a pair of young boys, as if they don't all live in a mead hall anyways.
But Jergen isn't there anymore, and the Companions are welcoming their newest member, Skjor. Farkas isn't sure how, but he's allowed to come along with them. It's exciting, really, being in the hustle and bustle of the tavern, and while he's not allowed to drink mead yet, he can still enjoy the food Kodlak gives him, and he can listen to the stories all the warriors tell.
And then he hears the bard.
For a moment, the rest of the hubbub stops, at least to him. There's only the soft twang of the lute, and the heavily accented voice of the woman singing about battles. Her stories are exciting, even if she doesn't much look like she's seen many battles herself. Her skin has no scars, and she doesn't wear armor. But she sings, and it's like he's there.
Farkas slowly moves away from the Companions, not even fully aware that he's doing it. Before he knows it, he's sitting on the floor in front of the musician, and he's smiling away like it's New Life Festival. The music is pleasing, much sweeter than the gruff voices of drunken fighters day in and day out. Farkas begins to wonder why they all don't sing their stories. They're good stories, anyways, but singing them would make them even better.
That evening, as Tilma shoos him and Vilkas off to bed, Farkas asks if he can have a lute someday. She smiles warmly, and tells him to go get some sleep and that she'll mention something to Askar in the morning.