I stood with a torch outside of the underforge. It was dark, well past the mid hours of the night. All of Jorrvaskr was asleep in a drunken stupor, all part of my huntress' plan to make sure there would be no witnesses. She had started a drinking contest between the whelps and the Circle, a contest we purposefully lost. Now that they were all under the mead's heavy slumber, we could work.

I had no doubt that Vilkas was awake somewhere in the halls, probably in Kodlak's chambers, waiting to feel it. The new addition. The new blood. It was her choice, and we would allow her to make her own decisions.

I heard the doors of Jorrvaskr creak open and shut quietly, followed by even quieter footsteps. The girl rounded the corner and approached me in her cloth boots.

"Good evening, Skjor." She smiled at me, though she seemed very confused. I hadn't given her much information, just told her to meet me here.

"Hello, Lissa. Are you prepared?"

"I'm not sure what to be prepared for, but I'm ready for whatever test is next."

I laughed quietly. "This is no test, new blood. This is a gift. Follow me, kid." I opened the door to the underforge, disguised as another rock slab that supported Eorland's Skyforge. We stepped inside, and I said to her, "Don't be frightened. Just relax."

We descended the stone hallway that led to the main room. Once we entered, my huntress stood before the cauldron in the center, large and furry in her wolf form. Lissa stopped moving when she saw her.

"I would hope you recognize Aela, even in this form." Lissa's face wasn't frightened as much as it was genuinely curious. "She's agreed to be your forebear."

Lissa nodded, looking unsure. "Are we allowed to be doing this?"

I laughed, placing my hand on her shoulder. "We do this in secret because Kodlak is too busy trying to throw away this great gift we've been granted. He thinks we've been cursed, but we've been blessed. How can something that gives us this kind of prowess be a curse?" I released her, and walked toward Aela. "So, we take matters into our own hands. To reach the heights of the Companions, to join the Circle, you must join us with the shared blood of the wolf."

Lissa looked between me and Aela, who towered over me now. She seemed overwhelmed.

"I know you already knew us to be wolves, Lissa. Farkas let the cat out of the bag. Or, should I say dog?" The huntress growled in laughter beside me. I rubbed the back of her neck before continuing. "This is your choice, not ours. You are free to leave at any time." The huntress nodded, unable to speak in her form, but agreeing with me still. "Now, are you prepared to join your spirit with the beast world, friend?"

"Will it hurt?"

I looked at Aela, who sort of shrugged. "Well, it will. But odds are you won't remember it, kid."

Lissa looked at us both again, then spoke. "I'm ready."

I smiled, and the huntress growled in approval. "Very well." I took the huntress' hand, kissing it before I pulled a blade to carve a slit in her arm. Her blood drained into the cauldron between Lissa and us. Aela healed quickly, her blood flow stopping. I looked at Lissa. "Drink when you're ready."

The girl stepped forward, looking sick. No doubt her stomach was turning at the thought of drinking blood. Everyone's does at first. Even still, the small Nord leaned down into the cauldron, using her hand to collect some blood and drink. She looked at us for a moment, then her eyes rolled back into her head as she hit the floor.

It wasn't a hard fall, thankfully. Aela and I watched as she writhed around, twitching in pain as the beast blood coursed through her veins. My huntress seemed uncomfortable, watching the girl groan and roll around in pain, but I put my hand on her neck, trying to comfort her. This was the first turning Aela had seen. Though she wasn't the most recent to turn, she wasn't present at the twin's rebirth. Even so, we had not turned anyone in almost nine years.

Lissa's bones began to snap, breaking and reforming as the beast took control of her body. We watched as her face stretched into a snout, her fur a dark black color, very similar to Aela. She stood then, fully transformed, looking at us for instructions. She was panting heavily, her thirst overpowering her.

"You have to hunt, kid. We'll show you how." I opened the underforge, and Aela ran out, guiding Lissa to the secret path to Skyrim from the underforge.

I ran behind the wolves as fast as I could, running beside them to the woods. Once we were under the cover of the trees, I too transformed into the reddish-brown wolf form I carried under my skin. Lissa was losing her mind, killing rabbits and goats in the forest, chasing them around and catching them quickly.

I looked at my huntress, who bumped my nose with hers, then nodded for me to follow with her behind the girl, and begin the night's hunt.