Last night's celebration went on until the warriors of Jorrvaskr could see the sun rise up behind Dragonsreach. They had drunk all of the mead and wine and there was not even a scrap of food left from Tilma's feast. Joanna had finished her bottle of spiced wine within an hour and was completely drunk after two. A friendly fight broke between the young woman and Njada, who, unfortunately for her, lost to Joanna once again. After their duel, Farkas and Vilkas both competed in trying to attract Joanna's attention. Farkas tried to seduce her with his sense of humor whilst Vilkas captivated Joanna with stories of the Companions. Both men seemed to have as much success as the other in keeping the young Nord entertained, that is, until she finally collapsed onto Farkas' shoulder and fell sound asleep.

Joanna awoke in her bed the next morning with a splitting headache. She sluggishly pulled herself out of her cot and made her way towards the hall. After stumbling a few times in the stairs leading to the main floor, she finally found her way to one of the chairs surrounding the huge dining table. Aela was already in the hall when Joanna arrived and she let out a soft laughed as she saw her stumble into her seat.

"Someone had a lot of fun last night," she said to the red-head.

Joanna laughed slightly before cringing at her headache.

"Maybe a bit too much fun, if you ask me..." Joanna answered.

Aela laughed as she sat down next to her. "You can never have too much fun."

She then lifted her head up and stared at Tilma, who was busy sweeping the floor on the far side of the room.

"Tilma! Fetch us some lavender tea!" she ordered her.

Joanna placed her hands over her ears. "Aaaah Aela... Not so loud..." she complained.

"Right away, Aela," Tilma answered as she set her broom down.

The elderly servant passed the two women and disappeared into the basement. Joanna gently massaged her temples as she tried to ease her pain.

"What's the tea for?" she asked Aela.

"I always find that a bit of lavender tea always calms my headaches, but I have to warn you, it tastes awful," Aela explained.

"Good to know..."

Tilma returned shortly with a teapot and two cups. A strong scent of lavender rushed out of the pot. Joanna grimaced.

"Smells like old people... No offense, Tilma,"

"None taken," she answered her unconvincingly as she returned to her household duties.

"Don't worry, she's been through much worst with Vilkas," Aela reassured Joanna.

"Speaking of which, where are the twins?" Joanna asked.

Aela poured two cups of tea and slid one towards Joanna. Joanna stared at her cup for a moment, not entirely sure if she wanted to drink its contents.

"They left just before you awoke to go hunting. We won't be expecting them until later today," Aela explained, motioning Joanna to drink from her cup.

She sighed and reluctantly rose the cup to her lips. The scent of lavender became overwhelming when the hot liquid slid down her throat. Like Aela had said, the tea was truly awful and Joanna almost choked on the liquid. Aela started to laugh.

"I told you!" she exclaimed.

"I know you did, but I didn't expect it to be THAT disgusting!" Joanna pushed her cup away.

"But it really does help. Don't let the taste get to you."

Joanna sighed and took another sip. The second sip was a bit less disgusting and by the third sip, she started to get used to the floral taste. As she drank the tea, she could feel a comforting warmth surge through her and her headache slowly started to fade away.

"By Ysmir, it's actually working," she said to the huntress.

"Brill's actually the one who taught me this trick. He used to be an avid drinker, you see," she said to her.

"Really? I wouldn't have guessed. I was sure Tilma was the one who came up with the idea."

The two women drank their cups of lavender tea together while talking about last night's activities. According to Aela's recollection of what had occurred the night before, it would have seemed that Joanna had forgotten most of what happened during the celebration. As she listened to Aela's stories, Joanna could not help but wonder where Vilkas and Farkas had gone. She would have loved to go hunting with them, but unfortunately, she was not in the right state to do so. Once her cup was empty, her headache had almost faded away completely and she felt much better.

"Thanks a lot, Aela, for the tea. I would never have thought that something this awful could do me this much good," Joanna thanked her friend.

"Thank Tilma. She's the one who made it," Aela replied.

Joanna turned towards Tilma and placed a hand next to her mouth.

"Thank you, Tilma!" she yelled.

She immediately regretted her decision and placed her fingers on her temples. Aela laughed as she filled her cup once more.

"Looks like you need some more..." she chuckled sadistically.

"Shut up..."

Later in the day, when her headache had finally passed, Joanna helped Tilma out with her cleaning. Apparently, they had made quite the mess yesterday and Joanna felt awful for leaving all of the clean-up duty to the old housemaid. Tilma thanked Joanna warmly and the young woman left the hall to go target practice in the courtyard. Her training was then interrupted by Skjor shortly after.

"Skjor! What can I do for you?" she asked as she lowered her bow.

"I was actually looking for you, Joanna. I have something a little different planned for you today," he replied.

Joanna frowned in confusion. "Um... Okay. What is it?"

"It's not for everyone to hear. Meet me in the Underforge, tonight. We will speak more."

And on that note, he left her to her training. A bit confused and unsettled, she tried to forget his words for the remainder of the day.

When the sun finally set and Vilkas and Farkas had returned to Jorrvaskr, Joanna went outside to wait for Skjor. When she arrived in front of the Underforge, it turned out that Skjor was already waiting for her.

"Are you prepared?" he said to her.

"Prepared for what?" Joanna asked.

"You'll soon find out."

"It's not like you to be so mysterious, Skjor..."

Skjor let out a soft chuckle as they both entered the Underforge. Once Joanna had passed the door, she was startled by a roaring wolf's howl. She then stared at a large female werewolf with dark auburn fur. Oddly enough, Joanna instantly knew it was Aela.

"By the Gods..." Joanna gasped.

Skjor walked towards Aela as she stood beside a large empty stone pool in the center of the cave.

"We do this in secret, because Kodlak is too busy trying to throw away this great gift we've been granted," Skjor turned towards Joanna. "He thinks we've been cursed, but we've been blessed. How can something that gives this kind of prowess be a curse? So we take matters into our own hands..."

Joanna's eyes frowned with confusion.

"To reach the heights of the Companions, you must join with us in the shared blood of the wolf," Skjor continued.

Joanna's eyes grew wide. "What? You mean... become a werewolf like you?"

"Precisely."

Joanna took a step back, unsure of how she should react. She turned her gaze towards Aela's emerald green eyes. Even in this form, she could still see that Aela was trying to comfort her as she stared fondly at her. Joanna's eyes reverted back to Skjor's.

"But what does this imply? I mean, how is this going to change me?" she asked him worryingly.

"When you become one with the blood, you'll achieve brand new heights. You'll be faster, stronger and will be able to do things you never thought were possible. In your new form, you'll be a true hunter and will never have to fear anything," he explained to her.

"But are there side effects? Any major weaknesses?"

"Silver is particularly deadly to us when we are in wolf form and we are subject to our transformation when the full moon rises. Transformations during the full moon can be painful if you try to resist. Other than that, all of your human weaknesses become naught when you become one of us."

Joanna pondered what Skjor had just said. The thought of becoming a werewolf was frightening. She had only discovered their existence recently and she felt like she did not fully understand what they were, but she also wanted to be a part of something greater, something meaningful and most of all, she wanted to be a part of this family. She wanted to feel like she was really a part of the Companions and if that implicated becoming a werewolf, she would gladly take the risk. She looked at Aela with confidence and nodded. Aela, in her wolf form, nodded back at her. Then, Joanna turned towards Skjor.

"Are you prepared to join your spirit with the beast world, Joanna?" the warrior asked.

"I am," she answered.

Skjor smiled. "Very well."

He then walked towards Aela and held her arm above the stone pool. He took a knife and placed it on Aela's wrist before slicing it open. Her blood then flowed into the pool and Skjor let go of her arm. The bleeding stopped remarkably fast and Joanna stared into the pool of blood. Skjor handed a metal goblet to her and she filled it with Aela's blood. Before she had time to doubt, she lifted the cup to her lips and drank the hot, crimson liquid. The blood was oddly satisfying to drink and, for a moment, nothing happened. Then, her body started to twist and bend and an unbearable pain surged through her body. Joanna's hand let go of the goblet, which fell to the ground, spilling blood on the cavern floor. It was not too long until Joanna joined it as she writhed in pain on the cold stone of the Underforge.

Skjor and Aela watched as Joanna's body transformed in front of their eyes. Her bones cracked and changed into unworldly shapes as her clothing was ripped apart by the claws that had now replaced the young woman's fingers. Her skin turned dark as fur emerged to take its place. After a few minutes of unimaginable pain, Joanna's body had turned into that of a huge timber wolf, with brown, gray and black patches of fur. Her wolf eyes met with the ceiling and she scurried to her feet. Her head barely missed the ceiling as she stood up from the ground. Suddenly, the darkness of the cavern seemed to disappear. Her eyes were now accustomed to the darkness of the night and she could smell every living being in Whiterun. All these new sensations were driving her mad, but the most maddening thing was this insatiable hunger growing inside her.

She starred at Skjor and Aela for only a short moment before charging towards the door. Her claws slid between the stone wall and the door as she forced her way out of the Underforge. She moved through the courtyard with incredible speed and made her way to the market. As she passed some guards and a few nocturnal pedestrians, the smell of flesh quickly intoxicated her. She was about to strike one of the residents when she heard the guards come up behind her to attack her. At that moment, she knew she had to escape the city, or she would most likely get killed. She then made her way to the main gate and smashed it open, leaving Whiterun and disappearing into the night.

Skjor and Aela left the Underforge as well. Aela started to run after the newly turned Joanna while Skjor searched for Farkas and Vilkas. The two brothers were busy quarrelling in the main hall, as usual. When they saw Skjor arrive, they immediately cessed their bickering.

"Skjor, what's the matter?" Vilkas asked the older Companion.

"It's Joanna. She has run off and we need to find her before she kills anyone," he explained calmly.

"Kill someone? You mean..." Farkas started.

For once in his life, Farkas immediately understood what Skjor was trying to tell them. As soon as he knew, he went for the door and swung the door open.

"Brother!" Vilkas called out to him.

But it was already too late. Farkas had already transformed himself into his wolf form and was now on Joanna's trail.