Chapter 7
The blood was so warm. The lust was so primal. The strength and Invincibility of it all was thrilling and it all made Ayah want more. She'd not been alone. She'd been surrounded by her pack. By her mate. They'd followed her and kept a watch on her. It had felt so right, the feeling was addictive.
The cold wind blew over her sore body and Ayah groaned. She rolled onto her back and shifted again as the rocks dug into her spine.
Wind? Rocks?
Ayah's eyes flew open and she was greeted by a star filled, cloudless sky. The cold Skyrim wind bit at her skin and made her shiver. It was only then it occurred to her, she was naked. It took all the strength she had left in her weakened muscles to push herself up, but Ayah managed it and looked round. Her neck was stiff and she winced as it jarred.
"Ah good. You're awake. I was getting worried about you." Aela was stood above her, holding a torch and a backpack. "You're transformation was a hard one, but you came through it. Congratulations sister. We even have a celebration planned for you. There's a pack of werewolf hunters camped at Gallows rock. The silver hand. I believe you and Farkas bumped into them before now. We're going to treat you to a blood bath." She added with a gleeful, yet manic grin. "Skjor and Farkas went on ahead to scout them out for you. Don't you feel like a lucky girl?"
Grasping her arm gently, Aela pulled Ayah up and to her feet. The younger woman looked dazed and beaten up, but Aela was used to that look. She'd seen it so many times with other members, she felt almost motherly toward Ayah.
"W-What just happened?" Ayah shivered and brought her arms around herself tightly.
"You were born into the pack, sister." Aela replied and began to pull Ayah's armour out of the backpack. "I almost envy you. That first time is always the most…Intense." She seemed to purr. "You gave us more trouble than Farkas did at his first turning. Ah, he must be so jealous. I mean, he ate three people after all."
"I ATE someone?" Ayah gasped in horror.
"Not someone sweetie. More than just one or two. There'll be a few unrecognisable bodies laying around Whiterun this night."
Ayah felt sick. REALLY sick. The bile rose in her throat and she could no longer hold it. crumpling to the floor, she was violently sick , tears rolling down her face. She murdered for a living, yes. But she'd never gone as far to kill and eat someone. Within moments, Aela was knelt next to her and was rubbing her back comfortingly.
"Its ok sweetie. It's ok." She tried to reassure her. "These things happen. They can't be controlled. Well, not on your first time anyway. After this, you'll get better, I promise. You'll learn to control yourself and you'll remember what happens. You'll be able to stop yourself from doing it again. You just have to embrace it." The tears continued to stream down Ayah's face.
"What have I become?" She cried. She wished she'd listen to Vilkas. If only she hadn't been so determined to defy him. Anger began to mix with her disappear. She should have listen to him. She shouldn't have been so head strong. Farkas said he'd stay with her. Make sure she was ok.
Farkas.
Ayah sniffed back bitter tears and gritted her teeth. "Farkas said….Said he'd stay with me. He was meant to stop me….He was…."
"Skjor told him not to." Aela told her and stroked her matted raven hair out of her face. "he said we had to let you go at your our pace. Do your own thing. Let you make mistakes and learn from them. But sweetie, please don't be mad at Farkas. He was right there with you all the way. He was reluctant to leave you when you finally began to transform back, but Skjor said it was best left her me to ease any fears you'd have."
"I want Farkas." Ayah whimpered. The older woman beside her sighed and wrapped her arms around her, rocking her gently.
"We'll go find him and Skjor now. Take out some werewolf hunters while we're at it huh?" Aela helped Ayah dress and wrapped an arm round her shoulders as she began to lead her toward the old ruined fort.
The first few hunters, posted outside the fort, were quickly taken care of by Aela. Ayah still wasn't up to it and propped herself up against the wall.
"Are you sure you're up to this Ayah? You're still a little pale."
"Just….get me to Farkas. And then we'll go home." Aela nodded and opened the door to the fort, shuffling herself and Ayah inside.
Inside Gallows rock was dark and damp. It stunk of skeevers, dirt, smoke and blood. The walls were sunken and water ran down them in rivers as well as from the holes in the ceiling. Previously caught werewolves heads were displayed on pikes either side of doorways and as general decoration.
"Stay here, I'll start clearing this place out." Aela left Ayah's side to start making her way through the fort.
"No!" Ayah growled. Her teeth were numb but she shook it off.
"I won't let you go alone." She pulled her sword and pushed passed Aela.
"Are you sure?" The older man asked.
"Aye."
The two woman cut their way through the hunters. Within the first room, they found the hanging corpse of another wolf.
"He doesn't smell familiar…" Aela muttered after leaning in to sniff. "This poor sod could be anyone."
"Well then least theres still a chance of Farkas and Skjor being alive." Ayah called to her, going through the dead hunters things for loot.
"Pray to the gods just in case." Aela said, coming over to her. "We'll have to hope the skinner hasn't gotten to them."
"The skinner?" Ayah finished looting and followed Aela into the next room. They were soon confronted by more hunters.
"The Skinner is the leader of the silver hand." Aela shouted between firing arrows. Ayah slashed through another silver hand member, driving her blade through his heart and out the other side.
"I'm guessing he's called the skinner for a good reason?"
Aela released a final arrow. It whistled through the air at lighting speed and hit a burly orc straight through her eye. She gave a last strangled scream of pain and collapsed to the floor in a heap. "I don't think I need to explain the name, Ayah. Just hope to the Gods he hasn't got them."
They passed through more passages, full of cages and torture tools. A lot of the werewolves were dead but a couple whimpered and whined as Aela and Ayah passed their cages. Ayah's heart constricted as she looked in on them in pity. They were men and woman once."Don't waste your feelings on them." Aela sneered. "They've gone feral. If you were to open that door, they'd be out and at your throat without hesitation." Ayah gulped down her guilt and continued after Aela as they trudged further and further.
In no time, they'd reached the inner chamber and the blood bath Aela had promised ensued. The skinner lunged at Ayah, catching her arm with his blade. Shocks shot through her and she snarled in pain. His weapon must have been enchanted. Swinging, she buried her glass sword into his stomach and pushed, ramming them both into a pillar. The giant orc snapped his teeth at the small nord woman, blood and saliva hitting her face and hair.
"Thats…Disgusting!" She yelled and Ayah's head shot forward, hitting him straight between the eyes. There was a crack and a cry of pain and Ayah twisted the blade in his gut before pulling upward, splitting his stomach open and leaving his guts to fall onto the dirt and blood covered floor. Pulling her sword free, the Orc fell forward and nearly landed on Ayah. She was covered in blood, her own and the Orc's and they still hadn't won the fight. Aela was across the room, firing off a steady stream of arrows into the remaining members of the silver hand. Ayah's hand began to tingle and a soft orange glow overwhelmed it. She pressed the hand to her injured arm and gasped as it began to heal.
"Ayah! Some help here!" Aela yelled and pulled her blade as two members advanced on her.
"One sec!" She yelled back and examined the damage, or lack of after healing. Her armour was torn and would need to be given to Nazir to be repaired. Turning her attention back to the silver hand, Ayah ran to Aela's aid, hacking and slashing into the men. The last man fell and Aela edged toward the morbid little shrine the hunters had made.
"Gods…." Ayah was trying to wipe the blood off her face when she turned to see Aela collapse to her knees in front of the shrine.
"Aela?"
"They….The bastards got Skjor…." The huntress's voice broke and Ayah moved toward her. Skjor's body lay on the ground in front of Aela. His face was cut and bloody. His throat had been cut and there were huge wounds all over his body. He was covered in bruises and his one ear had been torn clean was possibly the most undignified death a soldier like himself could have endured.
"Oh Aela…Aela, I'm so sorry." Ayah went to touch the huntress's shoulder and was briskly shrugged off.
"Go." Aela ground out through her gritted teeth. Her hand reached out to touch Skjor's beaten face and her fingers traced his features lightly.
"Go find Farkas. And hope with everything you have, he's still alive…."
Ayah didn't want to leave Aela. She couldn't see the Huntress's face but she knew she was heart broken. As much as they'd hushed it up, it wasn't much of a secret that her and Skjor had a love affair going on. The chemistry was obvious. Aela wasn't one for letting people in and neither was Skjor, so they made a perfect match. Now he was gone and the broken woman he'd loved knelt beside him.
"Ayah…" Aela growled. "Find. Farkas." She repeated and the dread hit Ayah like a ton of bricks. Had they done the same to him? Without a second thought, Ayah ran from the room and began to frantically look in every room she could access.
"Farkas!"
"In here!"
Ayah pushed open a heavy wooden door to reveal another room full of cells. Farkas lay in the end cell, naked and on his back. He looked unharmed as he lay there, playing with the straw that lined the bottom of the cell.
"By the Gods! Farkas, are you ok?" Ayah rushed to the bars and peered through.
"Fine." He grunted but made no effort to move."What took you so long?"
"Skjor….Skjor's dead."
Farkas finally rolled and propped himself upright. He got to his feet and clutched the bars."Dead?" Ayah nodded. His heart sank the big nord let his head fall against the bars. "He was like a father to me…." He mumbled. "I can't believe it."
"I was so worried." Ayah confessed, tears visibly appearing in her eyes. "I thought they'd got you too." A tear escaped and ran down her face. Farkas snaked his arm through the bars as far as the thick muscles would allow him to and cupped her face. His thumb stroked the stray tear away and he looked deep into her sad, pale eyes.
"I wouldn't let them take me down so easily." He joked halfheartedly.
"I love you." Ayah gasped and more tears rolled down her face. "I was so worried."
Farkas cracked a small smiled and stroked his fingers through a lock of her hair. "I love you too."
Ayah pressed herself against the bars and slipped a slender hand through to him, caressing his cheek and stubbly jaw. "Hang on." Breaking contact, she stepped away and began to go through her pouches. She eventually found what she was looking for, a lock pick and began to work on the lock. The first one snapped on the first try and it took another to unlock the door.
Farkas pushed the cell door open and reached for Ayah, collecting her up in his arms, clinging to her tightly. He buried his face in the crook of her neck and inhaled deeply. She smelled of blood and dirt. She didn't smell like Ayah. "We need to get back to Jorrvaskr." He muttered against her skin and felt her nod in agreement.
"Ayah?" Farkas carried her out of the room and with her direction, began to head toward the room where she'd left Aela with Skjor body.
"Farkas?" His shield sister rested her head against his shoulder and allowed her fingers to toy with his chest hair.
"I gotta ask ya something."
"What?"
"Will you marry me?"
They entered the room to find Aela still knelt over Skjor's body, sobbing uncontrollably. Farkas let Ayah down and she ran to the huntress, wrapping her arms about her and cuddling her close as she cried.
Once they'd managed to pry Aela away, Ayah guarded her toward the exit, Farkas following close behind carrying Skjor's body. They didn't speak again until they reached Windhelm, the closest city to their position. The guards took Skjor's body and a female guard led the companion's toward Candlehearth Hall where they were given rooms free of charge and a warm meal. Aela disappeared into her room and never came out again for the rest of the night. Ayah and Farkas silently retired soon after.
Farkas never received his answer.
CLIFFHANGER! -w- Sorry. I just had to.
thanks for all your lovely reviews. 3 ^^ I'm so pleased your enjoying the fic. and theres plenty more to come!
GP
