I apologize for the somewhat late update! I've been busy and still am and I hit a bit of a block up until tonight with the story...So forgive me? ^^ Any feedback would be AMAZING!
"How is he?" Aeiron looked up at the priestess after she greeted her when the general entered the temple after breakfast.
Danica pursed her lips at the general's quiet question, looking over at the unconscious Ralof that was resting up on one of the beds in the temple. "He's fine, for now." She sighed after a moment and looked back at the shorter woman's detached look. "Your captain got cut up pretty bad. It'll be a while before he goes charging back into battle."
Aeiron nodded before looking down at the ground. Running water and quiet groans of pain filled the heavy air in the temple as the pause between them dragged out. The general finally looked up at Danica and her mask chipped slightly. "Can I see him?"
The woman smiled wearily before gesturing to the injured man. "Go right on ahead. He's well enough to talk." The brunette smiled appreciatively before walking past the priestess and over to the unconscious blond.
She paused in front of the bed, looking down at Ralof's tired and worn down face as his chest rose and fell at a steady rate. The woman licked her dry lips and gnawed at her lower one as she watched him, fists clenching and unclenching at her sides. Aeiron finally knelt down beside her comrade and rested a hand on the man's forehead. "Captain…"
His eyes twitched at her whisper. Aeiron brushed his hair back and placed her hand back on his forehead. "Ralof…hi." She smiled nervously with a slightly louder voice. The captain began stirring on the bed as his eyes slowly opened and adjusted to the sunlight coming into the temple.
"…Aeiron."
Aeiron let her shoulders drop as she smirked uncontrollably. "Good to see you're still with the living."
Ralof tried to sit up, visibly stiffening up and gritting his teeth while groaning when a searing and sharp pain interrupted him about a quarter of the way up. Both of Aeiron's hands went to his shoulders as the brunette forced him down onto the bed. "Easy now. Danica said no sudden movements."
"Dammit." The captain reluctantly lied back down and looked up at the general, offing her a weak smile for his lack of ability. He sighed heavily before speaking. "I owe you, Stormblade. If it weren't for you, my ass would have been handed to me by one of those damned Elves."
She rolled her eyes in response. "Just goes to show that I can't take you anywhere without having to worry about you, now can I?" Aeiron raised a teasing eyebrow at him, but Ralof closed his eyes and the beam on his face faded away.
"You had to carry me back to Whiterun...You were, stumbling and struggling to hold me up…but you did." His hand rose to grasp one of hers that were holding onto the side of the bed. "I…I don't know what I would do without you, Stormblade."
Aeiron stared at him with slowly widening eyes as she processed his words. A dry swallow made her throat feel even drier as he stared at her with his tired azure eyes. She sighed, and then chuckled before raising her other hand to pat his gently. "A lot of people have said the same thing to me, Captain. And I always say the same thing. 'I do what I can.'" She felt his grip on her hand tighten when she rose to get up, but Ralof didn't protest. "I'll be back tomorrow with some mead and a deck of cards for you." She grinned at the captain before walking over to one of the other beds and striking up conversation with one of the other wounded Stormcloaks.
Ralof propped himself up to watch her as much as his body would allow himself, watching her for a good minute before grunting and letting himself flop back onto the bed. He didn't care that he felt the same annoying stinging in his back when his back collided with the stone as he eyed the ceiling. And when he heard her leave, his heart twisted a bit.
When he heard approaching footsteps, the captain looked up to see Acolyte smiling down at him warmly. "Good to see you're awake. Ready for some healing?"
The captain returned the gesture and nodded as he began to sit up with the priest's help. "Sure."
Aeiron quietly left the temple and closed the doors behind her as gently as she could. Her eyes remained glued to the ground the entire process, replaying her conversations with the wounded soldiers. Ralof's remained stuck in her head as she pursed her lips in thought. She knew there was more meaning behind the man's words besides the obvious, and his attraction to her always made her feel uncomfortable, no matter how much he tried to hide it.
They were comrades, and that was it.
No one should ever love a failure, she kept telling herself for the past five years. No one.
"My Thane!"
The general looked up to see Lydia running towards her. She forced a smile on her face at her approaching Housecarl. "Hi, Lydia. What's going on?"
The older woman didn't waste any time and gave her a slip of paper. "This came for you yesterday. The courier wouldn't say who it was from…" Lydia's words died out when Aeiron snatched the paper from her and opened it with hasty movements, almost ripping the worn parchment.
The general's eyes furiously scanned the symbols and scribbling on the paper before looking at Lydia with absolute disbelief and shock written all over her face. "No…"
"…My Thane?"
She kept running.
Aeiron had to run. Somewhere. Anywhere. And she did just that. The general blew past the Housecarl and nearly tackled her to the ground when she tried to pass her. As she recovered, Lydia looked up and saw her Thane frantically running down the steps. "Aeiron!"
They were coming after her.
She ran through the wind district with the parchment fisted in her hand, crumpled up and slightly torn. The people in the market barely made it out of the way before the Thane came through in a flash. The guards were struggling to open the city gates in time as she approached them.
They were fast on her heels. Why wouldn't they go away?
As soon as she was outside the city, she vaulted over the stone wall and rolled once she hit the ground before she picked herself up and kept running. The burning in her lungs seemed to not exist as she gasped for oxygen while she sprinted over the hilly and uneven terrain.
Where was he? Why wasn't he coming for her?
"I knew I shouldn't have given her the letter!" Lydia's furious outburst attracted the attention of the rest of the Companions having their lunch in the mead hall. Vignar tried to calm her down by raising his hands in defense.
"Lydia. Relax. She couldn't have gone far…"
"If she carried Ralof back to Whiterun from the Imperial Camp, which is about ten miles from here, in two hours, then she can be pretty far by the time I go looking for her!"
The Jarl sighed and nodded his head. "I see your point…"
Aela approached them and raised an eyebrow at the anger written on the Housecarl's face. "What's going on?"
The black haired woman sighed angrily before turning to face the Huntress. "Aeiron's run off! I gave her the note that came yesterday and she just…took off!"
"Any idea why?" Aela kept her composure. She was sure she and her brothers would find her, one way or another.
Lydia paused a moment before answering the question. "It could've been a panic reaction." The Housecarl looked up from the floor to look at the expectant faces of the Companion and the Jarl. "She told me, though vaguely and briefly, of how she and her father were being hunted for a period of time before they made their way to Skyrim, and even a while afterwards. Apparently, the Thalmor wanted both of them dead, for obvious reasons since her father could shout and was planning on joining the Stormcloak rebellion. He posed a threat and they wanted him and Aeiron gone."
"But how does this have to do with the symbols on the paper?"
"I don't know," she sighed. "She took one look at it and ran off to…Gods know where!"
Farkas and Vilkas looked at each other for a moment before nodding and standing up. "We could help, if you want." Aela offered. Lydia's face immediately brightened up at the suggestion.
"Could you?! I don't think I'll be able to find her by myself." The Housecarl smiled for the first time in that hour as she and Aela turned to look at Vilkas and Farkas.
"Vilkas, Farkas, Skjor went out on a job, so it looks like we'll be the ones looking for Aeiron."
Vilkas nodded and looked up at his brother before eyeing the women again. "It'll be best if we go in pairs."
The Huntress nodded and turned to look at Farkas. "You're coming with me, Icebrain."
Farkas scowled at the nickname. "Really?"
Lydia turned to look at the other twin. "I guess I'm going with you then?"
Vilkas nodded and turned to head for the door side by side with the Housecarl as they followed out Aela and Farkas.
Meanwhile, Ria bitterly downed another bottle of ale as she watched Vilkas leave Jorvaskr.
The sun was setting fast and there was still no sign of the acclaimed general anywhere. Vilkas and Lydia kept light conversation, the Housecarl usually starting it while Vilkas tried to find her scent in the winds that were growing colder with the approaching nighttime. They covered the southwest of Whiterun with Farkas and Aela covered the northwest portion of the plains.
"We better hurry," Lydia spoke up after a long pause of them covering more rocky terrain. Vilkas shielded his eyes from the sun and looked up, seeing that it was slowly heading towards the horizon and behind the mountains.
"Aye," he agreed, turning back to look at the Housecarl panting. "You alright?"
She nodded breathlessly. "We need to find Aeiron." Lydia replied deprived of air as she marched up to Vilkas' side and continued on with him. The Housecarl eyed the roads warily. "Vampires are still attacking travelers at night…"
"We'll be fine if we avoid using the roads and move slow to avoid being spotted." Lydia nodded, looking down that the ground. "What is she like?" she was surprised when she heard Vilkas ask the question. Lydia paused and looked up at the Companion, seeing him look off to the distant mountains.
"What, do you mean?" her eyes squinted as she tried to block out the dying sun while looking up at the man. He continued hiking along the ground and spoke up again.
"What is Aeiron usually like to be around? I would assume you know her best, after all."
She considered the question, searched her mind and filtered through the one million words that could describe her Thane. "She's…different. She has a fixation for chocolate and knowledge, art, and music. Loves to sing in the morning when she sometimes makes us breakfast and I sometimes hear her when she's getting ready. Aeiron has a temper. I've never been afraid of anyone as much as her when she's angry." Lydia strangely didn't have to look at him to know he was listening attentively.
"But, she's also one of the kindest people I've ever known. She sometimes plays with this girl that is by the Gildergreen, Lucia. Aeiron calls her 'Lucky Luce' and plays with her whenever she has the time, gives her gifts when she doesn't, pays for her room at the Bannered Mare…" Lydia paused again and looked at Vilkas. "Why do you ask?"
He shrugged, looking up at one corner of his vision. "I just wanted to know how to approach her when we find her."
"If we find her." The Housecarl corrected him.
Vilkas raised an eyebrow. "I'm sure we will." He began walking past her while he called over his shoulder. "She was telling me how much of a mother hen you could be. I didn't believe her until now, though."
Lydia stared at him for a good three seconds before storming to catch up with him. "Wait 'till I find her. She'll have an earful from me…"
She thought he couldn't hear her, but Vilkas chuckled breathlessly with a hint of a smirk at the woman's mutterings under her breath. He froze; the clanking of his metal made Lydia slowly come to a halt. "What is it?" she asked, looking up at him and then his outstretched arm that was in front of her. She looked up, and the color left her face and replaced itself with dread.
It was a lone figure, a long cloak blowing behind him as he walked over the distant hill a few hundred feet away from them slowly, almost in calculated steps. The pair could hear the clanking of his armor from where the stood. When he disappeared over the hill, they shared a look before sprinting up the hill to approach the man. When they got there, he was gone.
"What the…" Lydia looked at the Companion for an answer, but he had none. It was if he was never there. By now, the sun was almost completely gone, and the distant glow of two lights caught his eyes.
"Look," he said, pointing towards what looked like an alter with two pillars on either side. Bodies were sprawled out on the ground before the shrine. He could make out a figure that looked like Aeiron's standing in front of the alter, their back facing the pair. "There's someone there."
"Maybe it's Aeiron?" Lydia looked at him and took a step forward.
"Maybe…" Vilkas pursed his lips and then drew his sword. "Let's be careful though. It could be a trap." Lydia nodded and followed his lead by drawing her war axe and followed him down the hill. The pair slowly came closer as they warily approached The Two Pillars, they later realized. When they were about fifty feet away, the stars were shining brightly and there was an aurora glowing above. Lydia sheathed her axe and stood up straight before approaching the figure.
Before Vilkas had a chance to protest, Lydia spoke up. "Aeiron?" The Companion began approaching from the side and saw the flames' glow flickering on the brunette's face. She looked distantly into the flames while clutching her axe by her side with fresh blood dripping from the blade and onto the stone step she was standing on. He sheathed his greatsword and slowly approached her as Lydia was doing. "Aeiron? It's Lydia," she called out to the younger woman in a calm and loving voice, one a mother would have for a child.
The grip on the battle axe tightened and the brunette clenched her teeth. Vilkas eyed the bodies, seeing the dead Vampires lying motionless and stiff on the ground.
"He was here." Aeiron's quiet voice finally replied to Lydia's calling. She turned to face the Housecarl and raised her axe in a defensive stance. The Housecarl froze where she stood and raised her hands in the air. "Why did you with HIM?" Vilkas glanced at the shocked Housecarl as the Thane snarled at her, her eyes turning an ice blue color and beginning to glow. He felt his wolf stir at the action, wanting to rise to the challenge, wanting to fight the other animal inside of her.
Vilkas groaned and his hands went to clench his head. Breathe Vilkas,he told himself. Dammit, breathe! The Companion clenched his teeth and his eyes began to glow an amber color. Lydia glanced over at him and then back at the brunette. "He left." She replied. "He had some things to take care of…"
"Why didn't he take me with HIM?" Aeiron raised the axe higher as the Housecarl took another step towards her.
"He promised to be back!" Lydia quickly interjected. "Your father," she spoke more calmly now. Vilkas turned to look at her when she spoke the word "father". "will be back soon. I promise."
Aeiron's eyes widened and softened. Her arms lowered and the axe hit the stone beneath her. The general's breathing grew heavier as she stared at the older woman with watery eyes. "Athair…" The brunette's voice grew high pitched as she let go of the axe completely and buried her face in her hands. "Athair…" Vilkas's wolf finally began to die down once more. The gold in his eyes flickered away and his silver eyes had returned as he watched Lydia approach the sobbing general and hugged her tightly.
Lydia then turned to look at Vilkas, giving him a sympathetic look as he slowly drew nearer to the pair of women. The older woman then turned her attention to the brunette, seeing her slump forward and her voice dying down and her eyes closing. "Aeiron!" She kept the Thane from hitting the ground, but she wouldn't be able to hold her up forever. Lydia looked up at the Companion once more. "Can you carry her?" she asked while raising her eyebrows. "I'm strong, but she's heavy for being short."
Vilkas trotted over and slowly scooped up the Stormcloak general in his arms for the second time that week. "Muscle weighs more than fat." He calmly told her as he watched her pick up the Titanium battle axe off of the stone ground. Lydia looked up at the Companion and nodded.
"Let's head back. I'm sure that it's safer in Jorvaskr than here with vampires lurking about." The Housecarl stated while nodding towards the corpses by the shrine. Vilkas nodded and looked down at her, seeing the drastic change in her face from a few minutes ago when she was so angry. And now, she resembled a sleeping child with how calm she looked. He looked up again when he saw Lydia starting to walk ahead and followed her back to the city.
He looked down when he felt her curling up to his chest about half way back and his grip on her became tighter as he ahead for any dangers that may be hidden ahead. Vilkas had Aeiron in his arms, and he strangely felt inclined to not let her go anytime soon under the bright nighttime sky above them.