AN: Woooah a chapter only three days after the last one? Must be a good week for me lol nothing really to say, thanks as always for your support, if you feel like reading something a bit sadder than what I have here, you should check out my one-shot Return, it's not in the same universe as this fic, so don't worry, it's not gonna happen later on here. (If you read it you'll see what I mean). Alrighty then, please enjoy this next chapter!
The Mind of Ysgramor: Chapter Ten
6th of Heartfire, 4E 201
Farkas had sent the whelp out on her initial assignment the minute she had woken up, therefore her absence was present in the mead hall for breakfast. Vilkas then figured it was probably a good time to lay her request from last night on his brother as well.
"So…" Farkas mumbled when his twin had finished, "She's not interested, eh?" He lowered his gaze, his pride shot. They were sitting at the tables on the outside porch, watching Athis and Njada spar.
"Don't take it too hard brother, there's something off about that one anyway. She still wants to be friends with you, she said you were 'so sweet' and that she 'doesn't want to make things awkward'." The phrase made him cringe. Women were too damn emotional.
Farkas laughed. "If the cutie-pie doesn't want me, what can I do? It's funny though, she's the exact kind of woman I could see myself getting hitched to in the future. A small Nordic wife, blonde, decently pretty, we'd have six pups, five of them being strong boys, and a little girl for me to spoil, and we'll have a nice cozy house in the woods, where I can work with heavy armor smithing for a living. She'll cook my meals, comfort me when I'm aching, ahh…I can see it perfectly." He had a dazed look in his eyes as he stared into the cup of ale he was holding.
Vilkas started to guffaw and slap his knee, "Gods dammit, Farkas! You're worse than a damned woman!"
"That may be so, but at least I can envision my future." He said coldly.
Vilkas was silent for a moment before he turned his gaze to the floor. Farkas realized he had hit a nerve.
"Hey, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you." He said sadly.
Vilkas shook his head, "No it's fine, really. It's just…" he took a breath, "I don't see my future starting until I can be rid of this curse. Same goes for you Farkas, it's dangerous living the remainder of your days as a wolf, you never know when you're going to snap and take your fury out on someone you love."
Farkas sighed and nodded his head, "Yeah, I was kinda figuring that from the start. Is that the reason the other three have never settled down? I don't wanna be a warrior forever, or a wolf. I want to settle down and have children eventually. I'm already thirty-four summers for gods' sakes. I'm not gonna stay young forever."
Vilkas smirked at his twin, he had never imagined Farkas as much of the loyal husband type, but this conversation had proven otherwise.
"What in bloody Oblivion is that!?"
Vilkas snapped his head from his thoughts in alarm, and looked to where Aela was standing by the wall of the courtyard and then followed her outstretched hand with his eyes to the object she was referring to. In the sky, a monstrous grey figure was gliding overhead, and it let out a roar that shook Jorrvaskr itself. Vilkas could hardly believe his eyes.
A dragon.
"Grab your weapons! The Companions are going to help in taking this beast down!" Skjor shouted.
The beast began making its way toward the outskirts of Whiterun, to where the farms were housed and the watchtowers stood. The Companions all gathered their equipment and began running through the streets following the dragon's course.
When they were outside of the city gates they watched as the dragon circled the western watchtower in the distance and set everything a flame.
"C'mon! We can still help out if we get there quickly!" Aela said as she charged down the road toward the tower. The rest followed suit.
When they had arrived at the tower, however, the beast was grounded, and missing flesh. In fact, it was just a skeleton. Vilkas looked on, confused.
"What happened here?" Ria asked one of the guards.
"Damn dragon came swooping out of the sky and set the tower on fire is what happened," the guard said shakingly. "We tried our best to defend ourselves but it was too strong. The fire was too hot. Then out of the blue, this person shows up with Irileth over there and takes it down. Then, and you won't believe this, they absorbed the damn thing's soul! I automatically knew what that meant. We have a Dragonborn in our presence. Irileth doesn't think so though, but she's just a dark elf, she wouldn't know any better."
"Watch it…" Athis warned.
"Dragonborn…you mean like the old Nordic fables? The being who houses a dragon's blood and soul in their body?" Skjor questioned.
Irileth, the housecarl of Jarl Balgruuf stepped forward, "What that person was or wasn't does not matter. We killed the dragon and that's what is important. Besides, even if that ingrate was Dragonborn, they ran off as soon as the damned thing was dead. Says a lot about your little 'legends'." She sneered.
"If there's a Dragonborn at this time it can't be a good thing," Vilkas mused. Dragonborn were only to appear once every few generations, and usually their presence meant an omen of some kind.
"Whatever, you Nords have fun discussing this, I'm returning to the Jarl with my observations," Irileth stated as she began walking the road back to the city.
"Where exactly did this 'Dragonborn' go?" Farkas asked.
"No clue," another guard muttered, "they got out of here as soon as they could, they were wearing a mask so we couldn't tell who they were."
Vilkas grunted. So this Dragonborn was a coward?
"Seems as though Whiterun didn't need the Companions' assistance this time after all," Skjor said disappointingly as he crossed his arms.
"Come, let us all return home." Aela said with the wave of her hand.
Vilkas sat in his quarters at his desk reading through a book he had picked up from Avenicci, the Jarl's assistant, on request. The Book of the Dragonborn, an account of the legendary being and what their presence in Tamriel meant. He sighed as he flipped through the pages, wondering exactly who this person was, and why they had run off as soon as the dragon was dead.
Putting the book away on his shelf, he undressed and slipped into his night clothing, then settled himself down on his mattress. He stared at the ceiling in boredom for two hours before finally succeeding in falling asleep.
It had been almost three weeks since the whelp had been sent out on her contract and Vilkas only assumed for the worst. The job Farkas had given her had been a simple bandit camp clearing, and it was only about three hours away from Whiterun. She should've returned two weeks ago, but to no avail. He could tell his brother was getting antsy though, he was always looking up at the doors in the mead hall while he ate in hopes she would walk through them.
"I hope she's alright, I gave her the easiest task I had. Where do you think she is, brother?" Farkas rambled on as he and his brother strolled through the Plains District one afternoon.
"If we're lucky, she ran off. Probably couldn't handle the pressure that these assignments load onto you."
"Gosh I hope not," his twin said in regret as he rubbed the back of his neck. "She was so determined, I don't think she could've given up that easily.
Vilkas grunted in response and continued glancing around the item stalls as they walked, only to stop mid-step as a familiar scent got caught in his nostrils.
He turned to Farkas to inform him but the oaf was already running down the street to the main gate like an idiot with his arms outstretched. In the distance, Vilkas saw the whelp standing awkwardly in front of the large doors as his brother came barreling toward her and he couldn't help suppressing a chuckle. His twin gathered the small woman up in his arms and twirled her around, causing the poor girl to struggle in his grasp.
Vilkas made his way over to them eventually and once the girl was on her feet again, he looked at her impatiently.
"And just where have you been, may I ask?" He said in an unfriendly manner.
She looked to her feet nervously and bit her lip in response. "I-uh…got caught up on other things."
"'Other things'?" Vilkas repeated, an eyebrow cocked.
Adelia nodded and continued glancing at her feet. Vilkas groaned and forcibly grabbed and lifted her chin to meet his gaze and he sensed her sudden confusion.
"Look at me when you talk to me," he growled. "Now, why were you out for so long? That clearing should have only taken you three days max. You have been gone for almost a month. That's a bad reputation for yourself when the job takes you longer than it should."
He removed his hand from her chin and her eyes darted around like buzzing gnats.
"I, well…I did finish the task, but before I went off to accomplish it, Jarl Balgruuf sent me to do his bidding. He…urm…made me his Thane," she said sheepishly.
Vilkas stared at her as if she had a giant's toe growing on her forehead. Farkas, on the other hand, whooped and patted the woman on her back. "That's my girl! How did that happen?"
Adelia turned to the bigger brother and smiled, "Before I came to Jorrvaskr I went to the Jarl and he sent me on a task to retrieve something important to him. After I left for my assignment for you, I visited him and he sent me on another task. So I went and cleared the bandit camp, then journeyed south to finish his request, and now I'm back."
"Are you suggesting that you live in some double life that we shouldn't know about?" Vilkas said angrily.
Adelia raised her hands in defense, "N-no! I'm only saying that I have other things to attend to besides the Companions."
"Well, aren't we popular," Vilkas huffed as he turned away to head back to Jorrvaskr.
"What's his deal with me?" he could hear the woman whisper to his brother as he walked off.
What was his deal with her? He honestly had no clue himself, but the fact that the woman was as strong as a turtle without a shell and had been missing for the last three weeks wasn't something he had taken lightly. If she was going to hope to be a true Companion, she had better well take it damn seriously.
When Vilkas retired to his quarters for the evening he wasn't expecting to have company, therefore he only dressed in his trousers and picked up his copy of The Book of the Dragonborn and turned to where he had left off. He lounged on his bed reading for a good half hour before he heard the same soft rapping on his door as previous, and caught a whiff of her scent.
Groaning, he set his book down and went to the doors, opening them a bit roughly. There the whelp stood, in the same outfit she had donned the last time she had come to him in the middle of the night. He crossed his arms as he scowled at her in annoyance.
"Is this going to become a regular thing? You know I would actually like time at night to be by myself," he stated matter-of-factly.
"May I come in?" Adelia asked, completely ignoring his statement.
"Why? Can't whatever it is you want to discuss with me wait until morning?" Vilkas said as he rubbed his hand across his face.
"I need your opinion on something, and in the mornings you train with Ria so no, I can't discuss it with you then." What a snot.
"What is it, then?" he seethed through his teeth.
Adelia blinked at him for a second before turning around and kneeling to lift something off the ground. She raised herself to stand once more and held out the item to the man, who slowly took it from her and examined it.
"What do you think?" She asked excitedly.
"It's…armor." He muttered.
"Of course it's armor, but what do you think about it?"
Vilkas turned the leather fabric over in his hands. The tops of the shoulders were cuffed with steel plates, as well as a steel belt going about the middle. The armor was lightweight though, and had a decent look to it. It was unique, he hadn't seen leather and steel armor in this style before.
"It's interesting to say the least," he said after a minute.
"I made it myself," she stated happily, "Eorlund gave me some tips the day I got here and while I was away I stopped at a forge to make it. I know you were giving me shit about my other armor, so I went and made this set myself."
It was impressive. For a woman who had absolutely no fighting skills whatsoever she could make a decent set of armor. He handed the outfit back to her and she took it in her arms.
"Perhaps you should learn more from Eorlund. That piece actually looks somewhat professional. Who knows? Maybe one day you will take over the Skyforge when the geezer finally croaks."
Adelia giggled and he relaxed at the sound. She had the laugh of a bell, short and ringing.
"Vilkas," she said after a moment, "I want to apologize for the way I acted when I first came here."
"Why would you need to apologize?" he asked.
She shrugged with a half smile, "I was trying to act tough so that you all would accept me, but I think it only backfired. Farkas even said that I looked adorable when I was trying to act like a rugged thug. Maybe I'm not cut out to be the toughest Companion there is, but I am trying to earn my place around here."
Vilkas sighed and placed a hand on her shoulder.
"You have earned a place here. If you hadn't, you wouldn't be standing here talking to me. I would've sent you out on your ass the minute I saw you. Sure I doubted you before, but I do with all recruits, because half the time they don't end up sticking around. Kodlak sees something in you, I know he does, and if you want to prove it to him, just be yourself. The old man accepts honesty as his policy. Just keep working at it, Adelia. You will become a true shield-sibling to us all before you know it."
She gave him a small smile, "That's the first time you've ever called me by my name."
He shrugged. "Might as well if I'm going to get used to you being around here, whelp."
She let out a laugh and looked up to him. "Thanks for the advice, Vilkas."
Vilkas nodded in response. "Make a bargain with me here though, and stop coming to me when I'm about to call it a night."
She nodded back and turned away to start walking to the whelp's quarters. Vilkas looked after her until she turned the corner, then sighed and retreated into his room.
Lying down on his mattress, he thought about the woman, how all of sudden she didn't seem so bad to him now that she was being honest with herself. He pushed the thought aside though as slowly he drifted to a light sleep.
Let alone did he know, the same woman lie awake down the hall, returning the same exact thoughts, but instead about him.
AN: I can assume most of you might be confused as to how Adelia battled the dragon in Whiterun and went on her merry way without being noticed, and this is kinda how I planned it out: She went to the Jarl after being in Riverwood to tell him about the dragon from Helgen, then went and retrieved the dragonstone, then she went to Jorrvaskr and joined the Companions, then when she was assigned her first task by Farkas she visited the Jarl on her way out and gave him the dragonstone, that's when the dragon appears, she kills it and flees to do the Companions mission and visits the Greybeards (hence heading south) then returns to Whiterun, which is why she was gone for three weeks.