Chapter Fourteen- Unforeseen Complication
A Note:
Farkas, I couldn't sleep, the blood makes me restless. I've gone out hunting while you rest. See you soon. Laure
Unable to return to sleep, Laure slipped out of Breezehome just after dawn, clad in her snug leathers, shouldering her Nightingale bow. A crisp breeze lifted her nose while she stomped her heels down into her finely tooled boots. Once out of the city, she trotted west over the plain, hoping to bring home a deer before they all wandered away from the city for the day. Soon her keen sense of smell picked up a fresh scent, and she loped off through the brush. An hour later, she was striding back through her front door with a small, gutted buck over her shoulders. The house was quiet, but two sets of soft breathing sifted through the planks.
She was up to her elbows in blood, skinning her kill when a pair of strong arms slid around her waist. A low, husky voice rumbled in her ear, "That is so sexy. The sun is barely up and you're in the kitchen, all bloody and beautiful."
"You say such nice things." She nuzzled against his scratchy cheek for a moment, then handed him a sharp knife. Together they skinned the little buck, butchered it down, and had the whole mess cleaned up in half an hour. After that, they made a quick breakfast of fresh venison, scrambled eggs with cheese, and Farkas helped himself to Laurelin's ever present fruit bowl.
"So Kodlak asked me yesterday if I could take a trip to Winterhold for him; there are some books there that he is interested in. Care to join me?" he asked as his strong teeth snapped into an apple.
"I would love to, but he has me on a short leash for the time being. Plus I have a bundle of little things I need to do around here. I'll still be here when you get back, though."
"Yeah, well, I should get moving." He stood, pulled her to her feet. "I don't have enough pretty words to say about how much I enjoyed last night, and I hope you enjoyed yourself as much as I did."
"Oh I think you know how much I enjoyed myself. Don't sell yourself short all the time, dear heart. Travel safely."
"I will. I'll be back before you know it. Don't go slaying any more dragons without me." His long dark hair fell over them as he leaned in, flickered a light kiss over Laure's lips, his large hands low on her waist.
"I'll try not to." She pressed close to him, drinking in his solid warmth. "May the gods watch over your battles, brother." With a small sigh of regret, he turned away, slipped out the door, a last grin thrown over his shoulders.
Although Laurelin used nearly her entire stock of healing potions and numerous attempts with her restoration magic, some of the marks Farkas left on her body defiantly remained all too visible. She finally gave up trying to lighten the livid bruising and teeth marks; she would just have to live with them and the jibes she was sure to receive from her shield-siblings until they faded on their own.
Lydia stumbled down the stairs not long after Farkas left. She glanced around, saying, "Good, I don't think I can look him in the eye ever again. Hey, something smells good; any leftovers?" She sat down, helped herself to a heaping plate. While she forked a bite of egg into her mouth, Lydia cast a curious eye over her Thane. "By Talos! What did he do to your neck?"
Laure, wearing her wolf armor, strode into Jorrvaskr with a content smile on her face. Last night's release with Farkas had helped clear away an enormous amount of tension she had been holding on to. Aela looked from the table and nodded, her glittering eyes narrowed in amusement. Laure suspected she knew the reason for Aela's expression, but let it go.
"Honor to you, sister. Care to practice with me today?" Laure asked her beautiful, red-haired sister.
"Not today, thank you. I'm heading out to hunt in the Pale. I feel the need to get out of the city. Perhaps you could train with Vilkas."
"I guess I could at that. Good hunting to you then sister." Laure shoved out the back doors, having caught Vilkas' warm scent coming from the practice yard. He seemed to be back to his distant, brooding self but readily agreed to spar with Laure. The lean mer stretched to warm up her muscles, enjoying the warm sunny day. When she was ready, Vilkas faced her, his gray eyes flickering down to her marked throat for an instant, in which he scowled slightly, then schooled his features into an unreadable mask.
"A greatsword isn't to be treated like a regular blade. Patience, timing, balance, these are a few of the most important factors in battling with a two-handed blade. Flailing wildly will tire you more quickly and put you at risk of being in a position where you might be unable to protect yourself. Now, show me your grip." He adjusted Laure's grip; then stepping up close, he showed her the proper stance, his warm body fitted up against her back while he instructed her on how to block with the massive sword in her hands.
Vilkas was patient in his teaching, if not exactly warm and friendly. He had to bring Laure back to the present a few times when he caught her daydreaming about her activities with Farkas the night before, wondering how quickly he would return from his mission to Winterhold. He said he wanted to hunt with me; did he mean in wolf form? Kodlak and Vilkas will both be upset if I cause Farkas to change-
"Focus!" he snapped. "If you let your mind wander while in battle, you will end up hurt, or worse, someone you care for will. A true foe will take swift advantage of any lapse in your attention, and you will be dead. With a greatsword, you won't be able to use your normal style of dancing and weaving around, you'll over extend yourself, leave your back open, and be off balance as well."
"Sorry Vilkas, I guess I'm just tired. I'll try harder." Laure pushed her hair back from her sweaty forehead, breathing heavily. Swinging a hefty, two-handed sword, even just holding it up, while wearing her heavy armor was wearing her out quickly. She lifted her blade gamely, settling into a relaxed but guarded position. She winked saucily at her shield-brother, waiting for him to come at her. They came together, every movement slow and cautious, Vilkas insisting she have utmost control over her blade, even though it was blunt.
Vilkas finally lowered his blade with a grunt. Laurelin was pink faced and panting, but she had finally banished whatever distractions had been drawing her attention away. Not that he didn't know exactly what had occupied her mind so. His brother's scent brushed his nose every time she danced near. "That's enough for today. You did well once you started paying attention, though you have much to learn still. Go home; you look like you need to rest. Make sure you stretch lightly before you lie down or you will hurt like the void tomorrow."
Laurelin lowered her own blade with a relieved sigh. Even though she had managed to focus her mind, her body was still taxed. Every muscle felt loose and watery yet thrummed with the energy she had built up while doing forms with Vilkas. "Thank you, Vilkas, I can see I still have much to learn. It will take me time to become as skilled as you."
"It's all in the swing." He grinned a little as he said this, his deep baritone voice full of amusement.
"If you say so, brother. Care to join me for supper later this evening? I have a fresh stock of venison, and I could even persuade Lydia to make some vegetables for you." When it looked as though he would decline, Laure prodded his shoulder with her forefinger. "Don't leave me with her all alone! I'll go insane; she gives me nothing but grief."
"I say give it right back. She'll respect you more if you aren't always such a pushover."
"I am not!"
"Then remind her who is Thane and who is housecarl."
"I don't want her to hate me! And don't think you're changing the subject so quickly. Are you coming to supper or not?"
"I'll be there. You get some rest this afternoon though. I think it will do you good." He clapped a hand on her shoulder, steered her away from the training yard. "Go home. I'll see you around sunset."
"See you soon, then. Good day, brother." Laure slowly walked back through town, pausing a moment to check on the Gildergreen tree. Everything still seemed healthy, so she continued home.
Lydia greeted her at the door with her usual enthusiasm, although there was a mocking note of amusement in her voice as she called down her greeting. Laure went up stairs, unfastening her armor as she went. In her under shift, Laure did a few quick stretches before ordering Lydia out of her room.
"I'm going to sleep. Go get whatever we need for dinner tonight, and more mead. Farkas and I drank the last of it last night." Laure yawned widely, dropping into her Farkas-scented bed furs. Lydia quietly went out, and the exhausted Bosmer snuggled into the pillows, deeply inhaling his warm, musky smell. Within minutes, Laure was peacefully asleep. Her dreams were vivid images of loping through tall grass, full, content, feeling the warm, living earth under her paws while she followed the scent of her lover over the plain.
"...Thane is still resting. Your hulk of a brother kept her awake all night. You sure she invited you tonight?"
"Aye, she insisted actually." Vilkas' deep voice sounded right under her head.
Laure called out blearily, "Let Vilkas in, Lydia; I invited him." She rolled over and stretched with a muffled groan. Her back muscles were on fire. Pulling herself from bed took a few moments; her muscles had all stiffened into hot bands of pain coiled around her entire body. She slowly pulled a clean dress over her head. Still, her mind felt clearer after her rest. It was the first untroubled sleep she had enjoyed in the weeks since she'd taken the blood.
Vilkas was sitting near the fire when she made her way downstairs finally, wincing at every step as her thigh muscles screamed in protest. "Can I get you some mead, or wine, brother?
"I was actually going to suggest we go admire the last bit of a truly spectacular sunset, but maybe you should just sit." He smirked slightly. "Old women need their rest."
Laure huffed and hobbled by him at a stately pace, then stepped out her front door to inspect the validity of his claim. The sky directly overhead was a deep purple, a few stars just winking into sight. Further west, broad swathes of indigo and and crimson mingled yet somehow never clashed. Molten gold and pink threads of light raced along the undersides of the scattered high clouds, looking so much like the frothing crests of waves crashing overhead that Laurelin caught her breath in awe. The sun was an incandescent orange and pink sliver, nearly dipped behind the dusky plum hued mountains across the gray plain. Vilkas' soft step whispered behind her, so she turned her head and smiled over her shoulder briefly before returning her gaze to the horizon, just as the sun slipped out of sight.
"Thank you. Each one is such a gift," Laurelin said softly, continuing to admire the swift deepening of the hues in the sky above.
"Aye." The chill evening breeze sprang up almost immediately, so they went back inside shortly after the star-scattered full mantle of night had spread over the land. Lydia was dicing vegetables into into the cooking pot when they entered, and a roast of venison sizzled on a spit over the coals. Laure sank down into a chair by the fire with a sigh. Vilkas seated himself in the other chair and pushed a pile of books over to the quiet mer. "I brought these for you. Take your time reading them; I know them by heart. They should be invaluable to you if you are serious about learning more of two-handed weapons. I wager even Lydia here could show you a thing or two."
"I'll take all the help I can get, but honestly I don't see myself ever fighting a dragon with a greatsword. I'd rather fist fight a troll, I think." She sat back and opened up a book after pouring Vilkas and herself a drink. Letting Laure read, Vilkas relaxed back in the cushions of his seat, silver eyes reflecting the firelight in bright flashes. Laure closed her book when Lydia offered her a plate of food. She and Vilkas cleaned their plates rapidly, then picked at a second serving more slowly, once more talking quietly on one of their favorite subjects: books.
"I read more when there isn't much work or training of whelps to do. It helps keep my mind off of other things. Like my brother and the trouble he could be getting himself into out there."
"Do you truly worry so much about him?"
"Of course I do. He's my little brother." Vilkas' lips curved up into an ironic smile. "For all his size and skill, he isn't invincible, and sometimes he's reckless."
"Honestly I have never seen him do anything reckless. But we were talking about that treatise on dwemer forges I found. It really did have the most fascinating notions on certain geometries intrinsic in the various minerals..."
Bored, Lydia retreated to her room, hoping to get more sleep tonight than last. Her Thane wasn't oozing the same sensuality as last night, and Vilkas didn't seem inclined to try anything too forward, so she let herself drop into sleep without hesitation.
Laure got up and slowly cleaned the dishes, chatting with Vilkas as she worked. He refilled her cup and leaned against the stairs while she wiped down the table and cutting block. As she straightened with a groan from the last bit of sweeping she did, his hands descended on her shoulders.
He had been watching her limp around all evening, had a pretty good idea of how sore and stiff her muscles would be, and a good idea as to how he could help. "Sit down for a few minutes, I'm going to do something..." he rounded up a pile of rolled furs and skins from under the stairs, shook them out and laid them flat where the tub had been yesterday. He then slid the towels from last night, still neatly folded and unused, as close to the coals as possible. "Do you have any healing potions?"
"No, I've used them all. There are ingredients in the satchel on the alchemy table though."
"Hmm, that would take a while. I'll just use my hands."
"For what?" She queried.
"You'll find out. This will work better without the dress. Do you trust me to keep my hands to myself?" he asked, a dangerous gleam in his eye, a hint of interest wafting to her nose.
Laure considered this a moment, then tugged her dress over her head and dropped it over her chair, stepped over to the furs where her shield-brother knelt on the floor. She stretched herself out face down in her small clothes, with her cheeks pillowed on the backs of her hands. Soon he was wrapping the warm towels around her, completely bundling her up. Sweat began to bead on her brow, but the warmth was beginning to loosen a few of the aches. When a towel cooled off, he peeled it back, taking each of her long limbs in his hands, flexing and pulling gently. He straddled her hips while he worked, his warm weight a sensual reminder of his proximity.
Under his skilled, gentle hands, she relaxed into an easy, dreamy state. When his fingers carefully kneaded the backs of her thighs, she let them fall open slightly, allowing him access to the smooth skin between. Laure felt herself drift to thinking again as she realized she was rolling her hips against his fingers. Not sure what to make of this, she froze. His hands quested no further, slipped further down her relaxing leg muscles. A low laugh slipped out of Laurelin. Traitorous body...
A delicate scent of musk and honey drifted into Vilkas' nose, intoxicating and too close; he was aware that his own scent was mingling with hers, accentuating the tension he suddenly felt; and he fought back those sensations until he was rigidly under control again, exhaling through his nose slowly.
"I'm not sure I should continue..."
"Why? Are you ashamed of something you're doing?" Came her muzzy-voiced reply a moment later when she realized his hands weren't continuing.
"Not exactly. But I'm not sure I should have my hands all over the mostly naked body of my brother's woman."
"While we did try very hard to fuck each others brains out, I'm not exactly your brother's 'woman.' You know that; otherwise you would never have touched me in the first place. And for the record, you asked me if I trusted you, and here I am, mostly naked of my own free will. So either I trust you, or I don't mind having a warm pair of hands soothe away some aches. It's a natural reaction to become a little ah, heated by it. Should I get dressed? Can you trust yourself?" she challenged over her shoulder.
He rose up, a strange expression on his handsome face, tugged her into a relaxed seated position and finished pulling and flexing all of her muscles until the last rigid bars of pain had softened. Sitting easily, her spine straight, shoulders back, Laure breathed deeply and imagined blowing the last wisps of ache from her body. With her legs crossed, and hands loose in her lap, she smiled, let her eyes flutter open.
Vilkas rolled another log into the fire, then dropped to his knees behind her, pulled her back to his warm chest. He wrapped his strong arms under hers, capturing her fingers in his square hands, laced their fingers together and began squeezing and pulling, feeling the tiny pops that signaled tension. Laurelin groaned, feeling her last shred of pain pulled away by his strong hands. He gently worked his fingertips in between each pad, flexed her hands and rolled them in his own, until they tingled lightly.
His calloused palms smoothed up her wrists and forearms in one final caressing motion, then stilled. Vilkas' warm breath whispered in her ear, tickled her jaw. Laure relaxed back against his chest, his arms wrapped around her in an easy embrace.
"Thank you; that was marvelous. It's like you knew where every ache was, and now it's gone." Laure leaned her head back to rest a moment on his shoulder, enjoying the warmth of his lean body. Vilkas seemed content to simply sit there on the floor, cradling her to his chest.
Eventually, Laure pulled herself from his arms, a content smile on her face. "I can move again! I'll never take your training for granted, brother-I am in your debt."
He pushed himself off the floor, climbed to his feet off the furs. "Not at all. Tomorrow we should train lightly. You did well enough today, but we'll need to work with you every day if you want to be able to wield a greatsword in battle. Well, I'm heading back up to Jorrvaskr; you get some more rest and I'll see you in the morning. Aye?"
"Aye, brother. Thank you for a lovely evening." Laure slipped up close to him where he was lingering by the front door, and brushed his dark stubbled cheek with her lips. A ghost of a smile flitted across his own lips, almost unseen, then he was tugging open the front door and striding slowly up the street.
Laure rolled up the furs, dropped them back under the stairs on her way up and climbed into bed. Once more the scent of Farkas warmed her dreams as she trotted across a grassy plain, nose to the wind, on the hunt once more.