Chapter 20

Dustman's Cairn Part 1

A/N: I AM SORRY IT HAS BEEN AGES AND I HAVE NEGELECTED ALL OF MY STORIES SO I APOLOGISE. Well I am trying to fit it around college work and this is the first time since the last chapter I have had a lot of free time.

Thanks to all of you who are still reading this now slower pace story but thank you for sticking with it for now 20 chapters since the first review I got was some serial hate on this story and to look at it now, :D

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Elder Scrolls series.

Aela's POV

It has been long since Karliah's tears have dried up but we are still sat staring into the stream, I can feel her shaking in my arms as soft whimpers escapes her mouth as her wolf bubbles under the surface. I can always feel her wolf when it is close, I can smell her on her skin and the stronger her wolf's presence the stronger the smell. Karliah's head lies wrapped up in my shoulder as her small body curls into mine as if trying to mould into me. My heart breaks a little, her parents kept so much from her, but they must have had a reason. Shouldn't they? Nobody would do that child without a serious reason, to lie to her through her entire life and to not even to reveal them to her, to be almost ashamed of the people they once were. My gut clenches for Karliah as her breathing is slow and controlled and the whimpers are getting less frequent.

And then she stands up so fast, detaching away so fast I do not have time to register it and she stand staring hard into the stream.

"Lia" I say and it comes out tiredly and she tilts her body towards me and I barely manage to capture what she is saying it is so quiet.

"I will meet you by the gate, I have to do something before we leave" She doesn't even give me a chance to respond and I watch her walk away from me and her shoulders are slumped, but then again I am not surprised, my Lia has been through so much in such a short space of time, by the Gods, she is stronger than she knows. A sad smile falls on my lips, my wolf whimpers and I know she can sense it too. She can tell that Lia is becoming detached from me. I sigh as my right hand falls to my dagger hilt and I clench the pommel as frustration builds from the pit of my stomach. My wolf growls and lurches spurring me towards Lia's retreating form and I begin to pick up the pace and I get closer to her and my wolf is growling at me to go faster. Something must be very wrong if she can sense it. I get close enough and I rest my hand on her shoulder and she stops and I can feel her shaking under my hand but her hand still remains tightly clenched around the item in her hand.

"Lia" I say softly and she shrugs out of my grip before turning to face me, my heart cramps slightly, why won't she let me console her?

"I just…" she says and her eyes are hard despite her shaking frame "need some time alone for a bit" I nod and her hand shakily reaches out and strokes my cheek and I take a deep breath as her hand on my cheek sends jolts of warmth through me. My eyes focus on hers and my gut tightens and I have to comfort her somehow. I pull her towards me as my hands sneak up to her cheeks and I place one, long comforting kiss on her lips and I sigh as she begins to relax as my hand strokes her cheek with the pad of my thumb and I pull away and look into her eyes and I can see the tears forming.

"I will be waiting at the gate if you need me Lia, don't hesitate if you do need me" I say softly and she nods before breaking away from our embrace and walks towards what I can only guess is the temple and I watch her as she enters the temple and I let out a long sigh, it seems whenever something starts to go right it can never stay going right. I walk towards Jorrvaskr.

I have to prepare for this journey ahead, I tap a slow rhythm on the pommel of my dagger as I begin to climb the steps up to Jorrvaskr, because when Karliah is around something unusual always happens.

Karliah's POV

I didn't think it would shake me as much as it did after the anger left me.

But it did and Aela was there, just like she promised she would be. My hands are shaky as I run them through my hair as I stare out across the hold. After I left Aela in Whiterun, I left the city, I just had to, I am not used to living or staying in the city, I belong out of the crowded constricted towns and into the fresh open spaces. My breath leaves a cloud of mist as I sit on a large edge of the mountain not too far from Whiterun, my wolf is restless and I can feel her pacing under my skin as I shudder. I need to let her out, I should, it has been far too long, I frown as I take a shaky breath, I just cannot settle myself.

It feels like everything I have ever known was a lie, everything I ever knew about my parents feels like a lie, I cannot understand why they did that. They loved me and they never told me?! My eyes well up as my gut tightens and I can feel my nails digging into my palms and I can practically feeling my wolf bursting through my skin at the overwhelming surge of emotions, I take a deep breath as something close to disappointment goes through me, I need to let her out or otherwise she is going to erupt out of me. I shudder again and I slowly begin to allow the change to happen as I begin to walk up into the forest on the other side of the mountain and I clutch my gut as the first pang of the Change and a growl forces its way of my mouth and I flex my fingers as my fingernails as I can feel the claw bursting out from within me and then my vision goes blue-black and another rush of pain gnaws at my gut as I grab the slim trunk of a tree and I can feel my claws carving into the trunk and I let out a groan as the sweet pain of my muscles reforming stronger in my legs as the bone snaps and lengthens and hardens and I push away from the tree and my gut twists and I fall to the ground and I feel her burst out of my every pour and I scream out as the pain builds and shoots through me in one go and then it is gone. I blink a few times and my vision clears and refocuses and I stretch out my unused limbs for the first time since my silver wound.

I can feel the energy building in my legs and in a this surge my legs begin to work as hard as possible to run far away from it all and hopefully leave my emotions behind.

Back at the gate…

Aela's POV

Farkas and I couldn't wait any longer. Well I would but Farkas said we had to get moving.

We should have waited for her, I sigh as I re shoulder my pack and I tap the pommel of my dagger in agitation as I keep walking behind Farkas, trying to slow us down so that Karliah could catch up. Even though I am not sure whether she is really emotionally ready right now. To find out everything you have every known could have been a lie that could ruin anyone. My brow furrows in worry. I just want her to be okay, after everything she must know that her parents did love her, I mean who couldn't? I smile slightly, I love her and yet it seems with all of this in the way she cannot see it sometimes. I sigh,

"Would you stop sighing back there? That must be the hundredth sigh in the past 5 minutes Aela" Farkas shouts back to me,

"By the Gods, can you not see I am thinking hard?" I shout back as a stab of annoyance goes through me,

"No but I can defiantly hear you" I roll my eyes and just as I do I see something glinting in the trees and I look at it harder and I slow my step. Fuck that's an arrow tip. I drop the bag and I draw my bow,

"Farkas! Move!" I yell and he turns around before dropping to the ground as the arrow comes soaring through the air and a figure moves and I grab an arrow from my quiver and pull it taunt in my bow and fire as it flies towards the figure and it pierces them in the neck and I hear a gurgle as they drop to the ground and my mind is racing as my instincts kick in and I pull another arrow from my quiver and place it in my bow as three other bandits come racing towards us and I release the arrow and it slices into the bandits chest and the bandit staggers but doesn't stop, Farkas swipes at the first bandit while the other two that come towards me. My gut tightens and fire more arrows and one bandit goes down but the other just keeps coming, a sweat begins to form on my brow and I reach behind to grab another arrow but my quiver is empty, I drop my bow and I draw my sword but as the bandit comes closer he get taller and towers over me and bring his sword down on mine.

My arms shake under the shockwaves of the power of his blow, my God he is strong, my wolf snarls and it escapes out my mouth as she rises to the surface as I roll as the blade goes sinking down into the soft ground and as I go to stand back up I only manage to turn my head to see a fist making its way to my side and shake under the blow as pain courses through my side and I fall onto my back. Air comes rushing out of my lungs and I open my eyes and they refocus just in time to see the razor sharp edge of a sword comes flashing down to my face and I manage to raise my blade to block his and the collide and hold him there as he presses even harder with his blade and I can see through the visor on his helmet his black eyes glaring down at me blazing with bloodlust, a trail of sweat goes down my face as my muscles begin to burn and my arms are fully bent and I bare my teeth as he presses harder on me. Oh Gods, why is he so strong?! My wolf whines and growls as she presses so hard against the surface my vision shifts to blue-black and I can see the surprise the bandits eyes as they blaze a fiercer dark green and I smile and I push harder against him and I slowly begin to move the blade further away from my face but a sharp pain in the same side that the bandit punched causes me to gasp and my wolf slips away from me slightly and the blade jolts back causing a slit of a cut on my head and I hiss in pain and the bandit smiles.

Then, his eyes go wide and he looks up and away from me and the pressure lessens and a dark mass bounds over me and I hear his blood curdling scream as it tears at his neck and pulls him away and holds him around the neck as his face greys in blood loss

"You do not touch her, you do not harm her" a bestial voice says, and a jolt of recognition goes through me.

"Karliah?!" I say in shock and the werewolf turns and I look into the eyes and I can see the same silver in its eyes, but her body is like no other, sleek and dark skin and fur and she is bigger than any other werewolf I have ever seen.

"Aela" she says in relief before turning back to the bandit dangling in her hand and she throws him far and snarls and she turns back to me and walks towards me.

"Nice of you to join us Karliah" Farkas says and she looks at him before turning back to me and I smile and I place my hand on the side of her muzzle and she closes her eyes and presses into my hand and I run my hand from her face to her fur and I continue to run my hand through her fur.

"You are like no other werewolf I have ever seen" I say in awe and then a whine vibrates from her chest as her clawed hand touches the cut on my head, and I smile as warmth fills me, she cares so much,

"It is nothing, just a scratch" I say and she moves away as a painful whine comes from her and she begins to pant as I hear the snaps of bone and muscle as they begin to reform and she begins to decrease in size until she is the same size and her eyes lock with mine as she becomes completely human again and touches the cut on my head lightly and stares intently at it and my eyes scan down her near naked body as her cloth clothes remain in tatters, lust drips through me as my eyes remain locked with her clothing. Oh by the Gods, I blush at her and her eyes lock with mine and her brows scrunch under confusion,

"What?" It takes a few moments for it to sink in and I clear my throat as I try to stop my eyes from wandering and my blush deepens

"Y-your clothes" I manage to say and she looks down and blushes and runs off. I frown as I watch her enter the forest only to return a few minutes later fully clad in armour and weaponry, a slight slither of disappointment goes through me, my god what is wrong with me?! I shake my head as we begin to walk towards Dustman Cairn.

Hours later in the Evening in the Camp…

Aela's POV

"By the gods I am tired" Karliah says as she yawns and I watch her arch and flex her back and lust begins to drip into my groin and I try and school my emotions down, they seem to be running wild.

"Tomorrow will be even more tiring, so I suggest we rest up. Goodnight" Farkas says before standing up and going off to his tent. I turn to Karliah as she walks towards the tent and I grab her hand and she turns to face me,

"Are you okay now?" I ask and she smiles at me and nods as she pulls me up towards the tent,

"I just needed some time, that's all Aela" she says and she yawns again and we enter the tent and I sit down on my roll mat as she takes off her boots

"You know I am glad you turned up when you did, especially the way you were dressed" I say, damn it! I was unable to hold my tongue. Lia pauses and turns round to face me and a smirk graces her lips as she leans closer to me and I place my hand on the side of her face as her hand traces up the side of my ribs and I shiver under her touch

"Oh yeah? And why did you enjoy my clothing?" she says and I blush and I smile as I bring my lips closer to hers so that they only ghost over mine

"It was so pleasing to my eyes, your body, will always be pleasing to my eyes" I say and she presses her lips to mine and I take a sharp breath as it send shocks through me and move my mouth harder against hers. I was so worried that through all of this grief she would forget I am here, I want her to remember I will always be here. Lia growls into my mouth and her hand fists in my hair and my hand skates around the hem of her shirt. Lia suddenly breaks away from my lips but wraps herself around me as somehow we ended up together on her roll mat.

"As much as I love your lips upon mine, we needed to get some sleep Aela" I sigh in disappointment but I nod as weariness takes hold and a peaceful sleep next to my Lia is lurking.

A/N: That's it guys, no promises on when I will update next but thanks for reading! And please review! - Bexaday