A R I K

Three days passed.

Arik had asked Syra to stay, but when he went to check on her one morning - after another frustratingly grim sleepless night - all he found in her place was a note.

Arik,

I have found my place, just as I think you have found yours.

All my love,

Syra

He sat numbly on the bed, staring at the letter. Part of him had known she would leave, but it had been so natural for them to slip back into an easy companionship that he'd hoped she would. More than that, she had been a welcome distraction from Fina's absence.

They hadn't spoken since their argument over the letter to Wulfgar, and he'd hardly even caught sight of her in the mean time. When Ulfric didn't have her going over battle plans, Esbern had her reading through his massive texts on dragon lore.

Arik's anger had long since gone stale and blown away, but nerves kept him from approaching her. When he thought of it objectively, he understood her reasons for what she'd asked of him. He understood why the idea of it was easier for her to comprehend than it had been for him.

Still, his stomach churned anxiously whenever he thought of how the Greybeards would respond to his letter. So far, they hadn't heard back from any of their couriers, although they expected a response from Whiterun within the next day.

Arik folded the letter and tucked it into his trousers pocket. He walked to the door, tugging it open.

"Your prisoner escaped." He said simply, leaving the alarmed guard to handle the situation.

Well, at least she didn't kill him.

F I N A

"You look very uninterested in that book, Fina."

Esbern's voice broke her from her thoughts and she jumped, realising that she'd been staring at the same page for at least the last ten minutes. It was one of Esbern's books - something about dragon burial sites.

"I have never been much of a reader." She admitted, shutting it and sliding it across the table towards him. He chuckled and set it back on the pile near his elbow.

"More of an adventurer?"

Fina shrugged.

"How about I send you on a mission, then?"

"What sort of mission?"

Esbern turned to dig in a bag on the floor. He retrieved a map and pushed some books aside so he could spread it on the table. Fina held one side of it down. It was a map of Skyrim with several 'x's marked on it.

Two of them were quite close to Windhelm.

"These marks show locations I've confirmed to have Word Walls."

"Interesting." Fina pored over it. "Does that also mean there would be dragons nearby?"

"It's impossible to know for certain, but it would be safest to assume that there are."

"So, Word Walls - meaning they would teach me new Shouts?"

"Exactly."

"This one is close enough I could make it there and back in a day." She pointed to one of them. "Wouldn't we have noticed the dragon circling?"

"You would think."

"I'll head there tomorrow." She said decidedly. It would be good practise - she hadn't done anything the least bit active since returning to Windhelm.

S Y R A

Sneaking out had been easier than she'd thought, but harder, too. She hated leaving Arik behind, especially after they'd grown closer again.

But that was also part of the reason she had to leave - it wasn't as if she could stay in Windhelm forever. She had to return to the Brotherhood - or what was left of it.

She was tempted to stop and see Ljorn, but knew that would be a mistake. The Night Mother told her he was alive and she had to trust that. Besides, the contracts were beginning to pile up and they would need all the gold they could get in order to rebuild.

With all of this in mind, she and Shadowmere headed for Dawnstar.

F I N A

When she heard Syra was gone, Fina hurt for Arik. She had seen what the girl meant to him and knew he would miss her terribly, assassin or no.

It was early morning and Fina was heading out to find the Word Wall, but she found herself stopped outside of his door. Her feet planted, fist poised over the wood.

Come on, idiot.

She paused a moment, and then forced herself to knock.

Before she could, the door opened. Arik stood before her, hair a tousled mess, eyes clouded and ringed with shadows.

"Oh." She said, dropping her hand.

He stared at her, blinking several times before he seemed to register what it was he was seeing.

"I was just heading out." She told him.

"Out? Out where?"

Did she detect a touch of worry in his voice?

"Esbern found a Word Wall near here. I'm going to investigate."

Arik nodded, swallowing and looking down. He was wearing a wine-coloured, fur-lined jacket she hadn't seen before. It suited him well.

Fina cleared her throat, shifting nervously.

"Could we -"

"How have -"

They spoke simultaneously and both stopped, mouths shutting abruptly.

"Could we talk?" Fina tried again.

Arik stepped aside, gesturing for her to enter the room. She did, and he closed the door behind them.

Fina set her bag down and turned to look at him as he stood stiffly, hands balled into fists at his sides. She frowned.

"I wanted to apologise." She started. "I should have been more sensitive when I asked you for help. I forget sometimes…" Fina drifted off, not liking how her words were coming out. She sighed in frustration.

"I know. I overreacted."

"You...what?"

"I overreacted."

They stared at each other for a long moment, and then he continued.

"I'm just not used to this...well, to any of this really." Arik shrugged. "I'm finding it difficult, being here."

Fina hugged herself, and nodded. "I understand, and that's why I wanted to give you the chance to leave, if that is what you choose. You didn't ask for this, and you certainly don't owe me or my Uncle anything. It was wrong for me to assume otherwise."

"Fina - "

She held up her hands to cut him off. "No, just let me get this out. If it is your wish to go, I won't stop you. I want for you to be happy. I won't lie, you would be doing us a great service if you were to stay. My Uncle trusts your judgement and insight, and so do I." She could hear the emotion tugging at her voice and fought to keep it down.

"And, oh, forsake it, Arik! I love you, you beautiful, naive fool! I fear it would half near kill me to lose you, but I would manage it if I knew it was what brought you peace." Fina angrily wiped the tears from her eyes, unable to look at him.

His silence crashed upon her like a wave upon rock, and she felt her confidence waver. "If you decide to go, Jorleif will make the arrangements for you."

Before she could further humiliate herself, Fina grabbed her pack and dashed out of the room.

A R I K

He was too stunned by her words to say anything. Before he could even begin to formulate a response, she was gone. Arik reacted too slowly, chasing her into the hall. She was already gone.

"Damn it all, Fina." He grumbled. You can't just drop that on me and then take off.

Arik couldn't even fathom the idea that she loved him, but when he thought on it, it began to make perfect sense. The tug he felt in his chest whenever she was near, the way he felt pain when she did, the way a single touch from her set him on fire. If she even felt a portion of what he felt for her, it could be called love.

You might as well have been blind, deaf, and dumb for all the good you've been. He scolded himself, heading back inside his room and slamming the door shut.

When it was spoken out loud, the idea of leaving seemed completely ludicrous. You've just been a coward. If he could help them in any way, why was he not jumping at the chance? Was Tamriel not his home too? He had been so selfish.

F I N A

It started to snow as she left the palace, great thick flakes of it drifting down around her. It didn't take long before it laid a blanket upon the crumbling grey walls of Windhelm, a welcome scene like a drawing from her childhood.

Vokun was waiting in the stables for her, and she took her time grooming and saddling him. His rich auburn pelt had grown thicker as he aclimatised himself to the cold northern weather.

The sun was only just peeking out over the hills when she left the city, following the map Esbern had marked for her.

I can't believe I told him I loved him. The bite of the wind at her cheeks helped to dull the anxiety ripping through her, but it was still fierce. Now I've well and truly scared him off. He didn't even say a word.

Fina was so caught up in her despairing thoughts that she didn't see the Wisps and their mother until they were upon her. One of the Wisps spooked Vokun, who reared, dropping Fina from his back.

She landed in a drift of snow and found herself swallowed by it's frosty depths. With a cry of surprise, Fina thrashed about until she could right herself. Fighting Wisps was always one time she wished she had magic.

You do! She reminded herself dumbly. Fina pulled herself out of the snowdrift and scrambled to her feet. She knew that Fire Breath would be useful, but if she used it too soon, she would leave herself defenceless while it recharged.

She also knew that the Wispmother would hold back until her children had either been victorious, or had been defeated.

One of the two Wisps threw itself at her, and it hit her square in the chest, shoving her backwards. Frost blossomed like intricate lace across the metal of her breastplate, but luckily it protected her from any real damage. Cursing, Fina rolled to her knees and drew her sword, digging it's tip into the ground for balance as she stood once more.

Damn things are too fast. It whipped itself at her again, and she swung her sword. And I'm too slow! She only made contact with one of it's stingers, which burst in a shower of translucent shards.

Fina cried out in frustration, and heard Vokun winny - heard the crunch of snow as he pounded the ground with his hooves. She looked over to see that the other Wisp was attacking him, darting around his head and stinging at his exposed sides and haunches.

The Wispmother was chanting from afar, her palms risen to the sky as she swayed back and forth, beautiful and ethereal and glowing in the rising sun. Fina hated her.

An idea came to Fina, and she ran towards her, narrowly avoiding another attack from the little Wisp on her way. When nothing but cold air stood between herself and the Wispmother, Fina planted her feet and reached within herself.

"YOL TOOR SHUL!" The fire shot forth, encasing the Wispmother and smothering her. When the flames cleared, however, she was still there, eyes ravenous and narrowed. A bellowing screech was savagely born from her throat, and Fina was paralyzed.

Why didn't that work?

The fear only lasted a horrifying second, however, and then the Wispmother exploded into a storm of a million glistening bits of icy shrapnel. The Wisps keened, a hauntingly, mournful wail and then twisted towards each other across the snow, gathering above the scattered remains of their mother.

Fina took the opportunity and dashed forwards, sword raised, and brought it down across both of them at once, cleaving the two creatures clean in half. They split like dry wood and fell to the snow as dead weight, as if they had never lived to begin with.

Thank Talos. She dropped to her knees, breath hissing between her clenched teeth. Fina was undoubtedly out of practise in the frigid northern climate.

When she stood and turned back to Vokun, he was sidestepping nervously, skin twitching where bits of him had been frozen and were thawing.

Not good. She came towards him slowly, stroking his nose until he was calm enough she could take the reins and inspect him. She patted at the places the Wisp had stung. If anything, she judged that he would have slight irritation for the next couple of days - nothing life threatening.

"You'll be a war horse yet, Vokun." Fina told him, and he gave her a disheartened snort. She laughed and swung herself onto his back, mindful of any of his sore areas.

It was noon before she reached the Word Wall. It rose up unexpectedly before her, a far-off beacon on the horizon.

I've explored these hills my entire life - why have I never see this place before now?

In truth, Fina had barely needed to use the map. It was as if she already knew where it was she needed to go. As they drew closer, she was relieved to find there was no dragon circling above, and none perched atop the Wall, waiting to swoop in and Shout her down.

She dismounted, walking towards it, seeing the glow of the rune and feeling the rest of the world disappear around her. Fina touched her hand to it, and immediately was filled with the now-familiar strength of it, the surge of power and blinding heat as it unlocked the knowledge inside of her mind that felt like it had been there all along.

"Laas yah." She whispered it. "Life seek."

It was then that the ground began to rumble beneath her. With a sinking feeling in her gut, Fina turned. Behind her, the snow was caving in on itself, forming a crater. Vokun was backing up, out of the way, and when it became clear he would likely be swallowed, he turned and ran as fast as he could, leaving Fina to deal with whatever was emerging from it's wintery grave.

Of course. She groaned to herself, pulling her bow free of it's place on her back. It could never have been that easy.

The dragon was materialising before her eyes. The snow sifted through it's bones, leaving it bare and yellow in contrast to the endless white of it's surroundings. It's eyeless head lifted, and, as it did, the flesh and muscle began to grow again.

Fina watched, immobilised, as the bones were coated again in shades of pink and red, sinew and tendons, cartilage, fat, skin, and lastly - scales. She cursed herself, knowing the time to strike would have been at the moment she'd seen it's giant beating heart rebuilding itself.

She knocked an arrow into place, crouching, hoping in vain that the beast wouldn't see her.

No such luck. It turned it's reborn eyes on her, opening and closing its mouth as if trying to remember how it worked. It's wings stretched, and Fina knew she could not allow it to take flight.

She took aim, sending an arrow straight between it's fangs, down the hatch of it's throat. It flew free, but not before the dragon closed it's heavy maw and snapped the arrow like a twig.

It readied itself to take off again.

Fina dropped her bow and drew her sword, racing forward. She took advantage of it's obvious sleepiness, and before the creature could fly, she thrust her sword through the sensitive membrane of its wing, shoving the blade as far into the ground as it would go.

The dragon flailed, beating it's wing in vain against the ground and only succeeding in worsening the wound. She grinned, and propelled herself backwards to retrieve her bow. The creature's long neck followed her, readying itself to trap her in it's powerful jaws.

"FUS RO DAH!" It recoiled from her, and she hoped that it's vocal cords were still developing so she would have a moment longer to fight before it could Shout back.

She positioned an arrow, aiming for the creatures eye. Fina shot three times in a row, knowing it would see the attack coming and would move to avoid it. Indeed it did, and dodged the arrows easily.

She shot two more. One stuck in the bridge of it's nose, and the other struck it's cheek - neither seemed to be much of a hindrance.

The dragon raised it's other wing, using it as a club and swinging it towards her. Fina ducked out of the way, jumping behind an edge of the Word Wall and hearing the sheet of stone reverberate as the dragon struck it. It cried out in frustration.

Well, there are it's vocal cords.

Fina darted out again, aiming another arrow.

"ZUN HAAL VIIK!" The creature bellowed.

This was something she was unused to hearing from a dragon, and she didn't understand what it had meant as she had at other times when hearing the dragon language. It became apparent, however, when the bow and arrow were ripped from her hands and flew so far away that she couldn't even see them as distant specks against the endless white.

A disarming Shout?

Now, she was defenceless. Fina felt a thrill of fear, and she ducked, meaning to grab the dagger from her boot. Then she froze. Did it take dragons as long to regain strength after Shouting as it did for her? Could it simply Shout again if she drew her dagger and then truly leave her weaponless?

"Siiv ahkriini, Briinah. Zu nis siiv moro naal viik nikriin." *

Fina stood rigidly, taking in what he had said. Her mind seemed to comprehend it, and yet it was hard for her to grasp. Some words seemed to be innate to her, and some she had picked up from the Greybeards. What it had sounded like, was he accused her of being cowardly.

She scowled at him and drew the dagger from her boot.

"Nahlot, Dovah. Krif." ** She was sure her words were spoken like a foreigner, but her point had gotten across.

The beast lifted it's neck and laughed. A rumbling noise like thunder across the ocean. It lowered it's head, gaze meeting hers and it's tongue flickered out, tasting her cheek. This is where it had made it's mistake - by underestimating her.

"Pahlok." *** She murmured, and jumped, thrusting her dagger into the tender spot at the back of his head where his spine met his skull.

He didn't even have time to protest, he simply collapsed. Fina hardly managed to get out of the way before he began to slide back into the hole in the ground he'd come from, only pinned in place by her sword in his wing.

This time, when his soul came to her, it was like welcoming an old friend home.

Fina retrieved her sword, cursed her bow to Oblivion, and left her dagger with the bones - climbing into the hole was not worth the trouble.

Vokun was waiting patiently for her several hundred yards back the way they'd come. "Some help you were." She teased him.

However scary fighting dragons and Wispmothers was, the thought that Arik might not be in Windhelm when she returned was far, far more terrifying.

A R I K

It felt like he'd been pacing in his room the entire day. Every time he heard footsteps in the hall, he peeked out to see if it was her. It never was.

Eventually he sat himself down before the fire, wishing desperately he could sleep. The dreams had been back every night, keeping him from getting any true rest. It was becoming harder and harder to function as each day passed.

It was well past sunset when he heard the heavy jostle of armour passing. He bolted up, going to the door and throwing it open. Fina lurched to a stop outside, but didn't turn to look at him, as if afraid.

Of course, she hadn't seen his reaction to her words and, if he knew her at all, had been driving herself crazy since this morning with her doubts.

"Fina."

She looked at him. Her face was glowing red from the cold, hair stuck to her forehead with sweat from where her helmet had sat. Now she held it tucked beneath her arm, holding her pack in the other hand.

He launched at her, pushing her back by the shoulders until she hit the wall with a thud. She looked up at him in confusion. In truth, even he was confused, not sure he had ever been this aggressive before in his life.

"You are the fool, Norfina Stormcloak, if you thought for one moment I would ever leave you." Arik's voice was set with conviction, and he sealed the idea by kissing her, hard.

Her helmet and bag clattered to the stone floor as her stiff armoured arms came up to rest on his sides. She kissed him back, and he could taste the cold and sweat on her lips.

The kiss was near violent, as they pushed at each other. Fina shoved him back a step, scrambling to pull off her gauntlets before he had a chance to step back towards her and capture her again.

He didn't care that they were in the middle of the hall. He didn't care that at any moment someone could walk around the corner or out of a room and seem them here, hungrily consuming each other with lips and teeth.

Fina bit his bottom lip, and he tasted his own blood in her mouth. He grunted, never having realised that pain could also cause pleasure. He frantically worked the straps of her breastplate. Truly, he had no idea how the contraption worked and so they had to pull apart long enough for her to undo it and unclasp her cloak, letting them join the other garments on the floor.

Arik pressed himself against her again, bracing himself against the wall with one arm and using the other hand to loosen her sword belt enough that it slid over her hips and down to sit around her ankles.

The soft noises she was making against his mouth were enough to drive him wild, and he felt himself strain against the tight leather of his trousers.

All of the frustration from the last few days seemed to be venting itself all at once, and using the confidence it gave him, he kissed his way down her neck and slipped his fingers below the waistline of her leggings.

As he delved lower, he could feel how slick Fina had become and when his fingers brushed against her, she gasped, her nails digging into his arms painfully.

She breathed his name, leaning her forehead against his chest as his hand began to move steadily. Arik carefully paid attention to the noises she made and the pattern of her breathing, trying desperately to learn what seemed to elicit the most positive responses from her.

"Ah," Fina's hips jerked against him and she shook her head, laughing, her breath hot against his neck. "We need to stop."

When he didn't, she gripped his wrist hard enough that he couldn't move. She leaned up to whisper in his ear. "Arik, as much as I would love for you to take me in this hallway, I do not want your first experience to be up against a wall."

The words sent an excited shiver of pleasure through him. In truth, he thought maybe he would very much like to take her against this wall, but he knew she was right.

Fina kissed his neck before she pulled his hand out of her leggings. She bent to pick up her armour. He took half of it, and then let her lead him by the hand into his room.

Inside, they dumped her things onto the floor and turned to look at each other. Arik's confidence had dulled, and he smiled coyly.

Fina shook her head and laughed, reaching out, she pulled him towards her. He wrapped his arms around her and she ducked her head under his chin, fingers slipping under his tunic to massage at his bare back.

"Fina?"

"Hmm?"

"This morning, when you said that you -"

"If you're about to ask me if I meant it when I said I love you, you might as well save your breath. I would not have said it if I didn't mean it."

He swallowed, trembling as the idea of her loving him was renewed. Fina pulled back to look at his face.

Arik ducked his head, brushing his nose against hers. It felt as though a spark shot between them as he did, and he closed his eyes, so entirely overwhelmed by the feeling of her that he was finding it difficult to breath.

When he opened his eyes again, she was watching him curiously. Arik smiled and kissed her slowly, the feeling agonising and wonderful. He held it until his chest was so tight he thought it might crack under the pressure.

He pressed his lips to the hollow of her ear. "Whatever love I have to give is yours, Fina."

Fina's body tensed, and he shifted so that he could look at her, alarmed. She was staring at him, her eyes massive and shining like sapphires in her moon-pale face. He pushed the damp hair from her forehead.

"Fina?"

She covered her mouth, shaking her head slowly. Tears started to form in her eyes, spilling one by one down her cheeks.

Arik had certainly not been expecting that reaction. "What's wrong?"

What on Nirn did I say?

Her arms were around him and she was squeezing him so tightly that his lungs weren't getting enough air, but he wasn't about to complain. He stroked her back, entirely unsure what had brought on her tears.

Fina's body was wracked with sobs, and she was so tense that he could feel her muscles shaking with the strain. Arik rubbed at her shoulders, trying to ease her, but it didn't seem to be working.

Using instinct alone, Arik lowered his lips to her ear and using his Voice for the first time in her presence, whispered: "Kaan drem."

Much to his pleasant surprise, the walls only gave a faint tremor. It would seem that his Voice had faded much since he'd departed High Hrothgar.

She relaxed immediately, and he was able to swing her up into his arms. He carried her to the bed, settling her down and crawling on beside her. Fina's fists stayed locked in his tunic, so he rubbed her back and pressed feather-light kisses across her brow and nose.

Fina sniffed and he was relieved to hear her chuckle. "I am a blubbering idiot."

"Well…" She hit his chest and he caught her wrist and brought it to his lips. "Am I that repelling?"

"No, I am just relieved." Fina sighed. "I spent all of today preparing myself to come back and find you gone."

"Oh, Fina." The thought alone was painful. "Neh. Never."

"Your Voice is beautiful." She looked up at him through wet eyelashes. "Why haven't I heard it before?"

"I was worried I'd shake the place down."

Fina nodded. "Could you teach me? I understand certain words as I hear them, but I wish I knew more."

Arik smiled. "If you'd like. Di -"

"Wait a moment, did you Shout at me just now?"

"In a manner of speaking." He replied nervously.

"You either did or you didn't!" She insisted, fixing her red-rimmed eyes on him. It was difficult to take her annoyance seriously while she was in such a vulnerable state.

"It isn't that straight forward, Fina. I used my Voice, I didn't Shout. Not as you do. It is different for a Greybeard." Much to his relief, she didn't pull away when he laced their fingers together.

"Explain." She demanded, but the annoyance was quickly disappearing from her face. This was accented by the fact she snuggled closer to him again.

"You understand that becoming a Greybeard means you completely dedicate yourself to using only the Voice for the rest of your life? You essentially turn yourself into a vessel of the Divines and when you speak, it is with their words. That is why the Voice is so powerful and can be so destructive. The mortal world is not built to interact with the Divines in their true form."

Fina nodded, so he continued.

"Dragon language has been the language of choice for the Greybeards since their creation, but the language does not truly matter. That's why regardless of whether Wulfgar spoke Tamrielic or dragon language, it had the same effect. It is his connection to the Divines that fuels the power."

"Why can Arngeir speak, then?"

"Arngeir is the most powerful of them all. He is the only one able to sever his connection to the Divines at will. I was so new that my connection was never strong enough and it was easily broken. The reason I took the vow of silence was because, without it, I could never have forged a strong enough connection to reach Elderhood." Arik sighed at the memory of it. "What I did just now was tap back into my Voice and use it to give you Kyne's blessing of peace."

"I never understood the attraction to being a Greybeard until now. To be connected to the Divines in such a way…" Fina shivered against him and her eyes grew wet again. Arik kissed her lashes before the tears could fall. "Arik, I am so sorry."

"Stop saying that." He rebuked gently. "As Wulfgar said, the Divines had another path for me."

Arik pressed his lips to her knuckles in a silent attempt to communicate that that path very much involved her, and by the smile that graced her face he guessed she had understood. A burst of delirious happiness spread up his back and he grinned at her.

After a moment like that, he remembered her day's mission.

"Did you find the Word Wall?"

"Yes. It was laas yah."

"Life seek."

"Hmm. I also had the pleasure of meeting a dragon there."

"Meeting it with force?"

Fina nodded. "It hurts, to kill them. Is that wrong?"

"Nid. Nust kos zeymahi." He murmured. "They are your brothers."

"Thank you." She kissed him.

"Sleep?" He offered. She nodded, and he awkwardly tugged the blankets out from under them. He pulled them up around their shoulders, and savoured the feeling of her legs tangled between his own and her fingers curled against his chest.

* "Find your strength, Sister. I cannot find glory by defeating a coward."

** "Silence, Dragon. Fight."

*** "Arrogance."

How confusing are women, though? Amiright? One minute they're kissing you, the next minute they're crying, then they're pissed off...then they're crying again...

Anyway, this is me attempting to incorporate more dragon language into the story! If you notice any errors, PLEASE let me know. I really really really want to get better at it. :D Thank you lovelies!