5/2/14.

The sun was setting over the western wall of the city as Ria climbed the steps to Jorrvaskr. Divines, did it feel good to be home.

It hadn't been a long trip. She'd only been gone a couple days with Njada, on a short journey to Hjaalmarch to clear out some frostbite spiders from a cavern. But it was the first trip she'd taken without Vilkas in quite some time, and the first she'd taken at all since Ursula's birth. It felt longer than anything she had ever experienced.

Now, though, she was home, where she belonged, and with a decent bit of gold to boot. Oh, how odd it felt to think that she belonged at Jorrvaskr, rather than out in battle! She'd worked so hard to become a warrior, and she still certainly enjoyed the thrill of the fight, but now something called to her about the mead hall. Perhaps it was the familiarity; perhaps, the security. More likely, though, it was that there were a couple of select people who waited for her within those walls.

The dying sunlight basked the front of Jorrvaskr in a warm glow as she pushed the doors open. It was as though the sun itself knew what a gift it was to be back. The outdoor light gave way to illumination from the fire pit when the doors shut behind her again.

The mead hall was quiet, a lull between the end of training and the evening meal. Little happened at this time of day, save for the odd Companion sipping a mead or helping with preparation for dinner. Ria spared a "hello" to Tilma before she made her way down the steps, to the cold stone hallway where she expected to find the two she was currently looking for.

When she reached the doors to her quarters, she was greeted only by the sound of a gentle snore. She pushed the doors open ever so slowly, trying not to make them squeak as she peeked her head in.

Sure enough, Vilkas was leaning back in a chair, almost at a straight diagonal, with his head thrown back and his legs stretched out in front of him. His arms clutched their sleeping daughter to his chest, angled just so that she wouldn't slip away, though how much longer she would last like that, Ria wasn't entirely sure.

Without making a sound, Ria carefully maneuvered her daughter out of her husband's arms. Really, she thought as she carried the girl to the room across the hall, it was quite a feat that she managed not to wake either of them in the process, and, if she were being honest, she was rather proud of herself. That Ursula didn't wake up even as she was placed in her cradle was even more of a feat, as sometimes it seemed as though the cradle was the one place the girl wouldn't sleep.

She snuck back into her own room. Vilkas hadn't stirred an inch. Ria couldn't hold back a smile as she gazed at him, his form completely relaxed and a small line of drool making its way from the corner of his mouth.

Indeed, he didn't move a muscle until Ria walked over to him to nudge a lock of hair behind his ear and press a kiss to his forehead. His eyes fluttered open at the contact, and, from the sudden movement of his arms, Ria could guess what he was thinking.

"Ursula's in her cradle," she murmured, and he relaxed again immediately. "No worries."

"Back so soon?" he asked, stifling a yawn.

"Mmhmm." She smiled at him as he stretched his back and sat up. "She must have tired you out. It's not even twilight, and you were sleeping like a log."

"Don't be ridiculous," he muttered. He stood up slowly, vertebrae cracking as he did. "Well, I may have dozed a bit. She's got a lot of energy."

"How tired are you, exactly?" Ria asked as his arms circled her waist. "It's only just sunset. Tilma might be another hour with supper."

A smile flitted across his face. "Not tired at all. In fact," he said, his voice dropping and sending shivers down her spine, "after that nap, I might need to do something if I want to stand a chance of sleeping tonight."

Before he could lean in to kiss her, she pushed him away. "Good, because Njada spent the whole trip complaining that Athis wasn't a good sparring partner anymore. I was hoping you might be able to train him a bit."

Vilkas let out a growl as he pulled her against him again. Whatever else Ria had to say was lost as he kissed her hungrily, and not another word was heard from either of them until the sun had set completely on the city of Whiterun.