Valleri breathed heavily as she stopped running in the darkness. This time, she was careful not to slip on the ice and snow still on the ground, but it was slowing her down. Valleri had only seen one werewolf in her life and Farkas had been fast. Even if Vilkas hadn't transformed, Valleri couldn't take a chance and loose him due to complacency.

While Vilkas hadn't mentioned anything forthright, from what Valleri understood, he didn't want anything to do with his lycanthropy any longer. If something were to happen…

Valleri tried not to think about. Now wasn't the time to dwell on the worst.

Only a few hours had passed since she ran from Jorrvaskr and took the road south towards Falkreath. Vilkas could have been anywhere, leaving Valleri to follow her gut. The forest surrounding the road she'd taken was thicker here, providing plenty of places for Vilkas to keep out of sight. So far, though, Valleri hadn't been able to make out his tracks in the snow. Too many people must have passed by recently and making out a single person was hard enough. The Imperial was thankful though. The lack of claw marks meant he hadn't changed over quite yet.

Pausing, Valleri could see a few lights still left on in Riverwood. Someone was bound to be awake; they could have seen Vilkas passing through. With her determination rekindled, Valleri rushed towards the village.

Valleri wasn't sure what to expect when she made it to the village, but what she found wasn't surprising. The inn keeper was outside in the middle of the road, inspecting a dead chicken. The woman glanced up when she saw Valleri approach.

"What, what happened here?" Valleri stammered out, still out of breath.

The inn keeper regarded her suspiciously as she stood up and brushed the snow off her apron. The woman spoke with serious tone, "Nobody's sure, but something started attacking the livestock. The blacksmith was able to scare it away not even half an hour ago."

Valleri looked around as the inn keeper gestured to the carnage around them. Almost a whole flock of the chickens had been left half devoured in the road. Blood, feathers, and fur stained the snow and Valleri could see claw marks.

"Do you know what it was?"

The inn keeper shook her head, 'Not at all. We didn't even realize it was here until the chickens started making a racket. All I know is that it was large and hairy." Valleri's heart sank as the inn keeper furrowed her eye brows. "Why are you here though?"

Valleri was taken off guard and began to panic when she looked back to the inn keeper. "I'm, uh," Valleri paused for a moment, looking back to the chickens, "I'm looking for a friend."

"Oh?"

Recomposed, Valleri glanced up towards the road, "Yeah. He got ran off a few hours ago and I've been looking for him since."

"What'd he look like? He probably passed through," The inn keeper offered, crossing her arms.

Valleri laughed for a moment, unnerved smile forming on her face. "No, it's fine. I don't want to bother you further, you've already got your hands full," Valleri continued as she pointed to the blood bath on the ground in between them. She nodded her head towards the inn keeper before leaving.

"Just be careful; that thing could still be out there!" Valleri heard the inn keeper shout from behind. The concern was kind, but Valleri hope desperately she'd find whoever killed the chickens in Riverwood.

…

Valleri lost track of time but the sun was already gone, signaling that at least one day had passed since Vilkas had gone missing. By now, the people she left in Jorrvaskr were probably aware that both she and Vilkas were missing. They could be in a panic for all she knew.

She was already way past Riverwood and walking down the road next to Lake Illinalta. It was hard to keep track of Vilkas' claw marks. The sun earlier in the day melted the ice into pools of slush and most evidence Valleri relied on was gone. She cursed herself; she wasn't a tracker and now that night was falling again, Valleri was going to have an even harder time. Getting lost in the woods was no longer her biggest fear.

Glancing to side, Valleri paused to catch her breath. Her eyes landed on a small clearing in the woods. Strange lights emanated and enticed her closer. Hesitant, Valleri held the grip on her sword tighter as she readied her lantern to move forward.

Instinctively, Valleri gasped as she approached. A small altar laid covered in blood n the middle of the clearing. There was corpse on the altar surrounded by books, but the blood didn't come from there. No, that one was far too old and far too dry. Valleri moved a few feet to the side. her stomach churned as she saw the dead person sitting propped against a weathered stone pillar. Valleri tried not to stare at it for long; from what she could tell, their face was mauled and their intestines fell out of cavernous gash in their stomach.

Valleri stared forward as the ground under her spun. The claw marks dug deep into the dirt here, now leading a trail of blood up the hill behind the alter. Unintentionally, Vilkas had left Valleri an obvious trail she could follow. The blood looked fresh but Valleri couldn't say for certain. The freshly melted slush could have mixed and kept it from drying quickly. Valleri was no tracker. Still, the Imperial felt a weight lift from her shoulder as she realized she wouldn't have to just guess where he was going any longer.

The path eventually ended by a cabin situated on the side of another major road. Mud crabs went after her feet as she rounded the corner of the cabin and disappointment welled in her chest when she found the scene left for her. Like the other places Valleri stopped at, Vilkas had definitely been snacking on unfortunate victims.

Only this time, it was more than just a snack.

Valleri felt her stomach churn again as she saw the bodies littering the ground around the cabin. Vilkas had done a number on them; most of the bodies wore shredded pieces of armor while weaponry lay scattered and damaged nearby. Valleri heard a crack underfoot when she moved forward. Looking down, she could see the lower part of a person's jaw where she tried to place her foot. Bits of teeth and muscles was still attached to the bone, making Valleri want to vomit. The last moments of whoever the jaw belonged to sprung into Valleri's mind and she turned away quickly.

Valleri didn't wish to stay and found where Vilkas' tracks continued as fast as she could after relighting her lantern. She followed them south across the road, leaving the scene of carnage far behind. Vilkas' tracks began to appear more and more human as she continued into the thicker brush. Valleri no longer needed to follow the tracks. She was close and she could feel it.

The Imperial woman eventually walked into another, larger clearing. The last glimmer of light from the sun filtered through the trees around her and torch bugs lit up the area like mage light. Her eyes landed on the small pool in front of her as a stream trickled down from the mountains above.

Her skin went cold as she saw the naked form of Vilkas laying face down in the water. He wasn't moving and Valleri could see the long gashes and ugly bruises all over his skin through the thick mat of fur down his back and arms. He must have tripped before passing out; the edge of the pool was nearly destroyed and clods of dirt and grass stuck to the soles of his feet. At least he was mostly human now.

Valleri skirted around the side of the pool to face him unclasping her shawl and throwing her pack to the ground. She splashed into the pool in hurried fashion, placing hand on his shoulder to inspect some of his wounds. Cold water seeped through her trousers and into her boots, but she didn't care to move him. Instead, Valleri couldn't help but grimace as she took a look at what she assumed was his blood on her hands.

It didn't matter who's blood it was, though. Vilkas was going to be scarred either way.

Valleri turned to look through her pack for first aid supplies when she heard him start to groan. It was a grating noise that made chills run up her spine. Valleri glanced back at Vilkas in the pool. He was already starting to get up, propping himself up on his elbows. Matted, wet hair hung in front of his face, obscuring Valleri's view. His shoulders and arms were still beast like, with fingers ending in sharp claws.

"Vilkas? Can you understand me at all? I'm here to help." Valleri spoke in low tones as she turned fully to face him. Her hand moved to touch his shoulder again but she stopped.

She didn't realize anything was moving before Vilkas lunged at her. He snarled at her as she backed up from the pool quickly. His fangs were bared and he looked at her through crazed, golden eyes. Valleri backed into a tree as Vilkas swiped at her. There was a burning sensation as she felt Vilkas' clawed hand make contact with her arm. He was about to go in for a final attack as he cornered her against the tree.

Then he stopped and screamed, a shrill, unearthly noise that made Valleri go cold.

Vilkas' eyes turned into unemotional glass as he slumped over against her leg. There was a new, long laceration across his stomach. It wasn't deep but bled all over Valleri's trousers anyways. Surprised, Valleri now noticed the silver sabre that hung loosely in her hand. She must have countered instinctively before he could finish her off.

Valleri shook violently as she tried to recompose herself. Vilkas could have killed her. She knew deep down he could; Vilkas had evened warned her about it before. But seeing the inhuman urge to attack her in his eyes was sobering. As much as she didn't want to believe that he could just end her without a thought, the figure clinging to her leg was still Vilkas. He was still one her closest friends and he needed help.

Valleri slid to the ground and hugged tight around his shoulders. She buried her face into his fur and began to cry.

…

Vilkas didn't expect to wake up in a bed. In fact, it was the last thing he expected.

He remembered was falling face first into a puddle before everything went black. Vilkas' entire body burned and tingled as he moved. Skin pulled against stitches in his shoulder and back. Clean bandages were wrapped around his midsection. Vilkas propped himself up against the headboard of the bed he was laying on, now able to survey his new surroundings.

"You're up then? Good, good. I'm glad."

Vilkas glanced over to the other side of the room. Valleri was sitting curled in a wooden seat, hugging her sword close to her chest. She stared at him through steely, purple rimmed eyes.

Vilkas felt his chest tighten up, "What the fuck happened?"

Valleri gulped, getting out of her chair after placing the sword on the table. The chair clattered loudly across the floor as Valleri dragged the chair to his bed side. Vilkas looked at Valleri's face a bit longer. He studied the circles under her eyes, the gaunt cheeks, and the pale skin. She looked miserable.

Valleri sighed, "When you ran off, I was stupid enough to run after you."

"Oh," Vilkas muttered. He looked back down at the blankets. He caught a glimpse of the bandages wrapped around his stomach and there was an immediate sinking feeling. "What happened exactly?"

"Do you really want to know?"

They exchanged an unsure glance before Vilkas continued, "Well, I've never really known what happens when I black out. Only blurs and snippets, but nothing concrete."

Valleri tapped the side of the chair with her finger nervously. "It was," she paused, "Let's say it was grizzly. You were in bad shape when I found you."

"I feel worse than usual. Must have been really bad. Did I, uh…" Vilkas trailed off.

Valleri's face went cold. She'd seen something. "Hurt someone?" The woman paused, "You killed few chickens yesterday night." She laughed nervously, and the sound grated against Vilkas' ears.

"Valleri, don't hide what happened. You're not protecting me from anything." Vilkas placed a hand on Valleri's arm. Unexpectedly, the Imperial pulled back with an uncomfortable expression. Vilkas felt himself go cold. "This isn't the first nor the last time I've lashed out. Just tell me."

"You ended up killing a lot of people yesterday night. They looked to be bandits, but they were people nonetheless."

"You saw what remained then?" Valleri nodded in response. Vilkas could only imagine what she'd seen. He breathed out, the gash on his stomach hurt more than he'd have liked. "There's something you're still not telling me."

Valleri shook her head, mouth turning into a thin line. "Vilkas, no."

The Nord furrowed his eyebrows in frustration, "Yes. If I don't know, it's going to bother me. Valleri, please."

There was a long pause and Vilkas could see the Imperial's eyes tearing up. She rubbed them furiously before speaking, "When I found you, you were still turning back into a person and didn't recognize me," She paused again, obviously trying to speak clearly. Vilkas already knew and the guilt began to grow. "You tried to lunge at me and I was forced to draw on you. I scared I killed you because of the silver."

He almost couldn't speak. The weirdly painful gash on his stomach made more sense. And he deserved it. He stammered out a single world, "Why?"

Valleri looked back at him with a confused expression, "What?"

"Why the fuck did you stay? I almost killed you."

Valleri's expression turned rageful, even betrayed. "You think I hate you now?"

"It's a valid point of view considering what happened," Vilkas muttered. His breathing became ragged quickly as he rubbed in eyes in frustration. "Why would you follow me in the first place? You knew what was happening."

"Maybe I should hate you Vilkas; you said it was a valid reaction. But you know what? I don't. I can't," Valleri paused, forcing eye contact, "Vilkas, I was worried about you. You're one of my closest friends and I saw you suffering. I can't stand by and watch you in so much pain."

"It's not your obligation though!" Vilkas argued.

"Do you remember the Kyne festival shortly after we met? You sat next to me while I told you how much I hated Skyrim. That wasn't your obligation either, but you stayed." Valleri paused a moment, taking Vilkas by the shoulders. "Vilkas, just listen. I'll tell you over and over; you're my best friend and I can't take that back. What happened last night scared me like nothing before, but it doesn't change anything."

Vilkas could only stare at her in what he could only call amazement. Valleri was exhausted and dirty and probably scared. But she was still so earnest and honest and brave.

He laughed shakily as he placed a hand on his forehead. "It was good I asked Eorlund to use silver instead of steel."

"Skyforge silver. That's something you wouldn't hear on a regular basis." The smile reappeared on Valleri's as she got up from the chair. The Imperial went to the hearth and placed a few more logs on the dying fire.

"Where are we anyhow?"

She looked back to Vilkas with an uneasy expression, "The house where the bandits were hiding out. I took the night to move the bodies down the hill after I took care of your wounds. It should be okay to stay here for a few days while you recover from your ordeal."

Vilkas furrowed his eyebrows, "You didn't sleep?"

Valleri chuckled to herself, "I did a bit but don't worry. I'll get breakfast going."

Vilkas nodded to himself as Valleri left the cabin. His stomach grumbled when he thought of food and anything sounded good. He couldn't help but smile to himself. This was the best he'd felt in a while. He still felt horrible but there was marked difference compared to usual. Valleri had no idea how much things had improved since she arrived almost four months ago.