Chapter 36 Bonds and Family.
"How are you feeling?"
Sandra sat in an enclosed bedroom with the walls made of stone. It was clear that they were in a cave but it was well furnished too. Red banners hung off the roof, with a black hand plastered on it. Her memories were fuzzy, but upon seeing the woman wrapped in tight red and black clothes standing before her and blonde hair in a long plait made her smile widely. Syndia gave her a glass of water, as Sandra's tongue felt dry.
"A bit better thank you." Sandra replied faintly.
It'd been a while since she was back where she belonged. It certainly felt like she'd been asleep for a long time. Albeit with odd, adventurous dreams here and there. She didn't feel younger, albeit she felt a lot older than what she would have been. Muscles had grown around her arms and legs and some kind of inflaming energy within her that she never had before.
"Syn-Syn how long have I been asleep for?" She asked.
Syndia took the empty glass from Sandra and placed it on the nearby table before sitting down with her sister.
"Well technically a few hours. But if you're talking about waking up from your long sleep, it's been about five years."
Sandra's eyes widened. The prospect of so many years that had flown by was overwhelming.
"What? How?"
Suddenly she felt faint. Syndia placed her hand on Sandra's forehead and sighed.
"Don't stress yourself too much. You're running a fever. I'll get you a potion hang on..."
It was getting too much as Sandra wanted to get out of bed. Certainly Syn-Syn had work for her.
She shuffled her legs around and placed them on the ground. Some sense of stability but while her mind felt it had been in a deep sleep, her body was surprisingly springy for someone who would have been laying down all this time.
But she trusted her sister enough to ensure that she would be fine and that Sandra would get back to her duties. Syndia returned to the room as Sandra rubbed her forehead. The Assassin kneeled down to hand her sister the bottle and insisted Sandra drink. She obliged and shook with the bitter taste of the potion as it ran down her throat.
"Last thing I remember was Daryn throwing a spell at me. Was that why I was sleeping?" Sandra questioned.
So inherently innocent, although that wasn't the tip of the problem. Syndia wanted to explain so much but it would just make things worse. The best she would do was to keep Sandra safe from the problems of the known world. Syndia put on a smile as she removed her cowl and sat next to Sandra while she was recuperating.
"I'll need to plait your hair. Gabriella insisted that I don't touch you while you're asleep. It's been so long..."
Sandra giggled. She could plait her own hair right and Syndia was all too happy to do it for her. Sandra just got it messy every time she'd tried doing so. Her hair was wild and full of knots. As her sister, only Syn-Syn knew what to do with it.
"I know. You always say its cleaner that way. Speaking of cleaning, who's been doing that while I was gone? Remember when we were at the Cave? I used to leave it spotless. I can't imagine who started doing it after we left the Sanctuary with Daryn."
Syndia did not to talk about Daryn at this stage. He was a touchy topic. But she was relieved that Sandra's eagerness for such mundane tasks remained. A testament to time.
"Unfortunately no one could do it as well as you did dear sister. The Brotherhood are glad someone's around to clean up after them. Arnbjorn is as bad as he ever was."
Sandra laughed again. She felt content in returning to where she belonged.
"Syn-Syn? I feel a lot better now. I'll start work immediately."
The amount of joy crossed with guilt amounted to a lot of mixed feelings now that Sandra was back in her sights and the risk of her getting killed dropped dramatically. The girl was bound the rules that were struck long ago. If only she had known the half-truth. She got Sandra started in her own bedroom, since it'd been abandoned for some time.
"She settled in now?" Asked the older blonde woman by the front room as she leaned against the entrance to the main room, her voice low and sultry.
"She should be." Syndia replied. "I hope we don't suffer repercussions for this. She's not one to ark up that often, Astrid."
Astrid wasn't looking happy about it though for her own reasons.
"Well her Dragonborn persona was an interesting watch for the meanwhile. She reminded me of her father."
Syndia glared at her fellow Assassin weakly, another sore spot that was touched.
"That's the part I hated the most."
Astrid smirked. Crazy warriors were the best part of her job. They were always amusing to watch and manipulate. They craved boodlust. The Dragonborn was perfect for that. Now they had this weak minded maid woman. Astrid however knew where her loyalties lied in this state. Syndia better have held a tight leash in this situation.
"Tell me again why you decided to bring her back?"
Syndia sighed.
"Daryn was getting too close. The worst part is the dragons involvement. It simply made it a lot harder to hide. Especially when she returned back to Skyrim. I never instructed her to come home at any stage."
Astrid lifted her chin. She had a feeling something was up years ago, when Sandra became interested in the draconic word wall that sat inside. While it was a nice monument, when Sandra mentioned hearing voices from it, it brought up an interest in the young girl who had some kind of a reaction to it. Astrid then had an idea what Daryn was after but couldn't fully confirm it. Syndia hid many things about their past lives from their extended family once they moved in. While it was a blood family matter, she'd warned Syndia that if there was anything that she needed to know that would threaten the Sanctuary and its inhabitants that she demanded to know about it rather than have the unfortunate timing of finding out later in a more hurtful manner. Syndia was young but intelligent at her tender age of the time, and would continue to serve the Dark Brotherhood honestly and faithfully.
"No one could have predicted the dragons returning. And no one certainly would have expected she was going to find out she would be the only one that could kill them permanently. Still, I liked the show she put on. Sometimes dragons made great covers and alibis for certain contracts. They simply got swept up in the attacks. Simple."
Syndia started to pace back and forth. While yes they'd been living under the public's eye in terms of their assassinations, about well over seventy five percent of the most recent were served as died in the dragon attacks across the province. Keeping an eye on her sister was grueling and demanded a lot of patience. Sometimes she was out of control, and it though she loved her sister, she was a pain in the ass. It became unbearable to multitask. Not at least until Doug and his friends came along.
"I've tried being careful and in those five years in hunting Daryn down, nothing has progressed at all."
Astrid scratched her neck.
"Dear sister, if you want some advice, I don't suggest keeping the split personality as a weakling. We could train her to be one of us. Like you, she has it in the blood."
Syndia rubbed her forehead in frustration. No, that was not going to happen.
"As the elder sister I was properly trained in the arts. Our mother made me promise that harm was never to befall to her. I'm a really bad sister."
Astrid chuckled. She was aware of the precious Arch-Fire blood line.
"Training isn't a bad thing. Sandra may have been, but she was battle ready in the event you couldn't protect her. The moment you sent her back to Cyrodiil could have been a mistake. And during that time for what ever reason made her come back to Skyrim could have been for a variety of reasons. Spells were weakened or that as a Nord she felt better on common ground than that of the metropolitan province of a failing empire. We don't exactly fight like a Nord should, although my husband is the one that keeps that alive if that makes sense, but Skyrim is our ancestral home and we all have a natural bond to it."
She did have a point there. Skyrim was indeed their home. But Syndia suspected that there had to be another reason. But she can't exactly ask Sandra since it was her dragonborn persona that lead her back. But now she's in a safer place, away from Daryn and his ilk.
A man with long grey-silver hair and beard, wearing the majority of the Dark Brotherhood minus the boots and gloves approached the two women in a hint that he was a bit disgruntled, with his arms crossed and enormous biceps pulsating.
"You sure your sister isn't going to be a threat? I can smell her scent. She's moonborn." He mentioned.
Astrid stared at Syndia.
"Syndia, dear, you failed to mention she had contracted lycanthropy?" She stated sarcastically. Although whether or not she was pleased or displeased was up in the air. It was Astrid. It was hard to tell. In truth Astrid in between amused and rather joyous in the plight of irony Sandra found herself in. Sweet, sweet irony.
Syndia felt anxious around her superior and laughed nervously. How could see forget that werewolves would be able to know other werewolves. Sandra was basically personally so innocent in mind that there was no way anybody would have been able to tell. Arnbjorn was a dreaded reminder.
"Ahhh yeah...about that. Well, she became Harbinger of the Companions." She explained bluntly.
The man shook his head and chuckled. Astrid was no longed amused at this prospect although she had known prior of the Dragonborns pursuits as Harbinger and general involvement in the Companions. She had Arnbjorn keep check of the Companions affairs to ensure they did not clash with their own. It became a source of hostility between the two groups. But Astrid wanted to test Syndia's limits on the subject and how she could handle the discretion of the subject.
"Arnbjorn? You were a member...you'd know all about the Companions ways. Why don't you share some of your times with them hm?"
The grey bearded nord smirked. Being part of the Companions in his general youth felt empty in notions of petty glory and boasting of beast-killing. In truth, the Dark Brotherhood paid more...as well as meeting a pretty young murderer by the name of Astrid that washed him away.
"You look at them now and compared to what we do, they're all bunch of milk drinkers who were scared of me just because I'd like to dismember my enemies and chew on their bones. Good times. I'd heard ol' Kodlak bite the dust but for what brand of skooma were they on when they elected her to be their fountain of wisdom? Haha the fact she was even invited into the Circle is the funniest part. The whole world's gone mad. What's next? She becomes Listener? Pffff"
Syndia didn't quite like the fact that the hound in front of him was bagging her sister. In fact, looking at it now, she was quite proud that her own sister would make something of herself. Meaning she would have to have proven herself again and again at times she couldn't watch her.
"It's more to say she would have had the respect from the previous Harbinger to even earn such a prestigious title. If you've seen her Dragonborn side, you'd weep yourself to sleep with the amount of slaughter she's caused. She was at Solitude. Fifteen or so Dragons...alongside Alduin the World-Eater. She slew each dragon. Alduin got away, but for the fact is she's the only one this century to have killed anything of the sort. So you snap your furry mouth shut before you disrespect my sister again."
Arnbjorns smirk disappeared as he went silent. He turned around and grumbled as he walked away. Somehow Syndia felt enlightened by the pride she declared for Sandra. Despite her misgivings and the outright opposite behavior, she was proud of her.
"You must excuse my husband. Threatening him with the power of the Dragonborn is a nice touch. But we're all brothers and sisters here. He's just worried of a stronger warrior than he. I know him too well that of course that there will be stronger ones out there. He is just more cunning however and ruthless. I find that attractive." Astrid commented.
Syndia sat down by the table nearby and rubbed her temple with her middle finger.
"Of course. You must excuse my behaviour sister. The Dragonborns reputation must be maintained."
Astrid turned around sat down at the table as well.
"No matter. He'll get over it. Now we can get on to the more pressing matters at hand."
Syndia sat up and crossed her legs. Finally they can get back to work.
"Yes. I've been talking with the Thieves Guild with the man they believe to have taken with them that were involved with the Brandobaris and were involved with the Dragon attack itself. Perhaps to let someone into the city or let them out."
Astrid was amused. She wish she could had been there.
"Oh that town must be so disappointed from falling for the same trick that killed High King Torygg. Not an original plan but those guards spend all their money on spiced wine to even notice the sneaking going around them. I have to say it was well planned though. Who would even suspect it?"
Syndia nodded. She had to agree there.
"I suppose you gotta work through the cracks that aren't being covered. The festival brings hundreds of people every year. There was more focus on the party than there what was on outside the walls. Nobody noticed that many dragons were lined up? Never made much sense to me. If you couldn't see them you'd end up hearing their huge wings flapping right?"
Astrid took a sip of the mead on the table.
"All I can say is it was magic I'm sure of it. But the man they found there has to have the answers. They took him to Riften first for questioning and if they couldn't get anything from him there they're sending him to us to finish him off. The Guild can only handle so much. We can handle so much more."
The one man that would have all the answers. Syndia was sure. He'd have to know the location of his true master. She also found it odd that the Guild was letting the Dark Brotherhood play in their affairs, as the Brandobaris was originally an issue with the Thieves themselves, but now with Daryn revealed as their leader, it caused jurisdiction problems between the Brotherhood and the Guild to determine who should investigate it.
It was hard to believe Daryn was once in their ranks. He was desperate to dive into the powers of magic that it became addictive to him and unbearable even to the brotherhood. While he hadn't done anything wrong by them it was just that by even Dark Brotherhood standards they found him creepy. Especially Babette. For some reason he was fascinated with her. He was smart enough to stay away. All agreed it was because she was a vampire but Syndia knew otherwise.
She admired Daryn enough to follow him to making an establishment elsewhere to allow him to follow with his experiments and for Syndia to learn from him without being a nuisance to the main Sanctuary, as Syndia also desired to mingle in the mystics of magic. Astrid had asked her to keep an eye on Daryn at the same time but as whole wasn't as bad until incident that split them apart.
In all honesty, if it wasn't for Astrid for teaching Syndia to remain calm and collected in the face of extremities, she would have gone on a rampage long ago. She would have this man murdered in so many ways and even still she pictured at least a hundred scenarios to destroy this elf for putting her sisters life into jeopardy.
"Remember this though. There are only so many mistakes you can make before your make your last. After that, only the void can judge you."
Syndia went to her room and laid on her bed with her hands behind her back and stared at the roof while reminiscing. It was hard to believe herself how so much time had passed despite feeling like all of it happened yesterday...
When Sandra was born, Syndia became jealous of the attention her parents had given her, She would have expected that for obvious reasons, but hated the fawning over her apparent beauty as a baby. She hardly got that much love when she was born. But they were members of the Dark Brotherhood and she'd grown up on relaid training tactics even though she was only several years old.
Time had passed and Syndia felt an inkling that something wasn't right about the whole thing. Their mother had gone out for longer than usual and returned later than what was the norm. All this in the meanwhile of the attempts to bond with the child were turning to muck. Not to mention that Sandra was nothing but a...monster at this point. Well, not a monster that would be too harsh. She just cried all the time and she was actually very demanding.
Their relationship wasn't perfect. Syndia felt obliged to love her all the same. Her jealousy never seemed to fade but she remained the solid and emotionally stable assassin to be was expected of her. Her parents would have been disappointed if she'd lashed out any stage and would be beaten.
These days, long after their parents had been killed, while Syndia still felt the love for her sister, her disdain for tasks like this remained. Both her obnoxious and sweet personas were both equally annoying. She'd expressed to Astrid several times but remained the dutiful sister.
And finally after the storm that was raised with Daryn everything went to Oblivion. Sandra's brash personality came to surface and suddenly she became one of the most important and talked about individuals in not only Skyrim, but drifting between Daedric Princes and their corresponding realms.
She was given an important task but that didn't exactly make the older sister feel important. Assassins didn't need to have the focus on them. It was their job to make sure that they stuck to the shadows and remained anonymous in their work. While the Dragonborn was seen as a hero, Syndia was the complete opposite. They were in perfect contrast that you wouldn't even know the two were sisters.
But now Syndia was becoming emotionally exhausted. The original plan she had wasn't working simply because Sandra liked to stuff things up for her. If it wasn't for their mothers promise to protect her, she would have left Sandra at the Orphanage a long time ago. The hate/love aspect was only noticeable on Syndia's end, who put up such an act in front.
It reminded Syndia of the time when she had returned to the Brotherhood Sanctuary to let Astrid know what happened was kind of a shock to Astrid herself. Astrid had to remind her that she may have let her go to Cyrodiil for her own protection and no matter how she felt, that they were still sisters and that's a bond that was hard to break.
In recent weeks there was a love that existed, however it was hard to come across with the Dragonborns attitude splinting their apparent sisterhood, even if the Dragonborns' mood was more welcoming. Her relationship with Doug was a positive. Syndia's viewpoints on the matter were more...complicated. While happy she'd found someone that she can depend on, she really did not want anyone else involved in their current predicament.
Behind the scenes Syndia had fought Daryn on unexpected grounds. He'd stalk into caves and ruins with Syndia following suit to see what he was up to. Beforehand, they'd been partners into researching advanced magics, including improving illusionary spells for future assassinations. To what extent the battles went into, Syndia refused to dive into unwanted memories.
Sandra started dusting the walls. It brought her a sense of joy in place that was often thought as morbid. There was a sense of oddness but she was happy nonetheless.
Her mind concentrated on the spiderwebs that adorned the corners and almost freaked out as the saw the giant spider in the, what Sandra called, the Magic craft room. She covered her mouth as she gasped, seeing a little brown haired girl that was sitting down on a chair, watching the giant spider in the pit as it walked around.
"She won't bite. Not really. She's really friendly if you get to know her." The girl stated.
Sandra blinked. The arachnid wasn't there when she was here last.
"She's Gabrielle's. Sometimes we'll throw corpses in there if she's hungry. Lis isn't picky."
Sandra adorned a fake smile. She wasn't fond of spiders for some reason, although she swore she knew someone else didn't like them either.
"I'm sorry. It's been a while since I've been in the Sanctuary. Gabrielle got herself a rather unusual pet." She commented.
The girl turned her head to look at Sandra, who seemed to flash back to seeing her somewhere. Something to do with an alleyway and an old man. She shook her head and kept smiling, ignoring the the oddity but failing.
"Hahaha...The Dark Brotherhood needs a proper mascot. Sithis is okay but he doesn't have a true form. The Void is hard to make shape of. Spiders are good representations of the webs we weave."
Sandra tried to recollect her memory of the girl. She wasn't knew but she was apart of something. Her memory was shocking in recent times. The memory wasn't recent and she knew Babette sort of well in a family sense but there was a slot missing somewhere and only fragments were making their way back from...well, somewhere.
"I... like the symbolism. Fitting. But it just might make things a bit messy. But for someone like you Babette I guess you're used to it."
The parts she did remember however were when they grew up together. She hardly paid mind to the fact that she was a vampire. It had creeped her out when they had first met but over time the two were practically buddies, in all likelihood. Babette shamefully admitted that Sandra's blood was tempting to taste after smelling her, but Sandra being Sandra, she took it in her stride. Although through out their talk Babette stated that for some reasons, she was as tempted as she was before. She took it as young blood always being the tastiest.
The young hero unaware was an odd sort. Tolerant and kind. The Dark Brotherhood was still family to her despite their practice. Arnbjorn didn't like her as much originally but now had a minor interest and Krestus appreciated her as a cleaning lady. Gabrielle didn't pay much mind to her either and Nazir was just your average cutthroat but welcoming Redguard. She'd met Veezara, who seemed like a nice Argonian.
At some stage during that day she was ordered to help bring in a massive coffin. As she helped the seemly jester that came with the coffin she was surprised by her sudden gift of strength. The jesters personality was, quirky to put it simply. He liked to dance around and make a big show of his arrival and the arrival of the Night Mother.
Syndia used to tell stories to Sandra about the Dark Brotherhood and the Night Mother herself since she was young. It helped her become accustom to all the strangeness and gore, with Astrid making the odd comment that it was disturbing in itself how Sandra who wasn't raised to be a killer found all of this okay; a fact that transcribed over to her Dragonborn persona, however in spite of that, the Dragonborn had in fact hated the Dark Brotherhood, for she had seen them as weak and fearful for a real battle. Syndia had assured that it was better for Sandra herself not to get freaked out over such things, lest havoc be wrought across the Sanctuary.
Astrid paid no mind to the case as long as Sandra proved useful to them in the long run as she knew of their parents when they were growing up and when Astrid was a youngling in training. But at some stage after the trio of Syndia, Sandra and Daryn left that Astrid felt an strangeness in the forces of power and did nothing about it.
She'd noticed Sandra many years later as her Dragonborn persona came to light. When she had killed Grelod and word went about of the person who'd stolen their kill, she came to confront them at the Dragonborns premises as she stuck to the shadows without anyone seeing her, only to recognise the face of the woman she was about to kidnap. She returned to the Sanctuary and informed Syndia of the problem, and claimed that she was going to do something about it.
Astrid felt that they needed to sort themselves out. The Dragonborn was practically Dark Brotherhood nobility even if in this persona she didn't know it. She let things slide for the moment and went back to her usual work.
Attitudes shifted as the jester, who called himself Cicero, pranced around and made himself comfortable. Sandra admired his...um...enthusiasm. He eyed her as someone he'd seen before, but kept it himself.
The rest of the day kept Sandra busy, she dusted, cleaned. While this made her happy, she felt something was missing. She saw Astrid doing paperwork as she cleaned out the front room.
"Astrid?" Sandra's voice stated softly.
"Yes dear?"
Five years had passed. While most of the things she remembered were still there, a lot of things changed.
"Is it...wrong to feel out of place? Or something? I don't know how to describe it exactly."
Astrid smiled. She was more than happy to answer most questions that Syndia would never respond to.
"Sandra sweetie, you're an innocent dwelling in the drench of unrepentant criminals. I'm surprised to hear you say that after all these years. We care for you however as one of our very own. To remind us that we're still...human...and argonian respectively. We're glad to do our jobs. You're glad to do yours. We're all family. We're here for each others support. Your sister did well in maintaining the situation for this long."
Sandra sighed. Astrid could sense the aggravation. She'd foreseen this ever since they both arrived at the Sanctuary together.
"But Syndia won't tell me much about what happened. She said I was sleeping. Somehow I don't know if that's the truth or even some of the truth."
Astrid placed her quill down and turned to face Sandra.
"She cares for you. She doesn't want you to get hurt in the big bad world out there. You're important to her and I respect that. The world is getting darker and there are signs that it is about to get worse."
Sandra frowned.
One of the main concerns she had was that she felt something deep inside her that was faintly desperate to get out. Like a strange power that needed to be discharged. She was in a different skin of sorts. What ever it was, it just wasn't her.
"Is there at least anything I should be worried about? I mean, if five years really did pass, I'd like to know for my own safety if there's a problem that may affect me or everyone in general. You guys are my family and I want to help out as much I can to fix any issues you may request me to help out with."
Astrid stood up and stood awfully close to Sandra, on the verge of being uncomfortable, but still keeping that once felt sisterly vibe. Astrid held her hand and kissed the back of it.
"The only things you need to be worried about are the stomachs of your brethren should they go hungry...or angry so to speak."
The one aspect of Astrid that Sandra admired was that she was basically the adopted mother of them all. Any concerns or if you just needed someone to talk to, Astrid would help weigh those worries down. She looked after Sandra when Syndia was out on contract and that she would start crying. She'd never be left alone.
But somehow as life and the general atmosphere had shifted somewhat, Sandra was older and wiser to the matters. She just had to learn to fend for herself properly if she'd ever left the Sanctuary. She hugged Astrid, who recalled a previous conversation with Syndia regarding to what aspects of her Dragonborn life were to be revealed.
"Perhaps I could reveal one small thing..."
She'd told Sandra remain afoot as she left the room. Moments later she came back with Arnbjorn much to Sandra's confusion. She looked at Astrid who adorned a smile on her face.
"I have brought my husband here to teach you to properly hunt. He'll tell you the rest..."
Arnbjorn lead Sandra outside into the darkened wilderness; addressed by tall pine trees that surrounded them and the glowflies that fluttered about. The air was cool but the smell of the pine filled the senses with the peaks of the trees cradling the star-filled sky above.
Sandra wasn't entirely sure what this was about, but the opportunity to properly contribute to the Brotherhood was too good to pass up.
"I don't know if Astrid or Syndia told you this, but you've got the bit of the beast in you." Arnbjorn revealed.
Sandra blinked. Her? With the beast? What was he on about?
"I'm sorry, I don't understand."
The grey-haired nord was only explained so much to Sandra's situation and of her position in the Companions. He had to make sure she was kept in line. Not that he was happy about it, in his opinion, her presence drew unwanted attention and with his wife and Syndia worrying about her a lot made them lose focus on what they were supposed to be doing. It took some persuasion from Astrid herself to get him to help her out. If Sandra's werewolf side was going to be a problem, Arnbjorn was the only one around who could deal with it.
"You're really naïve little whelp. Probably how you got infected in the first place. No matter. The point is that in time you'll need to...indulge in your urges sooner or later. I know what you're really feeling. On edge, pressured to maul others. We're riddled with a bloodlust to destroy and consume. If you look into yourself, you'll know what I'm talking about."
The younger nord placed her hands on her chest and closed her eyes. There was something built inside her but she hardly understood the feeling. She looked back at Arnbjorn.
"I...am just happy to be a servant of the Dark Brotherhood as long as Syn-Syn is happy. I want to be considered as useful to you all as I can. I'm too worried that as a werewolf I'll lose control and cause unnecessary deaths."
How did she know that? She hadn't read up much on Werewolves in the past but somehow feels like she's done it before. The blood of the wolf would want to control her but she knows that this might happen. What happened during those five years of sleep?
Arnbjorn chuckled.
"Heh...death. There's mostly monsters, other beasts and if we're lucky, bandits in the area for your to hone your instincts on, if that's what you're up for. I'll transform first, it'll give you a good idea. So...you want to do this or not? I don't want to consider this as wasting my time just for nothing."
Sandra thought deep and hard. Though control was an issue, she somehow already had a type of instinct regarding transformations. She didn't know where it came from or how she got it. She had to accept the fact that she possesses it and at least somebody willing to help her through it and it reminded her that she wasn't alone.
"I guess I could give it a try. But...there are so many questions regarding this..."
So naïve.
"Sometimes it better not to know. If you're not happy with it, try and find out a cure. Never really needed to myself but if you're not going to use it at all and you transform accidentally I'll be the one to put you down personally. Understand?"
Sandra gulped. The last thing she wanted to do was to hurt people she cared about.
She took a stance of determination and forced herself to be stern about it.
"Okay. Let's do this."
He nodded. It appeared as she wanted to do this which was enough for him to consider.
"Alright. But remember what I said. Just follow my lead and you'll come out alive."
Sandra stood there with her hands in front of her, clasped in anticipation of Arnbjorns transformation. In an instant as he did so, Sandra had flashbacks of her own, remembering how painful it was. Visions of blood and rampancy filled her mind. Before she knew it a werewolf stood before her, staring at her with an angered stare. Though not human, she understood the expressions it gave her. He was waiting for her to change.
Sandra gulped as she instinctively brought out her beast out in the open. She'd un-intentionally ripped her dressed open but she had no idea what was happening as she pushed through the agony of her limbs shifting and changing, fur growing outward and her facial structure morphing. In the matter of several seconds her outlook had changed, but somehow kept her human mind functioning. The air smelt different, the way the energies around her just appeared and felt different than normal. Strangely enough, she knew this wasn't the first time this had happened. The change in familiarities was a constant perhaps on when ever she had changed previously.
"Are you still in there?"
Sandra looked at Arnbjorn. Sounded like him and definitely smelt like him. This must have been a way to identify others despite the same kind of looks. He somehow spoke to her without moving his lips, his voice ringing in her head. She seemed okay, so she nodded in response.
"That's a relief. Only those with a strong will can maintain themselves in beast form. You must have had experience with this after all."
It certainly felt that way. The way this worked and with Sandra suddenly knowing what to do raised questions like before.
She watched as Arnbjorn looked around and sniffed. He sprinted off to the east, passed Sandra, who took speed with him as they ran about in the midst of the night.
Strangely it felt good to run in the wilds, the trees pushing past her as she kept pace with the older nord. She kept to her instincts as he'd stated and it drove her to push herself harder.
She did not expect more flashbacks of previous hunts with several other werewolves. She couldn't understand where these had come from. It was here she started to suspect something else had gone on during her five year sleep.
They'd stopped on a minor cliff edge as Arnbjorn sniffed something out. Sandra stood by his side as older man growled.
"They're other beasts out here as well. Heh, makes things infinitely more interesting. Take a whiff the air ham shank and smell it for yourself."
While her senses had been enhanced, there was no doubt as she inhaled the air through her snout that the scents had caught on as something she knew. She knew the scents but not what they belonged to. If these scents were beast as he'd stated, it meant she may have encountered them before. Or that they were beasts and somehow the language of smell dictated the difference scents belonged to different species. She was amazed of the lack of books that might speak of some details about werewolves but how they function as beings in their own primitive like society. Maybe nobody thought or lived to tell those details. Perhaps it was harder to translate to human terms. What ever it was, it was quite extraordinary.
"Werewolves tend to hang in packs live regular wolves. Those who are by themselves aren't worthy of existing, as they cannot control themselves and end up just being dead meat. We're the stronger ones with the powerful wills of steel to keep our heads and manage to stay alive. That's what important."
"Husband, while it would be beneficial for Sandra to be taken underneath your wing...or tail so to speak, I don't want any alpha sort of behaviour happening. I don't need anymore dogs in the Sanctuary that I need to clean up after. Just make sure nothing happens to her okay?"
He kept the words to himself, albeit the inherent desire to lead was hard to fight off. But Astrid was the mistress of the Dark Brotherhood and had to obey her command. He loved her she could tame him to the best of her ability. He felt special anyway during the time as the only werewolf in the Sanctuary that wouldn't outright murder anyone outside their normal contracts but felt annoyed when he figured Sandra was one as well. He thought nothing more of her than a spoiled girl with an overly obsessive sister. Then he felt a kinship upon the realisation that they're both individuals kept on short leashes.
"Hmm...there are several. Two scents, roaming around. Their scents seem...pure. Hah. That only means one thing."
Sandra looked at Arnbjorn with a tilted head.
"Gotta be the Companions. What do you say we meet them and get ourselves a little fight? Always wanted to fight the old group. They're mostly whimps but let's see how they go in a rendezvous."
The...Companions. She remembered them as sellswords. Though those scents that she detected, didn't feel...threatening somehow. In fact, out of those two scents, one was actually, calming and welcoming...oddly. In wolf terms she may have met them before. Somehow.
"If you're not sure about fighting don't worry. All you gotta do is watch. Of course if you want to fight that would be great. Otherwise, learn and observe the action. I'd go one on one or for the challenge two on one. While I'd love to battle a well organised pack, It'd be suicide. So learn from this experience. It will save your life if you're trapped one day."
Their eyes flung in the left as they heard ruffling in the bushes nearby. Arnbjorn readied himself as two werewolves flung themselves out in the open, their shining golden eyes piercing through Arnbjorns own. Sandra took a few steps back and observed their conversation.
"Should have known the Companions would stick their necks in this side of the woods. Out for a midnight hunt?"
One walked forward, looking up at Arnbjorn.
"We were actually." It spoke. Similarly like Arnbjorn. The voice that pounded in her was feminine but strong, making the assumption that this werewolf was a female, albeit full for pride and strength, even in her current stance.
"We caught track of your scents and came to investigate. It seems this runt is capable of self-control. What about the other by your side? She seems to have an...interesting scent."
Sandra gulped. Oh crap. She didn't want to be caught out like this. A fear filled her deeply as she looked up to Arnbjorn.
"This whelp is under my command. We're also out for a hunt. But smelling you two made things more..exciting."
The female werewolf lifted her head.
"Ah teaching the ropes hm? I'm surprised. If she so desires the hunt herself, perhaps she'd like a taste of battle? She certainly has the aura around her."
Sandra's tail went between her legs as she snapped her mouth shut and continued to look at Arnbjorn.
"I was actually hoping to battle myself. The whelp is just gonna watch and discover what it's like to to take down tidbits like yourself." Arnbjorn stated, licking his lips.
Sandra watched their claws extend slightly as suddenly the temperature around them rose up. It must have been their battle-ready personalities as the second werewolf seemed to stand back a little and look at Sandra strangely.
"Then it's decided. You and me in one on one combat. We'll decide who's the strongest in this battle. Let's go!"
Sandra watched on as Arnbjorn leaped in the fray, as the female werewolf caught hold of him and started gnawing at his shoulder, causing him to growl. Sandra grew worried as she could see blood dripped down. Instead he rolled her over attempting to swipe at her face, only for her told him back with her hands on his chest as he did so. She kicked him off her, as he jumped back onto his hind legs in response. The female roared at him as Arnbjorn sprinted towards her. She slid to the side and clawed his back. This wasn't looking good until Arnbjorn spun around and grabbed hold of on her arms and picked her up with his mighty strength and pummeled to the ground.
Not to out done, the female quickly got up and howled, somehow feeling more invigorated and charged towards Arnborn who had turned and caught hold of her. It looked more like a tussle between too high tempered nords in this fight, making the human part of them look more apparent. The massive amounts of growls and pants went on as nobody looked like a winner at this stage. They pushed off one another and ended up on opposite ends of the circle. As the female was closer to Sandra, she caught wind of her scent again. Despite the hostilities, she didn't seem...threatening to her. The aura around her was...suffice to say while powerful, she felt power over her, like Sandra was supposed to be stronger. Never made any sense to her but it was like they weren't supposed to be fighting like this. While it could be her human personality talking but she didn't want to outright fight her.
Not to mention that her blood scent was more familiar than anything and it instilled a bizarre sense of loyalty to the female and oddly enough wanted to help her more than Arnbjorn. Being a werewolf was complicated.
The brawl come more bloodier by the minute as the intensity to personally get involved to stop the fighting grew within Sandra who honestly could not understand why. She looked at the other Werewolf again. The scent was male and instinctively calmer than the female. He watched on, cheering for his female Companion. Arnbjorn was noted for being a former Companion, which made her realize why he wanted to fight them so much.
More moments passed as Sandra felt hungry watching them both. They both were in stage where they were drenched in blood and panting heavily.
"Haha...now that's a good fight I haven't had in a long time. So the Companions haven't lost their touch with the beastblood." Arnbjorn commented.
The female made an expression that must be touted as the werewolf way of a smile.
"Yes the same for me as well. We'll keep testing our mettle until the end." She replied.
Sandra wanted to help heal Arnbjorns wounds as she stood by his side and strangely enough started licking them. He swatted her to stop that, while being whacked back aside she could hear the laughter of the female inside her head.
The females male companion for some reason went by her side and helped her up. She looked into the golden eyes of him and it struck another flashback of being locked inside a cage, seeing those same eyes slashing down enemies. She shook her head at looked at Arnbjorn
"You must be new. Alpha's don't like being humiliated with their own trying to help them." The male one stated as he sniffed her. His words meant nothing more than the sound of his voice being somewhat more comforting.
"Hey! Whelps need to learn their place. Do not aid her." The female touted.
The male wandered back behind her. Sandra watched as Arnbjorns wounds began to heal.
"Where's your Alpha then? You're wandering around on your own on a hunt without your Alpha?"
Arnbjorn taunted.
The female spat blood on the ground.
"You noticed hm? Our Alpha has gone missing."
Arnbjorn was amused. "I thought Kodlak bit the dust according to the rumors."
The male shook his head.
"No. He chose another Harbinger to take his place."
Arnbjorn looked at Sandra who stood by his side. She was getting odd vibes from the man.
"Another Harbinger huh? Rumors aside, so this Alpha of yours vanished? They don't seem very responsible. Or probably one of the ones I've killed before. Mutts and those of a pack are the same to me."
The male growled.
"She had met circumstances that are hard to explain. And we're looking for her. But the trails have run cold."
Sandra became concerned for this Harbinger/Alpha. Though Sandra usually is concerned about a lot of things. She tugged on Arnbjorn, giving him looks to indicate worry for this person. Arnbjorn glared at her.
"No, we're not helping. It's not our problem that they've got a pathetic leader. If it were me I'd find somebody else to take charge." He commented.
Sandra felt sullen.
"We cannot do that. We have to confirm she's not dead first before we do that. Unlike you we look after our shield-siblings. We take our oaths and we mean it."
It was honorable for them to feel that way about their own leader. She must have been a special leader indeed. She wondered if people had the same feelings towards Astrid, especially after the Night Mother arrived.
Arnbjorn snorted.
"Good luck with that. I hope you find their corpse with the dreads of the Silver Hand!"
The male basically gave off one incredible hate-filled stare to Arnbjorn that shook Sandra to the core.
"She's not that stupid to go without a shield-sibling. And I know she's not dead."
They parted rather quickly, going off in different directions. Arnbjorn kept quiet while Sandra faithfully followed. She wondered if this was what it was like normally, rivaling packs that slipped under the radar of the normal populace. Issues like this were abnormally interesting considering Sandra was kept in confinement majority of the time and had no real contact with many other than going to the cities to get supplies.
They kept running until the met a group of deer. Sandra followed Arnbjorns instructions and cornered the group and successfully slaughtered the lot. It surprised Sandra as her hunger forced to devour the deers insides and gleefully lick her lips as she finished up with it. It was hard to separate what was human and what was wolf. The eternal struggle to keep ones self in control, preventing the more animalistic aspects come to life.
In all experiences, Sandra knew she'd missed out a lot in her apparent slumber. But for what she had seen and heard and lived through within recent times brought up a lot of questions. The way she had brought herself through dramatic changes in her life were often ignored or dodged by other people, like there was some big secret being withheld. Still, she was still grateful for others caring for her and at least had support from them. Didn't stop the guilt from an unknown source, but it was akin to thieving, like she had stolen something from someone but didn't know what it was or who it was from.
"You're an odd one Whelp." Arnbjorn commented.
"But it's good to have another kin by my side again."
They continued to eat the deer, then headed off back to the Sanctuary once they were finished.
Authors note: Don't worry, we'll see the Dragonborn persona again eventually.