The walk around the building felt like it lasted longer than it should of. Vilkas tried not to let his thoughts get to him, but it was hard. Especially with how heavy the air felt between him and Hope, even though she was walking behind him and Farkas.
He hadn't told her what was going on, after their long heavy silence on the stairs leading up to Jorrvaskr, Vilkas only told her to follow him and left it at that. After the ceremony, Vilkas knew there would celebration for Hope. He hoped at some point during, he would be able to pull her to the side and see what exactly was on her mind.
But that all waits until after, because now they were approaching the Circle and he could feel Hope's eyes widen in question to why everyone was outside.
Hope followed Vilkas and Farkas to where the Circle members were standing. Her eyebrows lifted with surprise as she stood before them all. Kodlak was at the head of them all while Skjor and Aela stood to the left of him and Farkas and Vilkas took their places to the right of him.
Kodlak gave her a nod and a warm smile before beginning. "Brothers and sisters of the Circle." He stops to look at each one of them. "Today we welcome a new soul into our mortal fold. This woman has endured, has challenged, and has showed her valor. Who will speak for her?"
"I stand witness for the courage of the soul before us." Farkas spoke, taking Hope by surprise. She quickly looked at him with her eyes wide, and all he did in response was give her a warm smile. To tell her that he meant everything that he was about to say.
"Would you raise your shield in her defense?" Kodlak asked with his warm smile remaining on his face.
"I would stand at her back, that the world might never overtake us." He said in confidence, causing butterflies to flutter all through out Hope's body.
"And would you raise your shield in her honor?"
"It stands ready to meet the blood of her foes."
"And would you raise a mug in her name?"
"I would lead the song in triumph as our mead hall reveled in her stories."
As they went on, Hope couldn't help but feel something swell inside her. Was it pride? Embarrassment from the attention? She didn't know. All she did know was that she was happy. She was happy because those staring back at her now; Kodlak, Skjor, Aela, Farkas, and...Vilkas, her friends were now accepting her as one of them.
And they were her friends...they were friends that would raise their shields in her honor. Friends that would never forsake her or betray her. She knew that now, no matter what she was feeling before about them, now she truley did know. And she knew she was where she belonged, but something still plagued her mind.
Because sometime during her deep thinking, her eyes trailed from Farkas to Vilkas and when they did, he didn't look away. Their eyes immediately locked, she watched a proud smile form on his face and something different appear in his eyes. Feelings she had towards him were complicated, though she knew that the others would never hurt her...she still couldn't help but think that Vilkas already did. After this, after everything that was going on, she needed answers from him. She needed to get to the bottom of it fast, because if she were to call him shield-brother like she already has with Farkas, then she needs to know if she can truly trust him to watch her back and not tear into it. 'Stop.' She quickly told herself.
'You've already decided to trust them, so just stop.' She repeated in her mind. That may be so but...she still needed answers from him. She needed to feel better about it all...she needed to stop having this feeling grow inside her every time she looked at him.
"Then this judgment of this Circle is complete!" Kodlak's loud, proud voice shook Hope out of her deep thinking and caused her to quickly look at him. "This woman's heart beats with fury and courage that have united the Companions since the days of the distant green summers. Let it beat with ours, so the mountains may echo and our enemies may tremble at the call."
"It shall be so." Everybody spoke at the same time, making Hope jump just a little bit.
She looked at everyone of them and all of them gave her a proud, confident smile. Except for Skjor, he just gave her a nod and then looked away. She figured that was his way of giving her a proud and confident smile.
With nothing else needing to be said, the Circle members begin to part and walk past her and make their way to the fresh mead that was set out for tonight's special occasion. But not before stopping and giving her a good pat to the back or shoulder.
"You did it!" Cheered Ria from behind. She came running to Hope from her seat and gave her a surprise hug from behind. Hope quickly pried her arms off of her and turned around to face her. "I knew you could, I knew you would." She said with a proud nod while her arms crossed over her breasts. "I knew the moment I first saw you sitting on that bench outside of Jorrvaskr, with sweat beading up on your forehead." She chuckled.
Hope blinked as she watched Ria chuckle and then watched other members of the Companions come up and congratulate her. But their words were going through one ear and out the other. Hope was stuck on what Ria had brought up, the first day when she was stuck sitting on a bench because she was so sure that she would get rejected.
That was the first day she was truly accepted into their fold and for some reason, it had felt like years since that day. She didn't know why, it had really only been a few months since she joined the Companions. Maybe it was because of all the training and how far she had come or maybe it was because of all that had happened to her. From getting attacked by a werewolf...Vilkas...
'Vilkas.' His face came to her mind as did his name. She quickly turned and looked back behind her and found him still standing in the same spot he was in before. He was looking at her until she looked back at him. She watched him blink a few times and then quickly look away, playing it off like he had "accidentally" looked at her.
Even though he pretended that he wasn't looking at her, he still looked like he was waiting for her for some reason. Was he wanting to talk to her too? Was it that obvious that something was on her mind.
"Enough of this!" Torvrar shouted, making everyone cringe from his loud obnoxiousness voice. "This is a time to celebrate my friends! And by celebrate, I mean drink!" He shouted and before she knew it, a mug full of mead was shoved into her arms with some splashing out onto her chest. Where did it even come from?
Hope opened her mouth to object, but before she could even get started Torvrar threw an arm around her and led her straight to the tables where the rest of the other Circle members had gone. All except Vilkas, who was watching Torvrar move Hope along with furrowed eyebrows.
"Torvrar, I'm not really in the mood to-"
"Oh no you don't!" Torvrar interrupted Hope with his usual shout. "I have yet to break your mead virginity, so I refuse to let you get out of it tonight! Because as I said my friend." He stops to sit them both down in chairs that were side by side. "Tonight, we're celebrating!" He cheered as he grabbed at a mug that was already full on the table and then held it high up in the air.
"So go on my friend!" He said while gesturing his mug towards hers. "Drink!"
Hope watched him take a big chug of his mead and then slowly looked down at the mug that was given to her. She looked over to Ria who had just sat down in the other chair that was next to her and when she did, all Ria could offer her was a smile and a shrug before taking a drink out of her own mug of mead.
Hope's eyes slowly go back to the warm colored liquid that was inside her mug. She watched it move slowly from side to side. 'I really shouldn't right now but...' She bit her lower lip as she stared down at her mug full of mead.
She really wanted to get her talk with Vilkas over with but she was also not to eager to start it. In fact, she had no idea how to start it. So maybe a little alcohol will help...
So she places her lips to the edge of the cup and slowly tips it back. The moment the warm liquid swims through her mouth, she quickly takes the mug away and gulps it down with hesitation. "Hmm..." She hummed out loud.
"Well?" Torvrar asked while leaning into her from the side. "It..tastes weird..." She replied. "It's...bitter sweet?"
"Ha! I guess everyone has their own opinion on the first taste. To me, it was like drinking the heavens." He told her with a dreamy tone to his voice. "I bet the more you drink it the more you'll like it." He said with his mug bumping hers afterwords.
Hope watched him swig down another huge gulp out of his mug and then shrugged before taking another drink out of hers. He was right, it did taste a bit better the second time going down.
What time is it? How long has it been since Hope's first cup of mead? She didn't know, all she did know was that her face felt numb and she could no longer hold up her head. "And then, and then I said!" Torvrar was in the middle of a joke but he could hardly get two words out before bursting into laughter. "Then he-" He laughed some more and even added a slap to his knee while in the middle of it.
Hope groaned as she tried to hold her head up, she's decided to try and sit up and lean back in her chair. "T-" She starts but can't seem to finish her sentence, let alone word. "You're joke isn't very funny..." Athis decided to finish Hope's sentence, as if he read her mind. His voice was slurred but he was at least able to hold his head up. "But you haven't even heard the best part!" Torvrar protested.
"Best part he says..." Muttered Hope as she finally was able to get herself up and then leaned back into her chair. She hung her head back off the top of her chair and saw Njada sitting next to Farkas. "Hm?" She wondered out loud with a cocked eyebrow.
It looked like Njada was well drunk and...posing? At least it looked like posing because she had her chest out and on top of the table. It was covered though, covered by a thin shirt and she looked she was trying to get Farkas in bed with her. Hope's eyes slowly moved to Farkas, and he looked less than interested in her.
"Pfff..." A stifled chuckle leaves Hope causing Njada and Farkas both to look over at her. They both furrow their eyebrows at her at the same time and she can't help but laugh at that. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" She apologized while laughing but something told her they didn't believe her because of the looks they continued to give her.
She lets out a content, drunken sigh as she slowly sits back up straight and goes for her mug again. "Here have some more!" Torvrar said happily as he poured some more mead into her mug before she could pick it up. "More sounds good." Hope hummed out in delight as she picked up her mug and brought it up to her mouth.
But before her lips could touch the edge of her cup, a hand had suddenly been placed over the top of it, stopping her. Hope's lips had actually come in contact with the hand before she realized it was there. She furrowed her eyebrows down a she looked down at the hand. It was big and masculine with a bit of hair on the knuckles. That hand could only belong to one person.
An annoyed groan left her as she sat down her mug and looked away. "Hello kill joy." She said with a grumpy frown taking form on her face. An annoyed scoff was heard (before who she already knew it was) spoke. "I think you've had enough." Said Vilkas as he removed his hand from her mug.
Hope slowly moved her eyes up to Vilkas, keeping her eyebrows furrowed. "Go away will you." She told him with her hands shooing at him. "I don't want to see your...stupid face..." She mumbled with a drunk slur as she grabbed her mug again and took a quick drink out of it before Vilkas could try and take it away.
Vilkas furrowed his eyebrows down at her as he watched her swallow a big gulp of mead. "Your stupid..." She continues to mumble after placing her mug back down on the table. "Your stupid...dangerous face..."
'Dangerous?' Vilkas questioned in his mind. He furrowed his eyebrows down more as he blinked down at Hope. Why would she suddenly call him dangerous like that?
"I mean!" She keeps going, but louder this time. "I mean I don't even know why I keep thinking about you like you're my...pfft I don't know." She laughed with both hands rubbing at her eyes. "I don't know what I'm talking about..." She mumbled. "I just feel..funny...and worried."
"Worried?" Vilkas questioned, he was wanting to hear more from her and so did everyone else it seemed, because the Companions that remained outside were quiet and watching her with lifted eyebrows.
"I'm worried, yes!" She shouted. "I'm worried because I don't know if I'm going to become a warrior or your next meal."
"Alright, that's enough!" Farkas shouted, hoping it covered up the last word she said, but it didn't. Or at least it didn't for Vilkas and he didn't understand it. Next meal? What does that mean? Why would she say such a thing? He didn't know, but he was going to find out. Whether she was drunk or not, gods be damned he was going to find out!
"I mean, that's enough mead." Farkas nervously chuckled as he grabbed Hope by the arm and stood her up. "I think it's time for you to get some sleep." He told her. "Huh? But I'm not tired..." She objected while yanking her arm out of Farkas's grip. It caused her to stumble back into Vilkas and when she did, he felt her immediately tense up and then get away from him as fast as she could. 'Alright, that's it.'
"You heard her." Vilkas growled as he took a hold of Hope's arm. "She's not tired." Before Hope or Farkas could object, Vilkas quickly pulled Hope along around Jorrvaskr. As they walked away he could hear Torvrar state. "Well that was weird!"
"Hey, slow down!" Hope demanded. She even tried pulling her arm out of Vilkas's grip, but she couldn't. Finally he came to stop and he did so, so fast that she came stumbling into him. Vilkas let go of her arm and when he did, she stumbled back a bit and then looked around. He had led her to the other side of Jorrvaskr where they could be alone.
"Why'd you bring me over here?" She asked while continuing to look around like she's never been there before. "You didn't bring me here to eat me did you?" She joked, but he didn't find it very funny. When she looked back at him, he had his arms crossed and his eyebrows furrowed.
"Learn to take a joke." She mumbled as she stumbled over to the stairs and slowly sat down on the top one. "Why are you saying things like that?" He asked, getting straight to the point. "Saying what things?" She asked while moving her knees up to her chest and then resting her head down on the tops of her knees.
"Things like, eating you." He replied, not moving an inch from his spot. "Oh, those things..." She mumbled into her knees.
Then with a loud sigh leaving her she speaks without thinking. "Probably because you're a werewolf."
A sharp pain surges through Vilkas and for a moment, he felt like his heart stop. "W-what?" He can barely speak, so when he does it sounds like he was breathless, like someone had just punched him in the gut really hard.
"That sounded much better in my head..." She chuckled. 'Just how did that sound much better in your head!' He wanted to argue, but he couldn't find his voice.
"Farkas told me, well more like showed me." She explained.
Vilkas's mouth watered as his stomach tightened into horrid knots. He felt like he was going to be sick.
"What...what do you mean?" He hesitantly asked. He was trying to act like he didn't know what she was talking about, but he was doing a bad job at it.
"You know what I mean. He turned, right in front of me..." She replied quietly with the memory still too fresh in her mind. She had her head hung back now, away from her knees and up so she could look at the stars. It was a cold night, but a pretty one because of how clear the sky was.
The image of Farkas's muscles expanding and then the bloody scene flashing before Hope's eyes made her shiver. It was something she didn't want to think on, in fact it was something she wanted to forget entirely but knew she never would.
Vilkas slowly brought his hand up to his face and pinched the bridge of his nose. He tightly shut his eyes as static started to appear before them. His head started buzzing and his body heat up. He didn't know what to say, he didn't know what to do. '...Does she know about...'
"We were ambushed by several people that Farkas called the Silver Hand." She continued to explain. "So, he turned into a werewolf and tore them to shreds right. in front. of. me."
'Oh gods.' Vilkas didn't know how much more of this he could take. The thought of Hope watching something so horrid with a fearful expression on her face made his chest tighten and nearly take his breath away.
"I was scared." She told him. "So scared that I drew my weapon on him."
'Oh gods.' He repeated in his mind. The buzzing in his head got so loud that for a moment he thought bee's were swarming around him. He could feel sweat bead on his hairline as well as feel his muscles start to tremble. He didn't want to hear any more, he just wanted to flee. Leave and forget this conversation ever happened. But he didn't.
"Farkas told me some things while I had my bow drawn on him too." She told him with her own muscles beginning to tremble. Earlier she thought getting drunk would make the conversation easier but really it didn't. She felt like she was saying everything wrong, but couldn't stop herself from speaking.
'I don't want to know.' Vilkas wanted to tell her, but he didn't. He only stayed silent and forced himself to continue to listen. No matter how much his body and mind were telling him to flee.
"He told me that the rest of the Circle are werewolves too...that you're a werewolf..."
'Stop.'
"That you-" She stops, she stops because her throat tightens and she feels like she can no longer breath. Her heart was slamming against her chest and Vilkas could hear it. He could hear its nervous beats and feel the rush of blood in her veins. 'She knows.'
He hears her take in a deep breath and then exhale it slowly. He knew what was coming and he hated it.
"I know it was you." She finally speaks. Breaking the agonizing silence between them and shooting a sharp pain through Vilkas's chest. 'of course she does, I knew she did. So it shouldn't hurt like this...'
But it did hurt. He felt like a fist had broken through his chest and gripped his heart, squeezing it so tight that it felt like it was going to burst any moment. He didn't want to hear what was going to happen next. But what was going to happen next? She has yet to say anything else, did she even know what to say?
No, she didn't. All she could do was just sit there and stare up at the sky, unable to find the words to speak. She needed to say something else, something to make it better. But she felt like nothing could make it better. She had no idea what was going through Vilkas's mind and she had no idea how he was going to react. She guessed that what happens next just depends on that, on Vilkas's reaction.
"I'm-" He tries to speak, but he can't find his voice. He hoped it didn't make her turn and look at him because his face was so hot he was sure that it must of been glowing red in the dark.
He feels sweat drops run down the side of his face. Not even Skyrim's freezing wind could break the heat stroke he felt like he was going through.
He hears movement and can only guess that it was Hope standing back up to her feet. When she did get to her feet, she stumbled and wobbled a little but was able to regain her balance quickly. The intensity of the moment was sobering her up fast.
When she fully turned around to face Vilkas, she was shocked by what she saw. He had one hand wrapped around his stomach and the other rubbing his forehead with his head bowed and eyes closed. The distraught expression on his face made her think he was going to be sick at any moment. She didn't know what to expect when she faced him due to the fact at how quiet he was, but she did know that she didn't expect him to be like this.
"Vilkas..." She trailed off as she watched him quickly wipe away sweat off his forehead before she could see it drip down the side of his face. "Farkas-" She stops again but only to regain herself and keep control over her words.
"Farkas told me it was just an accident, but-"
"It was!" Vilkas cut in, quickly looking up at her with his eyes wide. His eyes looked like he was begging her to believe him.
"It was nothing but an accident, I lost control and could do nothing but until the end when Skjor showed up." He quickly explained while taking a few hurried steps towards her.
"I swear, Liah." Without thinking, he reaches out and grabs both of her shoulders. "I would never hurt you."
Hope's eyes widened as her breath was slightly taken away. She stared into his eyes and examined them. They were wide and full of desperation. He was desperate for her to believe him, and she did.
The words that left his mouth were dripping with emotions, emotions that he'd never shown her before and they were emotions that let her know that she could trust him. Like she could trust Farkas and the others. She felt doubtful about Vilkas before, but now there wasn't a single doubtful thought about him. Now she knew for sure that he would die for her in a heart beat, and she would for him.
"I know."
Vilkas was shocked, he kept his grip on Hope as he continued to stare into her eyes. He almost looked like he didn't hear what she said. But it was more like not being sure he heard it right.
"I know it was an accident and I know you wouldn't hurt me." She said with her eyes moving down. "I just wished everyone came clean to me about it before instead of having to find out...like I did."
"Would you have reacted any differently if you did?" He asked, taking her by surprise. Hope looked back up at him and saw that his face had relaxed and relief now filled his eyes. "Would you have?" He repeated, his eyes locked onto hers.
"I don't know..." She muttered. "Probably not..." She admitted.
"Would you have stayed if you found out then?" He asked.
"Probably not." She admitted again.
Vilkas slowly nodded in response as his eyes kept burning into hers. Now they both stood in silence, but it wasn't a heavy silence nor a painful one.
Neither of them were sure what kind of silence it was exactly. It was just one that made their chests swell and tongues feel swollen. Swollen because neither of them knew what to say to each other, after all of that, what could they say?
"I'm..." Hope started to speak, but trailed off with her eyes slowly lowering.
Vilkas's eyebrows knit together as he watched her. "I'm sorry that my words didn't come out very good earlier..." She mumbled.
A small smile forms on Vilkas's face as he gently grabs her chin and brings her face back up to his. "Your words still aren't coming out very good." He told her. Pointing out how she was sounding and how her words sounded. "I think you may have had too much mead."
"I think you're right." She agreed with a nod and a small smile.
Vilkas chuckled in response as he unthinkingly ran his thumb across her jaw-line.
Hope shivered from the small gesture and Vilkas took notice of it.
His smile slowly faded as his eyes narrowed down towards her. His thumb slowly moved back across her jaw-line and then slid up to her bottom lip. He gently pressed it against her lips and watched the sides of her face turn a light shade of pink.
'What are you doing idiot?' He questioned himself. 'Now isn't the time or place.' He told himself, but he wasn't listening. Many times he's found himself in this moment with her, and didn't even know it most of those times.
He just knew that they would find themselves close and staring into each others eyes. 'I want to kiss her.' He admitted, he finally admitted. He knew he felt the desire to kiss her before but he always shrugged it off, now was different. Because now, he didn't want to just shrug it off. He wanted feel her lips against his and...maybe more.
He heard a faint, shocked gasp leave Hope when she saw him leaning towards her. She felt both of his hands gently move to the side of her face with his thumbs resting just below her jaw-line. 'I don't think now's a good time for this...' She thought to herself, but she didn't stop him. She didn't stop him because she wanted it to be a good time for it, she wanted to kiss him.
She felt the tip of his nose brush against hers as he tilted their heads. His face was so close to hers, his lips were so close to hers that she could feel his hot breath spread across them and when it did, shivers were sent down her spine.
When she felt Vilkas's lips brush against hers she felt her heart leap inside her chest, but then she felt something else. Something that had her pulling away and reeling back from him. A sharp pain was suddenly sent through her, sent through her head and her body. She felt like she had just been struck with two arrows.
Vilkas blinked a few times as he watched her bend over and grab her head as well as her stomach. "Liah?" He slowly approached her with his eyebrows knit together and a hand held out to her.
"What's wrong?" He asked as he watched her start to rub her forehead. "I don't know..." She replied with pain showing in her words. "It..." She trails off with a heavy breath leaving her afterwords. Vilkas continued to watch her with worrisome eyes.
She inhales deeply and then exhales just as deeply. The pain starts to fade in her stomach but it remains in her head. "It...feels like it did earlier..." She said with both hands being placed on her temples.
"Earlier?" Vilkas questioned. "Yeah." She breathed.
Vilkas examined her for a moment, watching the color in her face slowly fade. Even though her stomach was no longer hurting she still looked like she was going to be sick any second. "Maybe you should go lay down." He told her while gently laying a hand on her shoulder.
Hope inhaled deeply once more and then slowly looked up at him. Her eyes were watery from the sudden migraine and her skin was ashy. "Kind of looks like you've had a bit too much mead." He told her with a small smile. "M..maybe.." She replied with both hands still rubbing her temples.
"I think I do need to get to bed." She admitted with a sigh. "Come on, I'll help you." He said, offering her his arm to hold onto.
Hope looked down at it and then looked up at him with a smirk. "I'm sure I can find my way to the sleeping quarters just fine." She told him. "You sure? Wouldn't want you falling down those stairs." Vilkas said with his own smirk.
"I think I'll be okay." She said with her eyes slowly going down towards the ground. "Alright." Vilkas responded with a nod. Hope slowly moved her eyes back up to him and for a moment, they both just stood there looking into each others eyes once more. After a minute goes by, she gives him a quick, shy smile and then walks past him to head back towards Jorrvaskr.
She doesn't know when she falls asleep, in fact she had no idea when exactly she even reached her bed. She just knew the moment she closed her eyes, everything fell dark and the images that came after...were horrid.
"Mindok Kruziik Al Alok." There are those words again, the same words that keep being repeated to her over, and over again. She didn't know what they meant and she wanted them to stop. "Mindok Kruziik Al Alok." They're louder this time, so loud that at the end they almost sound like thunder.
Next, after the repeating line fades comes an image. One that was all too familiar.
Red eyes burning into her, burning into her soul as a rumble from its chest makes the earth beneath it shake. Smoke seeps out of the corner of its mouth as fire rises all around it. The fire grows and it surrounds Hope, nearly consuming her but before it can; it stops and the red eyes before her slowly disappears. At first she thinks its because its the end of the terrible nightmare, but no, it just gets worse.
Suddenly, she's somewhere cold. Somewhere that's so high she can nearly see all of Skyrim. Then the earth below her feet rumbles once more and the cold air around her becomes still. It stops completely and she feels like she's going to suffocate. Then in front of her is a blast of light with a high pitched sound following after. It was a sound of hurling wind, but there was no wind and it became so loud she felt like her ear drums were going to burst.
Soon the blast of light in front of her grows and brightens, it hurts her eyes and she wants to shut them, but she can't. It was almost like someone had their very hands over her forehead and were holding her eyelids open with their fingers. The intensity of the light goes straight to her head, making it pound with excruciating pain. Then when she thought it couldn't get any worse, something hurls from the blast of light. Something that's voice shouts and makes the heavens themselves tremble, but she couldn't see it, no matter how hard she tried she just couldn't see it. All she could see was a dark shape explode above the light and then nothing.
She wakes up with her body hurling forward and a loud gasp leaving her, making Ria nearly jump out of her skin.
Ria was sitting on her own bed, tying her boots. She was getting ready to leave for a job. "Hope? You okay?" She asked with her eyebrows knit-together in worry.
Hope didn't answer, she only stayed sitting up with her chest heaving in and out. Her eyes were wide and her mouth was a gape as sweat fell down her forehead. "Hope?" Ria says her name again, trying to grab her attention.
She hears a low groan leave her as she slowly holds her hands up and places them over her eyes. "Are you...are you okay?" Ria asked again. "I uh..." Hope trails off, trying to collect her words, but she can't.
Not with how her head was pounding and how her whole body felt weak. She felt terribly ill and she didn't know why, she was fine yesterday. "You don't look so good." Ria points out as she stands up from her bed. "Yeah..." Hope mumbles as she slowly lowers her hands away from her face.
Ria approaches her bed and places a hand on Hope's forehead. "Wow!" She exclaims. "You're burning up!"
Hope groans again as she slowly lays back in her bed. She looks up at the wooden ceiling with foggy eyes and a pounding head. "You should probably stay in bed today." Ria told her as she looked down at her with concern filling her eyes.
"I think you're right..." Hope replied weakly. Even if she wanted to get out of bed, she knew she couldn't.
"Are you awake yet whelp?" Skjor's grumpy voice came through the doorway and it was honestly the last thing Hope wanted to hear at the moment. She hears a couple of footsteps approach her bed and she doesn't need to look up to know that it was Aela who was with him.
"What's wrong with you?" Asked Aela with furrowed eyebrows. "You look like death." She commented.
"Thanks..." Hope muttered as she kept her eyes on the ceiling.
"Hmm..." Skjor hummed as he examined her with a frown. "Looks like some kind of...flu?" He guessed as he continued to examine her.
"If that's so, then you should probably stay in bed today. I imagine no body here wants to catch what you have." Aela said.
"Hmph." Skjor exclaimed grumpily.
Aela turned to him with a cocked eyebrow.
"You just had to fall ill on the day I have a job for you..." He muttered.
Hope only scoffs at him in response.
"Now, now." Aela said while placing a hand on Skjor's shoulder. "No need to get mad at the whelp for falling ill, it's not her fault."
"Hmph." Skjor exclaimed again. "Just get better whelp, I'll hold onto the job for you till tomorrow."
With nothing else needing to be said, Skjor quickly turns his back on her and then leaves the sleeping quarters. Aela watched and then turned to Hope with a sympathetic smile. "Get some rest and stay in bed today. I'll have Tilma bring you some food and water and have her check on you from time to time."
Hope nodded in response and then felt her give her a soft pat to the leg before turning and leaving the room. "I gotta get going, but get better okay? Because you look really bad." Said Ria as she continued to stare at Hope with worried eyes.
"I'll be fine." She said with a wave of her hand. "All I need is rest."
Ria nodded in response and then after giving Hope a small smile, turns and leaves the room. Hope lets out a relieved sigh when she knows that Ria was no longer in ear shot. She was thankful to have Ria as a friend, but she wanted to be alone today. She just wanted to close her eyes and go to sleep.
So she does, she closes her eyes and falls into a deep sleep.