Lexius leaned against the wall as he watched Valleri finish packing her small bag. Feelings of uncertainty swirled around in his mind like a storm. Lexius now understood what Valleri might have been feeling the previous day. This sucked and Lexius hated it.

The Redguard clicked his tongue as Valleri placed a hideous amount of bandages at the top of the pack. "You started bringing medical supplies now?"

"I had to, Lex," Valleri laughed, smile growing on her face. "Everybody just kept getting hurt and the last cloak I had just got used up as bandages. This just makes more sense. Besides, I don't want little training I have go to waste."

"Gods, sounds like a grand time."

The Imperial turned her head to look at him, confused smile still there. "Yeah it beats being trapped in a cave. You know that big scar I have on my arm?"

Lexius hummed, "What about it?"

"I was in a different Dwemer ruin in Markarth."

"Nchuand Zel," Lexius interrupted.
"Yep. Anyways I got sliced by a Falmer in there and we didn't have anything to fix it up my arm for a day or two. And then I accidentally ripped out a stitch."

"Valleri," Lexius chided. "No, you have to stop doing that. If Skeeva knew you keep ripping out stiches, he'd throw a fit."

"And what are you gonna do? Tell on me?"

"I can in a few weeks. But then again," Lexius paused, "There's not a lot he could do anyways."

"He could write a strongly worded letter, but that's about it. At least until I get back."

Lexius stared at his sister through narrowed eyes. Valleri glanced down at her pack with a wistful smile, obviously preoccupied with something. Lexius gave her a tap on her arm and Valleri turned to face him again. "You really plan on coming back, don't you?"

"Lex, I planned on taking you and Alastaros back from the start. I'm not gonna break that promise."

"And after that?"

Valleri shrugged, "Who knows? Imperial City. Solitude perhaps." She clasped the pack shut and slung it over her shoulder with a flourish. Lexius stepped back when the Imperial's pack nearly hit him. His unhappy gaze didn't move from her, eliciting an eye roll from Valleri. In moments, the both of them were cackling.

Vilkas was waiting for them upstairs, garbed in a heavy cloak and cuirass, standing next to the table in the middle of the room. He smirked when he saw the two of the emerge from the stairs. "You two took forever."

Valleri chuckled to herself, "I couldn't find my socks. And I'm pretty sure Lexius hid my extra shirt."

The Redguard stepped back in mock horror, "I did nothing of the sort. How dare you think me a thief?" Valleri stared at him through blank eyes. Lexius sighed, "Fine, fine. Maybe I did steal your shirt. But I'm not gonna say what accidentally happened to it."

"Dammit, Lex," the Imperial hissed.

Vilkas stepped between the two of them, placing a hand on Valleri's shoulder. "It's not the worst thing in the world. I'll just lend you one of mine. No big deal."

"Fine. But you do realize that was my last extra."

Lexius gritted his teeth as he reeled back again. Valleri's face was contorted into disappointed indifference. She'd given him that same look before whenever the Imperial was mad at him. Valleri never said anything, but he knew. Lexius always knew.

It looked like Vilkas knew too. He stared at the ground for a moment, hand still on her shoulder. Suddenly, he looked up to meet the to of them, face still blank. "We should leave in a moment, Val. We're wasting daylight."

"Oh, yeah. Sure thing," Valleri muttered, eyes wide with surprise. She mustered a small smile as she followed Vilkas out the door.

Lexius sighed as he stared out the window, watching Valleri's back as she descended the stairs to the plaza. He clenched his fist. Valleri was leaving and he wasn't going to see her for a few months at the least.

Without a moment's hesitation, the Redguard burst out of the mead hall, calling out for her. Valleri stopped in her tracks and turned around. She muttered a word to Vilkas, who only nodded and continued, before running back up to meet him.

"I'm so sorry, Lex," Valleri said, taking a hold of the Redguard's hand.

"You've nothing to be sorry for. You forgot to say good bye is all."

The Imperial shook her head, "I'm not going to say goodbye. Not again."

"Hey, Val?"

"Yeah?"

"I know you've been through all sorts of backwaters with Vilkas, but I know you. Just," Lexius sucked in a breath, "Just, be careful please. No more ripping stitches or getting knocked out or anything."

"I will if you get back to Anivl in one piece. Tell Skeeva what happened."

"Don't worry, I will. I've got most of my paper work in order and Farkas said he'd take me to the border. From there its smooth sailing."

Valleri gave his hand a quick squeeze before wrapping an arm around his shoulder. Without another thought, Lexius brought Valleri into a tight embrace. "You're gonna be fine, Val."

"I know. I'm just gonna miss you so much."

The Redguard pulled back and exchanged a glance with his sister, "Go on now. Vilkas is probably getting antsy waiting so long for you, you fool."

Valleri smirked and gave his hand a final squeeze before turning around. this time her back was straight and she nearly flew down to the plaza where her friend was waiting. This time. Lexius didn't feel guilty watching her leave. Things were going to be just fine.

…

Vilkas watched Valleri give her brother one last hug with curiosity. If he didn't see it before, Vilkas was sure that they were closer than most siblings. Perhaps closer now than him and Farkas. Even still, they had to go. Vilkas couldn't put this off any longer.

Valleri lingered there for another moment before rushing to meet him. The oddly dark atmosphere that surrounded her minutes before was gone. Now, all he could see was the sun rising up behind her. He couldn't take his eyes off of her.

The Imperial gave him a concerned glance as she nearly walked past him. "Vilkas, you okay?"

The Nord hummed as he was brought back to the present, "Yeah. I'm fine." The Imperial only shrugged and continued down to lower part of the city. Vilkas didn't take long to catch up. By the time Valleri made it to the city gate, Vilkas was already next to her.

Nobody said anything until they were already on the road outside of Whiterun. Valleri spoke in quiet tones, barely audible even to Vilkas. "Thanks for letting me say goodbye to Lex."

"It was important. Are you feeling better all of this?"

Valleri tilted her head with an unsure smile. "Only a bit. Lex was always my go to partner up until a few months ago, you know? A little part of me hoped he still would be. Now I'm stuck with an enigmatic werewolf."

"Rude."

Vilkas caught her eyes for a moment and he nearly grinned. Valleri's faltering smile morphed into a smirk. "It was a jest, Vilkas."

"I know. I'm just giving you a hard time," the Nord bellowed. Valleri only rolled her eyes.

The two of them walked in silence for a little while longer. The sky was devoid of clouds, allowing the sun to shine without any interference. The heat melted the snow without any problems, but Vilkas knew that clear weather was always colder this time of year.

Valleri didn't seem to care though. Winters in Skyrim was notoriously dark and Valleri craved the sun. She'd mentioned how even in the middle of the season, the Gold Coast was always sunny and the sun didn't go below the horizon in the afternoon. Vilkas watched her from the corner of his eye. The Imperial was smiling widely as she walked, basking in the direct sunlight.

Suddenly, Valleri turned to look at him from over her shoulder. She furrowed her eyebrows, "You're slow today, aren't you?"

Vilkas frowned, "What in the world are you talking about?"

"You keep lagging behind." Valleri gestured to the stretch of road between them, "See? There's almost five feet between us. If anything, you're usually ahead of me."

"Remember when you ran off in the middle of the night to fight a whole bunch of mages? You were ahead of me then."

"Vilkas, I told you stay put and you only waited an hour or so. So, we went in separately. It doesn't count."

The Nord sighed. "Fine, fine."

Valleri paused and waited for him. She narrowed her eyes as she watched him. "What are we doing in Winterhold? You never told me."

Vilkas felt his shoulders sink and his chest tighten up. Valleri stared at him intently, making the Nord feel just a tad bit unsteady. "I told the others it was Companion's business."

"I'm retired, Vilkas," Valleri interrupted with an entertained smirk.

"Let me finish," Vilkas chided. "This is for Kodlak. You remember how I was on a job right before Kodlak died?" Valleri hummed, letting the Nord continue. "I was getting something for him so that he could cleanse himself of the beast blood."

Valleri nearly gasped. Her mouth moved up and down as she searched for something to say. She looked back over to Vilkas, concern written all over her face, "Gods Vilkas. I'm sorry. I really am. But at the same time, it explains so much."

"I don't understand."

She clicked her tongue and took a deep breath in, "Kodlak was so close and then he just… died."

Vilkas tared at her with wide eyes, "Oh, yeah."

"What did he have you get anyhow?"

"It was, uh," Vilkas paused, "It was a head."

Valleri's face melted into confusion, "Repeat that please?"

"A hagraven head. Kodlak had me get a hagraven head."

Shaking her head, Valleri continued to stammer, "Where in oblivion did you even? Gods, Vilkas!"

"I kept it under my bed for the last few weeks."

"How in the world did no one notice? The thing's gotta be half decayed by now. I can't even imagine how bad it smells."

The Nord shrugged and gestured to one of the bags at his side, "It's held up incredibly well. Want to take a look?"

The Imperial's eyes darted around their surroundings as she deliberated. Finally, she sighed and relented. Valleri nodded her head, "Yeah, sure."

Vilkas stepped off the road and gestured for Valleri to follow. Tentatively, he undid the cord holding the bag closed. Even he expected the stench of decay to fumigate the both of them, but there was nothing. Valleri reluctantly peered into the bag. He heard her mumble something before her eyes went wide with surprise.

"I told you."

She looked up to meet him, "What's keeping it so fresh?"

"Who knows? Kodlak would probably say that it had something to do with the magical oath or whatever it was binding the Companions to the coven. But I think it's something else. Just not sure what."

"Strange stuff, but I'm not gonna question it," Valleri said finally. She waited for Vilkas to secure the bag again before going back to the road. "How long until we make it Winterhold do you think?"

"We've got to make a stop in Windhelm. Then catch a ride to Winterhold. After that, there's an old crypt we have to get to. It's still frozen up there. If I remember correctly, you got lost in the woods and nearly froze to death last we sent you were in Winterhold."

Valleri furrowed her eyebrows, "You're not wrong. I'm curious though; is it necessary to stop in Windhelm?"

The Nord breathed out sharply and bit the inside of his cheek. He exchanged a brief glance with Valleri. "We're gonna need a warm place to sleep in on the way."

"Yeah, but do you remember what we went through a few weeks ago? When the Stormcloaks tried to take over Whiterun?"

Vilkas' stomach churned. "Hard not to."

"Vilkas, they're not going to let us into the city. We both ended up doing a lot of damage and the Stormcloaks probably haven't forgotten."

Valleri crossed her arms as she continued to look up at the taller Nord. Vilkas smirked and rubbed her back reassuringly, "I wouldn't worry too much. They let travelers in and out all the time. There's no reason for the guards to kick us unless we do anything."

"Still doesn't make me feel too much better."

"I know."

He didn't say anything as Valleri took his hand and gave it a quick kiss. The gesture made Vilkas feel a bit fuzzy on the inside. Valleri didn't let go as she walked. It made it a bit difficult to carry the bag with the head, but Vilkas didn't mind.

Without hesitation, Vilkas gave Valleri's hand a squeeze. The Imperial chuckled to herself.

"What?"

Valleri shook her head, "Nothing really. Just, are you going to be distracted when we get to where we're going?"

Vilkas reeled back in mock horror that elicited a laugh from Valleri. "Me? Distracted? Never!"

…

Valleri only just noticed that something was following them. Vilkas had been looking over his shoulder periodically for the last few hours. The Imperial couldn't hear or see anything that might have been following them on the road. If they were some ways past the tree line, she wouldn't even be able to tell. At least Vilkas could tell what was going on.

She exchanged a narrowed glance with him. "So you noticed it too?" Vilkas muttered.

"I just did. How long have you known?"

"A few hours back." Vilkas paused and looked over his shoulder again. "What ever it is, it's staying far behind.'

Valleri furrowed her eyebrows, "Can you actually hear anything?"

"How do you think I figured it out?"

"Makes sense." The two of them walked ahead for a few more minutes before Valleri paused. She turned around and stared. Vilkas stopped in his tracks and arched an eyebrow.

"What are you doing?"

The Imperial shook her head, "Nothing, I'm just curious." Without further notice, Valleri backtracked a few feet and made her way to the edged of the road. She glanced over her shoulder to Vilkas, "Come on. Aren't you at least a little bit interested in knowing what's following us?"

"It's probably just a few wolves or a spriggan if we're lucky," the Nord said, pacing over to Valleri's side. "Wait, are there spriggans in Cyrodiil?"

"Yeah, there are. I've only seen them from afar though," Valleri muttered as she pushed some of the overgrowth out of the way. She tilted her head to the side, attempting to get a better look of her surroundings. Patches of sunlight illuminated only a small portion of the ground. Beyond that, Valleri had a hard time making anything out.

She felt Vilkas come up behind her and stared out of the ground. He perked up suddenly, causing Valleri step back into him. In a moment, Vilkas moved past her and into the underbrush, leaves and twigs crunching underfoot. The Nord didn't even bother hiding himself.

Sighing, Valleri went in after him. She found Vilkas stooped low by a rotten tree. "What is it?"

He gestured to the ground, "Foot prints. Just one person, but they must have left in a hurry when they realized we found them out." Vilkas paused, pointing deeper into the woods. "Ran off that way."

Valleri offered Vilkas a hand as he got up with a groan. He shook the dirt of his legs before walking back to the road. Valleri gave the clearing one last glance before following. "You think they'll follow us?"

"Who's to say?" Vilkas shrugged. He waited for Valleri to meet his side again before they continued. "If they do though, I don't think we'd be in any particular trouble."

"So you say," Valleri trailed off. She kept close to Vilkas, but every once in a while, she looked over her shoulder. Maybe whoever was following didn't run off?