Lunara pressed her fingers to her lips, feeling this heat of him lingering there. Did that just happen? I'm not in some weird dream? She glanced around the room and decided that no; she wasn't. Pulling the cloak tighter around her body, she decided that regardless if that ridiculous man had kissed her and then ran off, she would spend the rest of the night in her own bed. She nodded once in determination and slid herself off the side of the table.

Her side had not fully healed, and she winced as she made her way across the room. Even more reason to sleep in a comfortable bed and not this stone table. She took slight steps, but she made it across the primary room to the doors to the sleeping quarters. Leaning on the walls, she pushed the door open and made her way down the hallway. She passed Acolyte Jenssen's room and found the door open and the room stark and empty. She pushed herself to take the last few steps to her area, and she half collapsed onto her bed and in less than five minutes she was asleep again.

Danica woke early and went to see her patient. She had questions that the Companions who brought her in never answered, and she hoped that maybe Lunara would be awake to answer them. Lost in thought, Danica entered the main room of the temple. The room was quiet, and she looked for Lunara and Vilkas, but all she saw was the furs she had draped her with and an empty chair. She panicked a bit but calmed, realizing that there's no way that Lunara got far. Maybe she woke up and needed help to get to the outhouse. She smiled to herself thinking about how much the broody warrior seemed to care for the girl. She waited for several minutes, but no one entered the temple.

"Kynareth save us, where in Oblivion have they gone?" She muttered as an acolyte motioned to her from the doors to the sleeping quarters.

"Yes, what is it?" she asked.

"It's Lunara, Priestess," the acolyte said, "She found her way to her bed sometime last night." Danica sighed and started for Lunara's room when a thought struck her.

"Is she—alone?" she asked.

"Oh yes, Priestess. I think the warrior left early this morning," the acolyte replied. Danica breathed an internal sigh of relief. It wasn't any of her business; the two of them were consenting adults, but Lunara was not in the physical shape for those kinds of activities. She dismissed the acolyte, who went to the kitchen area to begin the morning meal, and she headed for Lunara's room.

Danica knocked on the door. There was no answer, and the knob was unlocked, so she opened it a crack to look in on Lunara. She was still asleep, laying on her uninjured side. She was curled up with the cloak Danica had used to cover Vilkas draped over her. The small brazier had burned low, and she could feel the chill in the room through the open door. She grabbed a few small logs from the stack they kept in the hallway and entered the room to rekindle the fire.

Lunara opened her eyes and watched the priestess rekindling the fire. Is there anything that woman can't do? She smiled a little, wondering for a moment if this is what it was like to have a mother. She pushed the thought from her mind. It didn't matter if that was what it was like; she didn't have a mother and Danica didn't need the burden of her and the trouble that seemed to follow her. She was getting lost in her spiral of negative thoughts when she heard Danica speak to her.

"Good morning, it's good to see you awake. How are you feeling?" Danica asked, concern creasing her face.

Lunara swallowed and cleared her throat to clear the lump that had formed there. "I'm doing alright, considering. I think so anyway," she said, wincing as she tried to sit up.

"No, no," Danica said, "you need rest. If you don't rest the spells and potions won't be as effective and it will be even longer before you're back on your feet. Tell me what you need, and I'll get it for you."

Lunara gave up trying to make her stiff body move the way she wanted and laid back on the bed. "Some Spiced Wine might be nice," she said.

"How about some water?" Danica replied with a smirk and Lunara rolled her eyes dramatically.

"Fine," she sighed, "I'll have some water."

Danica left the room, and Lunara's thoughts turned toward Vilkas. Where had he gone in the middle of the night? Why on Nirn did he leave her and not tell her why? He'd saved her life twice now, three times if he had been successful in convincing the Jarl to not execute her. Had he been able to do that? He hadn't bothered to tell her before he left. Her worry turned toward annoyance with him. Just who did he think he was, treating her that way? He can just stay wherever the fuck he ran off to, she huffed to herself.

Danica re-entered her room with a bottle filled with water and a goblet. She poured from the bottle and handed Lunara the goblet. Lunara forced herself onto her elbow and emptied the goblet in three swallows. She held it out for more, but Danica stopped her. "Too much water at once will make you sick because of dehydration," she said. Lunara plonked the goblet on the side table and fell back onto the bed.

Danica wasn't sure where to begin, so she asked the most obvious question. "Where did Vilkas go?"

Lunara glared at Danica and stared at the wall. What had she said? It had seemed like a neutral question. What happened last night?

"I don't know," Lunara said through gritted teeth. "I woke up, and he was there and once he decided I would stay awake, he said he had to leave and then he did." Lunara attempted to hide the tears that had formed in her eyes. She'd never be enough and people she cared about would never stick around. She understood that now, and the pain of the realization was almost too much.

Danica shook her head. The man was crazy or stupid to just leave her here and take off to do something frivolous. He'd been in the temple long enough watching over Lunara that Danica had formed some conclusions about him, and she decided he was neither of these things. It had to be something big for him to leave like that. Danica sat on the edge of the bed and stroked Lunara's hair.

"There child, I don't think it's as bad as all that. I don't think he just left you alone for good. He'll be back and I'm sure he'll tell you all about whatever took him away." Lunara remained silent, still staring at the wall.

Four days later…

Farkas opened the temple doors and looked around. Vilkas hadn't been back to Jorrvaskr for several days and he had figured to find him here. His eyes widened in surprise as his eyes came to rest on Lunara, bent over her alchemy table and working on healing potions. He didn't see Vilkas anywhere, though. Where had his brother gone?

Lunara looked up from the potion she was working on when she heard the temple door open. She did a double take when she saw Vilkas' twin standing just inside the door. He was broader in the shoulders and shorter than his brother, but otherwise they looked the same. She swallowed hard as he walked toward her.

"You must be Lunara, it's nice to see you awake," he said. He was smiling, his eyes filled with worry.

"Yes, I'm Lunara. Vilkas told me he had a twin, but I'm sorry, I don't remember if he told me your name," she said, giving him a slight smile and trying to sound more in control than she felt. Why was he here? Had something happened?

"Sorry," he replied, "name's Farkas. Is Vilkas here?"

"Nice to meet you, Farkas," she replied. "No, he left the same night I woke up. He said he'd be back soon, but I haven't seen him since," she said, shaking her head and trying to force the edge out of her voice. Farkas sensed she wasn't telling the entire story and pressed her.

"If you know where he went, please tell me. I'm worried about him; he hasn't been home to Jorrvaskr since he left us at Dragonsreach to come back here to you. How long have you been awake?"

"Four days," she said, her face filled with worry and his expression softened.

"I'm sorry," he said, "but I'm worried something happened to him. It's unlike him to go this long without contact and I've looked at all the normal places he goes. I didn't know where else to look."

"It's alright, I understand. I'm worried about him too," she said. "Well, I am now anyway, when he first left, not so much," she admitted, color rising in her cheeks.

"What happened before he left?" he asked, as he regarded her with an intense curiosity. Lunara went a bright shade of pink all the way to her hairline. She kept her eyes to the floor and mumbled, "He kissed me."

Shock crossed Farkas' face when he heard her answer. He knew his brother liked the girl because she kept the wolf quiet, but he didn't think Vilkas liked her enough to kiss her or anything else. She just didn't seem like his type. Wait... that was it. The wolf! Farkas grabbed Lunara's shoulders and planted a kiss on her forehead, her eyes widening with shock.

"Sorry," he said, "but I think I know where he went. I've gotta go and you don't know how helpful you've been."

She rolled her eyes and scoffed. "It's getting tiring; men that look like you kissing my forehead and then telling me they have to go." He grinned at her and she smiled back.

"Go, go find your brother and tell him he has some explaining to do when he gets back."

Farkas nodded and went out the door. Lunara went back to working on her potion. She always enjoyed days like today. Danica made house calls to the farmers just outside of town, and the acolytes spent their days doing whatever they wanted after they fulfilled their temple duties. The temple was empty and quiet now, and it filled her with a slight sense of peace. She only hoped it would last.