AN: Day 11! Only one more day left after today. I'm so glad you've been enjoying this fluffy little Yuletide story. I hope that continues through these last two chapters. Happy New Year's Eve!

It was barely light out when Kirstte got out of bed. She frowned a little, remembering falling asleep at the table. A half-awake conversation returned to her mind and she blushed and smiled. The dog was peeking out from under her pillow and she picked it up, tucking it into her pouch. She bounced upstairs and slipped into the seat next to Farkas and Lydia. "Good morning! And how are the two lovebirds this morning?" she teased.

"Oh, we're doing quite well," Farkas replied, waggling his eyebrows. Lydia blushed and slapped his arm.

"Well, I did not need to know that," Kirstte said. "What's the tradition for today?"

Farkas sobered and he nodded towards a small table next to the tree that had several items stacked up on it. "Today is a day for remembering," he said. "On the shortest day of the year, we honor our loved ones who have gone before us to Sovngarde. We'll stay up all night telling stories and drinking to their memory."

Her face fell and she pulled the dog out of her pouch, rolling it in her hand. "What if we don't have any loved ones in Sovngarde? Or if we don't have any stories?"

He gripped her hand and squeezed it. "Then we listen to the stories of others, and drink to their memories. It is not a sad day, Kirstte, we celebrate their lives and find joy in knowing they are in Sovngarde, feasting with Shor."

She squeezed his hand back. "I wish I had known you earlier," she said suddenly. "I wish I had joined back during my quest against Alduin. When I was in Sovngarde I would have looked, I would have found Jergen for you. You and Vilkas."

Farkas smiled and released her hand. "Thank you for the thought, but some things are better left to the unknown. It is enough for me to know that Sovngarde exists and that one day, I may get to go there."

"I hope that day is a long way off," Lydia interrupted. "I intend to spend lots of time with you while you're still here on Nirn." She stood and tugged on his hand. "Come on, Tilma said we need more mead, let's go down to the Mare and grab a few barrels."

Kirstte watched them leave and then walked over to the table, studying the items laid out on it. There were trinkets, jewelry, and even a couple of portraits. She rubbed her thumb over the carving of her dog and added it to the collection.

Evening came fast that day and Kirstte found herself sitting on a bench next to Torvar, watching as Kodlak handed back the items one at a time, each person telling a story about the loved one it represented. He got to hers and handed it to her with an encouraging smile.

She cleared her throat, looking at the dog. "Many of you know that I grew up in Cyrodiil. My parents were Nords but did everything in their power to live as Imperials." She swallowed. "Don't misunderstand, I had a privileged life and my parents cared for me, in their way, it just… it wasn't a way that involved closeness." She shook her head. "But I did have a pet. My dog. Well, he was half wolf and half wild, but I loved him and he loved me." She smiled. "I received him as a gift when I was five. My parents thought if I had a dog, I wouldn't be lonely. They were right. We became inseparable, Rem and me.

"It was during my sixteenth year when I lost him," she continued. "My parents had been hinting about marriage and I was particularly rebellious that year because of it." She grinned when they chuckled. "I got it into my head that I was going to go off and become an adventurer. I pulled on my leather armor and gathered up my weapons and Rem and I headed off.

"We made it to the edge of our lands before things started to go downhill. I remember crossing through the line of evergreen trees and immediately Rem was on alert. Growling and snuffling, with his fur standing on end." She sniffed against the tears that sprang up. "I should have turned around then, but I was stubborn and kept going.

"It wasn't much later when it appeared, a werewolf. I'm sure it had been a thinking creature at some point, but this one was completely lost. It spotted us and Rem, he put himself between me and it. I started backing away and tried to get Rem to come with me, but he held his ground, staring down the creature.

"I only made it two steps when it attacked and Rem launched himself at it." She closed her eyes as she remembered. "It was a vicious fight. In the end, Rem won. He tore its throat out, but he was too injured to survive." She sighed and leaned forward and rubbed at the tears on her cheeks. "I had to do the merciful thing and end his misery, then spent the rest of the day digging a grave for him. After he was buried I went back home. It was years before I left the safety of our property and the city again."

It was silent in the room for what felt like an eternity before Vilkas spoke. "To Rem. If there was ever an animal that deserved to go to Sovngarde, it was him." He raised his tankard, "Skål!"

"Skål!" The rest echoed and drank. Kirstte rose as Kodlak moved on to the next item, and she threw an apologetic smile to Aela as she accepted her mother's arrow. She slipped out the back door, exhaling slowly into the night air.

She heard the door open and close and smiled when a cloak settled around her shoulders. "It's the shortest day of the year, and coldest," Vilkas chided her.

"I thought Nords like the cold," she retorted.

"Even Nords know that there's such a thing as too cold," he responded. They fell into a comfortable silence and she was happy he had brought the cloak out for her the longer they stood there. "I'm sorry about what happened to Rem." He reached for her hand and squeezed it. She threaded their fingers together. "And I'm sorry if our… condition… is hard for you."

She shifted a little closer to him and his warmth. "Thank you. It's been years, more than ten, and sometimes I still think if I whistle, he'll come." She rubbed her hands together. "And… it isn't," she added. "If you weren't so cautious with it, it might, but even Aela and Skjor are careful to target their attacks against those who… well, I don't know that they deserve it, but they certainly aren't innocent."

He hummed in agreement. "He sounds like he was a good dog."

"He was. And thank you, by the way." She pulled the figurine out of her pouch. "It looks just like him."

"I wasn't sure," he said. "I described him as best as I could to Ulfberth, but having never seen him, I couldn't know."

"Ulfberth made this?" She looked up in surprise. "It's incredible craftsmanship."

He nodded. "He has a lot of free time between customers at Warmaiden's. He says he needs to keep his hands busy." She filed that information away and tucked the dog back into her pouch as silence settled again.

She was not sure how long it was when he spoke. "I owe you an apology. Several apologies maybe." His voice was soft and she knew this was not easy for him. "I made some assumptions that I recently found out were incorrect and… I'm sorry for how I treated you."

"You're forgiven," she answered, giggling at his bemused stare.

"That's it? It's that simple?" He sounded doubtful.

She looked up at the sky, where the moons and stars were struggling to be seen behind a thin layer of clouds. "By my estimation, it's after midnight," she said. He nodded in agreement. "It's a new year, Vilkas. A time for new beginnings, right?" He nodded again. "Then yes, it's that simple."

He pulled her into an embrace, pressing his face against the top of her head. "You're too good for me, woman," he muttered.

She laughed. "And don't you forget it!"

He chuckled and stepped back, taking her hand and pulling her inside. "Come, there are more stories to be told before the morning."

"What happens in the morning?" she asked. "It's the last day, right?"

He nodded. "We'll all go to the Skyforge to greet the dawn of the New Year, and then back to Jorrvaskr to exchange gifts and then sleep, since we're up all night tonight."

"Sounds wonderful."