He waited by the tavern entrance while she talked to Hulda.
The woman mentioned some bounty to her and Aeyrin was eager to replenish the funds she wasted on the room last night.
He was glad that she paid for the room. He had no idea what he would have done if she was returning to Breezehome right after he killed Neeshka.
"Can't believe she let you back into her bed after you let that harlot paw at you last night…" Saadia's derisive voice interrupted his pondering.
You should be damn grateful for what I did…
"Yeah… by the way, Saadia, anyone looking for you?" he raised his brow at her curiously. What did the woman do to have someone like Thorn looking for her? Some people asked his group from time to time to bring them someone… mostly criminals who couldn't hire some official bounty hunters. Or those that just wanted their target killed… more gruesomely.
The Redguard gave him a questioning look, but she seemed to… pale a bit.
"What in the Void are you talking about?" she scoffed, trying to hide her sudden bout of nervousness.
"Heard a rumor… apparently there's been someone looking for you… you might wanna take care of that before they find you… could turn ugly," he shrugged. Nobody deserved to be dragged off by Thorn's men.
Saadia stepped closer to him, whispering with her eyes darting around the room: "Where did you hear that?"
"Around…" he raised his brow at her. She seemed to know who was looking for her, that would make things easier for her.
"Did you meet with them?!" her voice quivered slightly, her eyes watching him warily, likely not sure whether she could trust him not to take her to whoever was looking for her.
"I don't know who 'they' are. I just heard that someone was looking for you. Thought to warn you, you should be careful. If you want a tip, watch for when strangers come into the tavern… you're better off not being seen by those," he shrugged again. There was really not much he could do to help her evade the hunters. Although, they did rarely grab someone from inside a city. It was usually too risky. And with Neeshka gone with all her information, there was likely no one who knew where she was.
Her brows creased, her expression turning desperate: "You know nothing more?"
He shook his head: "Don't leave the city, don't go anywhere alone. That's the best advice I can give you…"
She gave him a brief nod, going back to serving breakfast to the early risers with palpable nervousness now.
…
"Oh. Hi… I thought… you'd be back yesterday…"
Lydia made a strange face.
Be fucking subtle, woman.
"It… got late… we stayed at the inn…" Aeyrin shrugged lightly, not eager to discuss the events of last night.
It was for the best, Lydia seemed fidgety.
"Everything alright in here?" he asked her casually.
"Yes… everything's fine…" she nodded at him tentatively, turning abruptly towards the kitchen cabinets to busy herself with breakfast, likely worried that her face would betray something about what happened last night.
"What? What wouldn't be alright?" Aeyrin gave him a questioning look.
What the fuck? He was being inconspicuous! Was it a weird question? He didn't even know anymore. At times, it felt like he was overthinking everything. Then, at other times, it felt like he didn't have even half his bases covered.
"I don't know… whatever… just… making conversation, I guess…" he shrugged in annoyance.
"You? Conversation?" Aeyrin smirked at him disbelievingly.
Unreal… was he just bad at lying to her?
He decided to ignore the comment, rather than digging himself deeper, walking over to Lydia to help her with breakfast.
Lydia still seemed on edge, much to Bishop's dismay. Then again… it wasn't as if he was making things better.
Luckily, Aeyrin didn't concern herself with their behavior further. Lydia was slowly getting back into their old routine, but she did occasionally throw Bishop a disturbed look.
He could hardly blame her.
She likely didn't count on being an accessory to a murder anytime soon.
But Neeshka was a bandit! If they met her on the road they wouldn't hesitate!
Well… after she attacked…
Which she wouldn't...
Fuck, stop thinking about it! It had to be done… for her.
He did the right thing.
Then why couldn't he stop overthinking and constantly wondering what he should have done differently?
For once, he was actually looking forward to spending their evening at Jorrvaskr – it would be a welcome distraction from this whole mess.
…
"Pup!"
Farkas almost toppled her, enveloping her in a huge bear-hug as she giggled, muffled by his muscled chest.
Vilkas laughed at their exchange, running towards them and joining in their greeting, embracing her from behind, his arms grabbing over his brother's as he pressed himself against her firmly.
Oh for fuck's sake!
He was sure he saw the glint in their eyes. They were no doubt imagining doing just that, but with no clothes in the way. He was convinced, however, that they wouldn't be this forward normally. They were doing this to piss him off!
He made a show of wrapping his arm around her waist once they released her, pulling her closer to him. I tinge of trepidation coursed through him. Things were getting back to normal between them, but there was still something at the back of his mind telling him that she would flinch away from him.
She didn't, luckily.
She seemed to have finally decided to ignore last night's events. He was luckier than he thought he would ever be. It made him feel strange. Kind of… guilty.
But he was sure it would pass.
Especially with her by his side.
He was grateful that she didn't protest at his proximity in front of the brothers. He really didn't need the two slobbering dogs to get any more ideas…
"Still alive, mongrel?" Vilkas smirked at him, raising his brow at his show of possessiveness.
"Still bitter about that, ice-brain?" Bishop scoffed at him.
Vilkas's answer was a mere scowl, but his friendly expression returned momentarily and he ushered them towards the feast tables where the other Companions dined merrily already.
"Hey! You two are back! So… how many dragons?" Aela waved them over to her excitedly, giving them a sly wink.
"One… I guess. But we took it down just the two of us, with no armor on to boot," Bishop smirked smugly, sitting himself next to her and pouring himself a tankard of mead right away.
"I bet you just got your ass handed to you while the Dragonborn did all the work," Aela laughed, clanking her tankard to his.
"Go on, then, give us the stories. They'll definitely be more exciting than any of ours… things have been so slow…" Vilkas grumbled, sitting himself next to Aeyrin, giving her an encouraging nudge with his elbow.
"Well… let's see… I don't think you'd find what we were doing in Solitude really interesting…" Aeyrin pondered. They would probably like hearing about their heist at the embassy, but that wasn't really a safe topic. The ball and the meeting with Tullius seemed a lot less exiting for a group of seasoned warriors.
"Oh, I know! There was some trouble in Morthal. I bet you'll like the tale…"
…
"Anyway, the beasts finally went up in flames with the last Shout. Falion was a bit upset that the corpses were damaged… honestly, I don't get his fascination with the abominations…" Aeyrin shook her head in disgust.
She didn't spare the Companions the gruesome details of the vampires' victims and their tactics, her repulsion at their very existence plain to see after what she's witnessed in their lair.
Most of them seemed excited at her recounting of the battle. Aela listened almost enraptured to her descriptions of the lair and how she dealt with the vampires. She really did seem a good Stendarrite paladin material – she was so fascinated with the prospect of fighting Daedra, vampires or lycants to protect people. Aeyrin wondered why she never approached the 'Vigilants' she once mentioned to her. Perhaps she found her home with the Companions and didn't want to lose it to another calling. Or maybe she stayed for Skjor.
Farkas and Vilkas were uncharacteristically quiet while she spun the tale. They didn't even say anything when she half-heartedly admitted that Bishop was charmed by the creatures, much to his annoyance. Bishop grumbled while Aela teased him mockingly, but the brothers stayed silent, strange pensive looks on their faces.
"You seem pretty damn spiteful towards the bloodsuckers, lass," Skjor smirked, looking her over.
"Wouldn't you be? The things they did in the city… and the carnage at their lair… they're monsters," she shuddered, taking a long swig of her mead, to chase away the memories.
"Never tempted to become one? All that power, eternal life?" Skjor watched her curiously, as if trying to read her face like a book. That was a disturbing question… was he tempted to become one?
"No! Never! What… what kind of life is that, when you become… well… that? Nothing is worth becoming a monster like that…" she sighed. Alva and Laelette likely didn't want to become vampires either, but they embraced it. Their real life ended the second they were turned… She wondered if people inherently started to behave this monstrously when they were turned. Maybe they just abused their power more often than mortals did… But it didn't seem like it, it seemed like they lost all their humanity, consumed by their desire to feed.
"Power doesn't interest you?" Skjor asked again, a frown forming on his face and he gave her a doubtful shake of his head. He didn't believe her. Didn't believe that if she were faced with the option, she would have refused.
"It's not just power you get. It never is. There's always a price. Believe me, I'd know. You always lose something of yourself, or you always have to suffer. There's no such thing as free power," she shook her head at him. She was told something like this once by Master Therien. Now she was certain it was true, after becoming the Dragonborn.
"Sometimes the price is acceptable," Aela gave her a smile, giving a strange sidelong glance to Bishop a second later.
"I wouldn't be so sure. I think maybe the scope of the price is just not apparent at first," Aeyrin shrugged at her. She was a bit nervous after her last absorption of a dragon soul. Was it because the dragon was different? Or because she was tired and hungover? Or both? Would the same happen again? Would it get worse? Could it really kill her the next time?
"What do you think of all this?" Aela nudged Bishop with raptured curiosity in her eyes.
"I'm all for killing bloodsuckers and shit like that. People are bad enough, no need for them to get more dangerous too…" he smirked derisively, but frowned a bit afterwards.
They seemed really interested in vampirism. He remembered Karnwyr's reaction to Alva… and his reaction to the Companions. Not Aeyrin, though. It was weird… it would make sense somewhat, if they were vampires.
Then again, from what he knew, the things rarely got out in daylight and they made their lairs in dark places. Alva kind of checked all the boxes in retrospect, but the Companions didn't. And they were such public figures… it would definitely be difficult for them to hide something like this. But why did Karnwyr go crazy around them? And besides, was it around all of them? Maybe it was just the brothers. Maybe there was something wrong with just them.
He really hoped there was something wrong with them, for some reason.
"Maybe if someone offered you such power, you wouldn't be able to resist… who of us knows what they would do if…" Aela started to wonder aloud again, but Vilkas suddenly stood up from his chair abruptly, throwing her an oddly angry look.
"Aela, Skjor, we need to discuss something. Now," he commanded, his brother standing up right after him, his face even more somber than Vilkas's.
Aela and Skjor shared a rather annoyed look, but stood up after them, following them towards the courtyard with no explanation whatsoever.
"You're leaving now?" Athis raised his brow at them with a slightly amused smile, but his eyes were narrowed in suspicion.
"Circle only, greyskin," Vilkas growled, leading them outside.
Aeyrin and Bishop only shared an uncertain look. What was that about? They were suddenly behaving rather strangely.
The whole fascination with vampires was baffling. And why did Farkas and Vilkas stay so quiet?
Something was going on.
But… apparently the details were not meant for their ears.
She sighed, staring into her tankard.
Without the four of them, they felt somewhat unwanted among the Companions. The only one who ever talked to them aside from the Circle, was Athis, but he seemed to be lost in his own thoughts, looking after his four departed Shield-siblings with a suspicious look in his eyes.
To be fair, the Dunmer was always suspicious…
Well, they still had each other for company.
And all the food and drink they could possibly consume.
