Author's note:

First things first, I wish a Happy New Year to all my readers. I also send a special thank you to all those who are reading/favoriting/following this story. Moreover, I thank Elspeth, Guest 1 and Guest 2 for letting me know how the whole thing is going. As for Guest 1 (sorry for the numbers, but I have no other way of telling you apart), I'm really glad to know that you're keeping up with the story :) As for Guest 2, I thank you for pointing out my mistakes and giving me a chance to improve my writing. I play Skyrim in Italian (yup, that's my mother tongue), therefore it's easy for me to miss on those little details. Apropos, a warning for all my followers: next time I update my story, I'm going to fix the mistakes pointed out by Guest. Aka, expect a few random notifications together with the real update (if you have a problem with that, please let me know via PM). Last but not least, a huge thank you to Elspeth - I'm glad that you noticed Agda's dirty mind! XD

We're getting closer to discovering the whole truth about Steinarius' past. Starting from now, some chapters will be told from his point of view.

Enjoy!

After slowly regaining control of his body, Steinarius eventually managed to snap his eyes open. As he did, he was immediately greeted by the sight of a white linen roof over his head. The Imperial could also feel a soft blanket under his back and warm furs all over his chest. Judging from the sensation of the pelts against his skin, he was probably naked.

Steinarius tried to recall the events of the previous hours, but his head was throbbing too painfully to form coherent memories. As a consequence, the Imperial had no idea as to why he was lying naked inside a tent.

When he tried to find out more about his surroundings, Steinarius took in an unpleasant stench that resembled a mixture of dust and dampness and dried blood. In Skyrim there were only two creatures that carried that disturbing odor of decay: draugrs and vampires. Yet, Steinarius couldn't remember coming across any of them.

Worried by the confusion that was reigning in his head, the Imperial tried to sit upright. As he did, he caught a glimpse of a lake from the opening slit of the tent. At the same time, a sudden jolt of pain shot through his left arm and caused him to curse.

As soon as a vulgar insult left the Imperial's lips, the entrance of the tent unexpectedly gave way. By the time Steinarius could overcome his surprise, Agda had already placed a hand on his shoulder and helped him lay down again.

The girl wore a guilty expression and had a nasty gash on her cheek.

"Where…"

"Hush", Agda said before Steinarius could finish his question. "You really shouldn't be talking".

Before the Imperial could ask her why, Agda gave him a vial filled by a black, thick liquid.

"The dagger was poisoned", the girl added as an explanation.

At that point, Steinarius frowned. What the heck was Agda talking about?

Before the man could ask her that question, the young innkeeper stretched across the tent and grabbed his left arm. As Agda removed the furs that were covering his torso, Steinarius noticed that her clothes were completely ruined. He also realized that her usual scent had been replaced by the weird mixture of blood and dust and dampness he had noticed a few seconds earlier. Moreover, her face was even paler than usual.

As he took in those details, Steinarius frowned. Had Agda become a vampire overnight?

The Imperial forgot that silly question as soon as he caught a glimpse of his left arm. There were three deep wounds in his humerus and all of them had a nasty black color. As he realized that, Steinarius couldn't hold back his questions anymore.

"Agda, what's going on?"

As the girl looked at him, Steinarius could read a mixture of disbelief and surprise in her deep, brown eyes. A second later, all those feelings seemed to be replaced by distress.

"You don't remember anything?"

In reply to Agda's question, Steinarius shook his head. Confronted with his confused look, Agda sighed.

"I'm afraid that Sven was too rough with you", she said. "You were screaming like mad, therefore he decided to knock you out. When I left the inn, you were still sleeping. I didn't want to wake you and I didn't want to bother anyone else either, therefore I tackled the wilds on my own. I thought I could get to Anise's cabin and back, but I was wrong. Had it not been for you…"

As Agda stopped her confusing rants, Steinarius finally regained possession of his memories. He remembered being attacked by a dragon while he was travelling with Erik, the boy he wanted to transform into the newest member of the Blades; he remembered fighting against the beast and screaming for his friend to stay out of the way, then he remembered cursing Erik for his Nordic stubbornness. Next thing Steinarius knew, the dragon was dead, the young farmer-turned-warrior was unconscious, a group of villagers was looking at him with a mixture of horror and fear and relief. Steinarius later remembered being awoken by Orgnar, who'd mumbled something about Erik's fever and Agda's disappearance. He remembered looking for the girl and finding a little note on her alchemy lab – I'm off to find ingredients for Erik, I'll be right back. Keep the boy warm, otherwise his Bone Break Fever will get worse. And right then, Steinarius remembered being washed over by fear.

The Imperial had left the Sleeping Giant without even putting on his armor. As soon as he'd reached the southern road, he'd shifted into his werewolf form and set out to find Agda. Steinarius had been terrified by the thought of the dark creatures that could attack the girl, therefore he had been eager to bring her back to the safety of Riverwood.

It had been a while since the last time Steinarius transformed into a werewolf, therefore the memories of his hunt were really blurred. Nonetheless, the man eventually remembered his fight against the vampire, the way he had been wounded, the way he had tried to ask Agda for help without betraying his identity.

Unfortunately, his plan had been a total failure: not only had he been injured – he had also revealed Agda one of his biggest secrets.

No wonder the girl was now looking at him like a monster.

"Agda…"

"You really shouldn't be talking, Steinarius", the girl insisted. "You need to save up strength".

"I also need to explain you a thing or two".

"Your explanations can wait. Now you just need to rest".

Despite Agda's insistence, Steinarius didn't oblige - he had a lot of questions about his current situation and wanted the girl to answer them as soon as possible.

Given that the Imperial seemed keen on ignoring her words, Agda sighed and started changing his bandages. As she did, she told Steinarius about the hunter who had rescued them, about her trip to Anise's cabin, about the potions she had brewed for him and for Erik.

Steinarius wasn't worried by the news regarding the poisoned dagger used by the vampire - as a werewolf, he was namely very resistant to poisons and diseases; moreover, he was sure that Agda's antidote would heal him in a matter of hours.

"I'm already feeling better", he said in an attempt to reassure the worried girl. "Actually, I think we could even leave this tent and…"

Agda abruptly stopped him.

"Stein, if you think that you could reach Riverwood in your current conditions, you're wrong. I've been studying a lot of Restoration magic over the last few months and I fear your injuries to be much more serious than they look. I've already given you three potions against venom, but I don't think it will be enough. The only thing we can do is wait and hope that everything will be alright. Meanwhile, you have to rest and avoid any effort".

Steinarius was suddenly upset by Agda's tone of command.

"I've been poisoned because of you, sweetheart", he reminded her. "Talk to me like that once again, and I may regret saving your life".

Steinarius didn't know why he'd said those words - he only knew that, as soon as she heard them, Agda had to bite her lip in order not to cry.

When he noticed her reaction, the Imperial was overcome by shame. There were a few downsides to being a werewolf, and behaving like a tactless mudcrab was definitely one of them.

Steinarius tried to apologize, but Agda immediately stopped him. After spending the whole night by his side, the girl was both shocked and saddened by his harsh comment.

"You're perfectly right, Steinarius", she said while fighting the urge to cry. "You've risked your life because I am a stupid, irresponsible girl who can't even swing a sword. I was just trying to be grateful and help you with your injury, but it looks like you don't need any aid. Therefore, I thank you for saving my miserable life and I give you permission to do as you please. If you do come down with fever, however, don't ask for my help".

And with those words, Agda abruptly left.

As Steinarius abandoned the warmth of the tent, a soft rain was falling over the surface of Lake Ilinalta.

The Imperial goofily clutched his furs to his naked body, then looked for Agda. The girl was sitting under a makeshift shelter at the corner of the camp and looked very tired and sad.

"Come in, Agds", Steinarius kindly told her. "You'll catch a cold if you remain outside".

When the girl pretended to ignore him, Steinarius sighed. He felt sorry for their little argument and had been deeply saddened by Agda's disdainful reaction. Sure, the girl had caused him to get injured, but she had also done everything she could to treat his wounds. Considering that she'd just found out that he was werewolf, that fact was really impressive.

Despite the rain, Steinarius walked up to Agda and sat down beside her. As he looked at her, he realized that her cheeks were completely wet. The Imperial couldn't tell whether the girl had been standing in the rain or whether she had just stopped crying.

"Agda, I didn't mean to offend you", Steinarius told her.

Spurred by those words, the young innkeeper finally acknowledged his presence.

"Of course you didn't mean to offend me", she snorted. "Every time you do something wrong, you justify yourself by saying that you didn't mean it. You didn't mean to strangle me either, did you?"

Steinarius cringed. He hated remembering how he'd tried to kill Agda, just like he hated being reminded about it. With a sigh, he realized that he was high time he explained her friend all the downsides of being a former Companion.

"Agda, what color are my eyes?"

The young innkeeper looked at the Dragonborn as though he had just lost his mind.

"What…"

"I wouldn't ask you this question if it weren't important".

For a long moment, Steinarius thought Agda wasn't going to answer him. Luckily for him, the girl eventually spoke.

"They're grey".

"Exactly. Now tell me: were my eyes grey when I snapped at you a while ago? And were they grey when I tried to kill you?"

Steinarius knew the answers to his questions, but he wanted to hear them from Agda's lips.

"No, they weren't", the young innkeeper said after a long moment of silence. "They were golden".

Steinarius nodded. Luckily for him, Agda was a very observant girl.

"My eyes change color whenever I feel the urge to shift into a werewolf", he explained her. "As a consequence, they become golden every time I'm angry, nervous or distressed. When my eyes aren't grey, I tend to snap at everyone and be much ruder than I normally am. It's one of the greatest downsides to being a werewolf: ever since you take the blood, you tend to lose control on some of your behaviors. That's why people like me usually live on their own".

"So, when you tried to kill me…"

"On that occasion I had just shifted back to my human form, just like tonight. Immediately after I change, I tend to become very aggressive. That's why I snapped at you a while ago and that's why I almost killed you all those months ago. I'm sorry, Agda, I really am. I never meant to offend you, let alone hurt you".

There was a moment of silence, then Agda uttered the question she'd been thinking about all night.

"How were you infected?"

"It's a long story, Agds".

"We have all night".

Steinarius looked at the girl. He could tell that she was slightly scared by him; yet, despite her fears and the many unfounded superstitions that surrounded werewolves, Agda was still by his side.

As he realized that, the Dragonborn decided to tell her the truth about his time with the Companions.

"I wasn't infected", he admitted. "I took the blood willingly".

Under Agda's astonished gaze, Steinarius revealed her the greatest secret of the Companions. He was sure she would never tell anyone about it - and even if she had, people would have taken her for mad.

Steinarius talked about his first transformation, about the powers the blood had granted him, about his constant struggle to control the least rational side of his mind.

"I was a very young pup when the older Companions admitted me into the Circle", he recalled. "I wanted to become stronger, therefore I took the blood without thinking twice. At first, I was happy - I became faster, my senses got sharper, my strength increased. After a while, however, my deal with Hircine started taking its toll.

"I would snap at everyone who angered me and I often behaved very violently. When I realized that my problems got worse when I didn't use my powers, I started hunting as a werewolf every single night. Unfortunately, that behavior only increased the strength of my inner beast. I got to the point where I couldn't focus on anything, as I was always thinking about the thrills of the hunt, or my more basic needs - fighting, eating, sleeping and coupling".

As he recalled that time of his life, Steinarius slightly blushed. He wasn't proud of the things he'd done after first taking the blood, therefore he never felt at ease when he talked other people about them.

"Luckily enough, the older Companions soon noticed that my personality had started to change; as a consequence, they immediately taught me how to control my powers. Thanks to them, I soon managed to find the perfect balance between my human side and my inner wolf.

"Unfortunately, two years ago I decided to join the Legion. As a soldier, I couldn't go out hunting whenever I wanted, therefore I stopped using my powers. Regrettably, that fact had me run out of practice: every time I shift into a werewolf now, I almost feel as bad as I did when I was an unexperienced pup".

Agda furrowed her brow.

"Werewolves are said to be allergic to silver", she muttered after a brief moment. "Is that the reason why you bought me a golden necklace on New Life Festival?"

Confronted with that unexpected question, Steinarius sighed.

Agda was definitely too observant for her own sake.

"That was one of the reasons, yes", he confessed. "Nevertheless, I also wanted to buy you something nice".

There was a long moment of silence, then Agda faced the topic every single werewolf dreaded to no end.

"What will happen once you die? I mean, will your soul go to the Hunting Grounds or..."

As Agda trailed off, Steinarius could tell that it had taken her a great effort to pose him such a personal question.

"I guess there's no way to know", he faintly smiled. "Not as long as I'm alive, at least".

There was another moment of silence, then Agda asked Steinarius whether he liked baked slaughterfish.

The Imperial deadpanned: he couldn't find the link between baked slaughterfish and the Hunting Grounds. Yet, as Agda showed him the huge slaughterfish she had killed a few minutes earlier, Steinarius understood the reason behind her question.

"This stupid thing was swimming along the shore while I was waiting for you to wake up", the girl sheepishly explained. "All of a sudden it started giving me dirty looks, so I killed it with a spell. Unfortunately, now I feel guilty for what I've done".

Steinarius burst into laughter - he had never thought that slaughterfish could give dirty looks and was very amused by Agda's guilty expression.

Unfortunately, the Imperial's enjoyment was short-lived: when he finally stopped laughing, a sudden feeling of nausea burst through his body. A second later, Steinarius bent forwards and coughed up the black, thick poison he'd been given a few minutes earlier.

Agda was quick to clean his mouth with a spell and place a hand on his shoulder. All of a sudden, the young innkeeper looked very worried.

"You'd better go back inside the tent", she said with an alarmed tone. "I'm afraid that we're in for a troubled night".

For once, Steinarius did exactly as Agda told him.