Kaiah wandered the streets of Whiterun looking for work. She knew there would be someone in need of a sellsword, but many of the people had better things to do than to pay her any attention. She looked like a foreign wanderer, with her mismatched leather armor and blue turban which she opted to wrap around her neck, one guard thought she was a wanted thug. Skyrim was a peculiar place and the locals were oddly suspicious of her.

She went into the local tavern, the Bannered Mare, and approached the innkeeper. She leaned against the bar table. "I'm looking for work. Got any leads?" The middle-aged innkeeper gave her a disappointed look, "sorry, none of the guards have come by and left any bounties."

"Dammit," the Redguard cursed. The innkeeper leaned forward and smiled, "You know if you're looking to sell your arm you could try the warriors at Jorrvaskr. I hear they're looking for new recruits."

Kaiah gave her a puzzled look, "Jorrvaskr?"

"It's the mead hall where the Companions live, the oldest building in the city. If you want to consider joining, speak to Kodlak."

Kaiah gave her a soft smile, "well thank you…?"

"Hulda-"

"Hulda! Thank you very much." Kaiah finished as she turned around and walked out of the tavern. The Redguard made her way up the stairs to the Winds District, where the wealthy, the temple of Kynareth, and Jorrvaskr resided. She couldn't miss it as she saw a large Nord war ship which appeared to be turned upside down to act as a roof for the hall. Two flags bearing Wuuthrad hung proudly in front of the stairs leading up to the glorious hall. Kaiah will admit she had never seen anything quite like it.

She walked into the mead hall slowly, taking in everything. She heard two people shouting from the left side of the hall and an older warrior rushing over to them. She looked over and saw a Dunmer man and Nord woman fist fighting near the corridor. She couldn't help but watch as she saw the Nord woman nearly beat the elf into Oblivion. The bystanders were encouraging the Dunmer to keep his hands up and fight back.

"Can I help you?"

Kaiah wanted to continue watching but was alerted by a tall auburn-haired Nord woman standing a few feet away from her with her arms crossed. She looked rather intimidating with Ancient Nord armor and gray warpaint smeared across her face. Kaiah could tell she was a deadly woman not to be crossed.

"I'm looking for a man named Kodlak." Kaiah said confidently.

"I'm assuming you're looking to join, huh? He'll be downstairs, down the hall straight ahead. You can't miss it."

"Thank you," Kaiah nodded as she walked past the Nord woman.

The Redguard walked through the living quarters of Jorrvaskr. Much larger than the hall above, there were many rooms for which the Companions resided. There were large rooms for the whelps to sleep in. One for the males, and one for the females. Further down the hall there were four smaller rooms which she could only assume were for the senior enlisted. Then at the end of the hall she saw the room that the female Nord warrior spoke of. The doors were already open and she saw two men who bore a full set of heavy steel armor, sitting at a table. They appeared to be having a conversation.

"I still hear the call of the blood…"

"I know. And it's our burden to bear."

"You have my brother and I, obviously. But I'm not so sure the others will go along that easily."

"Leave that to me…"

Kaiah couldn't help but overhear the conversation between the two men as she stood outside the doors, away from sight. She didn't want to intrude, but she was honestly curious about what they were talking about.

"A stranger comes to our hall."

She jumped slightly as she heard the oldest of the two men call out to her. She knew she was seen but was a little embarrassed that she was caught eavesdropping. However, the confident Redguard stepped through the doors with her chest in the air.

"How can I assist you?" the old man asked kindly.

Kaiah was amazed with the warrior's calm demeanor. She expected most Nord men to be brash and somewhat aggressive with their presence. But he was soft and gentle. She would be lying if she said she felt intimidated in his presence.

"I want to join the Companions." she spoke proudly.

The old warrior raised his brows, "Do you now? Let me have a look at you."

Kaiah felt the old Nord seeing through her soul as he looked her up and down. She felt his eyes piercing into her, "Yes, perhaps. A certain strength and spirit-"

"Master," the younger Nord warrior cut him off, "you aren't seriously considering accepting her?"

Kaiah glared at the seemingly arrogant man. He didn't seem to give her the time of day.

"I am nobody's master, Vilkas," the man corrected him, "and last I checked, we had empty beds in Jorrvaskr waiting to be filled with warriors with a fire in their hearts." He turned to Kaiah, "How are you in battle, girl?"

Kaiah crossed her arms, "I can handle myself."

"We'll see about that," Vilkas muttered.

"Vilkas," the young Nord cocked his head, "why don't you take the new blood out back and test her arm?"

Vilkas let out a disgruntled growl, "aye."

He sat up and walked past Kaiah. The old warrior ushered her to follow him and she did. She was hot on his trail as she followed him to the large training yard behind Jorrvaskr. It was a beautiful clear day and everyone was outside on the patio enjoying it. Vilkas picked up a nearby sword and shield and stood across from Kaiah. His steel armor was polished to near perfection and you could see the sunlight reflecting off his chest plate. His dark brown tousled hair fell just below his chiseled and stubble jawline. His dark warpaint around his silver eyes made him look threatening. His muscles could be seen bulging through his armor as he held the heavy steel shield. The man was sinfully handsome.

"Alright, the old man said to have a look at you," Vilkas exclaimed, "so hit me with all you got. Don't worry, I can take it."

Kaiah, still offended from the disrespect downstairs, "Here, I'll make it easy for you." She grabbed a steel dagger from a nearby weapon rack and held it in her right hand. Vilkas gave her a death glare, "You do best to know your place here. You're nobody here."

Kaiah scowled, "I think it's you who needs to be reminded of their place."

The Companions on the patio were shocked at the way Kaiah was speaking to Vilkas. He was a seasoned Companion. A Master of Arms. A member of the Circle. Nobody would ever dare speak to him in such a way. And yet Kaiah spoke with such confidence and demanded his respect. Vilkas, however, felt his rage building up every second he was spending with this insufferable outsider.

Vilkas charged first with his sword and shield. Kaiah stepped to the side quickly, evading his swing. He was fast, sure, but she was much faster. She kicked him from behind and almost knocked him to the ground. If he wasn't angry then, he would be furious now. Vilkas swung his sword and Kaiah deflected the blow with her dagger. She felt the blade form a dent from the force of his swing, and she admitted it hurt her shoulder when he did it. Kaiah was able to stagger him and she took the opportunity to swing at his steel chestplate. She didn't want to hit his skin. Vilkas bashed her with his shield and she almost fell. He went to swing again but she rolled out of the way and jumped on him from behind. She had her legs around his neck and dagger against his throat.

In a real battle, he would've been as good as dead.

"C'mon Vilkas!" one of the older Companions cried, "you're gonna let an outsider best you?"

Kaiah retracted her dagger and jumped down from his shoulders. A fuming Vilkas turned around to face her. "You sneaky little wench!"

"A wench who bested you," she corrected smugly.

Vilkas closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Never in his life had he felt so humiliated. Embarrassed in front of his comrades, his students. But he couldn't deny she was talented. Even if she was playing dirty. Even if she infuriated him.

"You might just make it," he said begrudgingly, "but you're still a whelp to us, new blood."

"So I'm in?"

"Must I repeat myself?" Vilkas snapped back. He gave her the sword that he dueled her with. "Take it up to Eorland to have it sharpened."

"I'm not your servant-"

Vilkas pointed his finger to her chest, "be lucky I'm even letting you stand after the shit you just pulled!"

Kaiah huffed as she saw the angry and rather disrespectful Nord stomp back into the mead hall. Everyone around him could practically see him fuming with rage. They all stared at the Redguard with disbelief. She honestly didn't know if it was a smart idea to challenge the warrior like she did. But she wouldn't tolerate disrespect from anyone, no matter how high and mighty they claimed to be.

She took the sword that she had in her and let it slip from her hand. The steel made a loud clattering sound as it hit the ground. Everyone in the courtyard turned around to look at her, including Vilkas. He saw his sword on the ground and he felt his body boil with anger. He marched over to her, "you threw my sword!"

Kaiah looked at him innocently, "oops, it must've fell from my hand…"

Vilkas bent down to pick up his sword, which was now chipped in several areas of the blade. He looked at her with fury in eyes, this whelp was testing his patience. He felt his anger seething through him, like he was going to explode any minute. The wolf inside him was growing restless by the second…

The older warrior came over, taking Vilkas' sword, "alright that's enough." He said sternly, handing the blade to Kaiah, "take it to Eorland and fix it. You pay for the damages."

She begrudgingly took his sword up to Eorland Gray-Mane. The man patted Vilkas on his shoulder, chuckling. "Calm yourself." Vilkas pulled himself away, snapping at the warrior, "I'm perfectly calm!" Coming up the steps to the Skyforge she saw an old Nord man pounding on some steel with a hammer. She approached him rather slowly.

"Excuse me."

Eorland turned around, wiping the sweat off his forehead.

Kaiah extended the sword to him, "I have Vilkas' sword. He needs it sharpened."

He took the sword and examined it, "gods, I just sharpened it two days ago. And what happened to the blade"

Kaiah looked at the ground with a guilty expression. He chuckled loudly, "sounds like you gave him hell."

"Not sure if around here that's a good thing," the Redgaurd admitted.

"It is," he assured her, "first impressions are always the most important, especially here."

"Well… that's good to know," she smiled softly, "anyways, I better get going."

"Wait," Eorland stopped her, "I have a favor to ask."

Kaiah nodded her head. Eorland continued, "I have a shield ready for Aela. My wife is in mourning and I need to get back to her. I'd be much obliged if you could deliver it to her for me."

Kaiah nodded her head, "of course."

Eorland grabbed a nearby steel shield and handed it to her. "Thank you."

Kaiah took the shield and made her way back to Jorrvaskr to find this woman named Aela. She wondered if it was the woman who greeted her when she first arrived at Jorrvaskr earlier. She made her way to the living quarters and tried to find this Aela woman. She overheard two people talking down the hall, a man and woman. She followed the noise and found herself outside of Aela's quarters.

She knocked on the door, "are you Aela?"

The man and woman speaking both paused and looked at her. The Nord woman grinned when she saw her with a shield. "Ah, you must have my shield?" Kaiah nodded and handed her the shield. Alea looked at her again, "You're the outsider that bested Vilkas? I heard you gave him quite the thrashing."

"Don't let Vilkas catch you saying that," the Nord man warned.

"Tell me," Aela inquired, "do you think you could take on Vilkas in a real fight?"

Kaiah shrugged, "I don't care much for boasting."

"Ha!" Aela laughed, "a woman that lets her action's speak for her. I knew there was something I liked about you."

"Farkas!"

Kaiah looked behind and waited for someone to magically appear in the doorway. And lo and behold she saw a tall, large Nord warrior appear from around the corner. There are a lot of Nords here, Kaiah had noticed. The man looked very familiar to her. His facial structure resembled much of Vilkas', except he had longer hair and was much larger. Kaiah would have thought they were twins with how much they looked alike.

"You called?" Farkas asked.

"Of course we did, ice brain," Alea snapped, "show this one where the rest of the whelps sleep."

Farkas looked over to Kaiah and smiled, "Oh? You were the outsider with Vilkas? He was pretty angry coming down earlier." Kaiah couldn't help but smirk. He had it coming, being disrespectful towards her. "C'mon, follow me."

Kaiah followed Farkas as they wandered the halls of the living quarters. Farkas spoke of the others she had already met. Kodlak Whitemane, the Harbinger; Skjor, his right hand man; Alea, the Huntress; and Vilkas, Master of Arms. Themselves, including Farkas, were all members of the Circle, a group of the most experienced and talented warriors amongst the Companions. Kaiah did not mind the others so much, except for the rude brute, and she was eager to learn from them.

"Well here we are," Farkas exclaimed, showing her the female quarters, "here's where the ladies sleep. You can pick a bed and fall in it when you're tired."

"Thank you."

"There's no more training today and supper will be soon. So you can eat upstairs or stay down here, it doesn't matter much."

"Thank you again, Farkas."

Farkas smiled, "Hopefully you join us upstairs. I'm sure the others are eager to meet you."

Kaiah smiled softly and nodded her head. Farkas took his leave and went upstairs to join the others. She went into the room and was surprised to see an old woman sweeping the floor. Kaiah jumped slightly. "Sorry, I didn't see you there."

The old woman smiled, "Don't mind me dear, I'm just the maid."

"I thought they cleaned for themselves…" Kaiah muttered under her breath.

"I don't mind." Kaiah was surprised when she heard her. "I've been tending to the warriors of Jorrvaskr for as long as I could remember."

"I'm sorry, I meant no disrespect-"

"It's alright dear," she assured her, grabbing a metal bucket of bloody rags, "if you're ever on the rag, you can throw them in here and I'll clean em'."

Kaiah gave her a shocked look, "I can clean my own rag…"

The woman assured her, "It's alright, I know you all can become awfully busy with your jobs and washing them is quite time-consuming."

"Well, thank you…"

"Tilma."

Kaiah smiled softly. "Tilma."

"Supper will be ready soon!" Tilma exclaimed as she walked out the room carrying the bucket.

Kaiah waited for her to close the door behind her and she was alone in the room. It was a large room with four wooden beds with furs with some dressers beside them. Farkas said she could pick any bed, but it appeared that two were already occupied judging by the clutter and decorations around them. She picked one of the empty beds and sat in it. She opened the drawers and saw there was nothing in them. She took off her knapsack and pulled out her clothes. She brought a red/orange linen dress with some brown leather shoes. Commoners' clothes but they were a much more comfortable alternative to sleeping in armor. Kaiah undressed and changed, putting on the dress and shoes. She placed the armor neatly in the dresser beside her bed and her boots at the end of it.

She heard a bell ringing from upstairs. She could only assume it meant that dinner was ready. She shoved her knapsack under her bed and made her way upstairs. Coming up she saw most of the other Companions already seated. Some she recognized but there were others she had never met before. She took an empty seat at the end of the table, next to a young woman with short, dark braided hair. The woman looked at her and smiled widely.

"You're the newcomer, right?" she asked with such excitement.

Kaiah smiled uncomfortably, "Yeah…"

"I'm Ria. I saw you out there with Vilkas today. That was amazing! I was in awe with how fast and elegant you were. You sure know your way with a blade!"

Kaiah chuckled softly, "I'm glad you think so."

Kaiah took a sip of her ale when she saw someone approaching her. He was a tall and lean man in leather armor. He had ragged blond hair and an unkempt beard. He looked like he was drunk off his arse. "The newest recruit! Right?" She cocked her brow as she looked at the man before her, unamused. "I saw you outside earlier. Ya know, you could do some of those moves on me anytime…"

Kaiah almost spit her drink out, "Excuse me?"

"Excuse Torvar," the Dunmer man behind him chimed, "he's a desperate drunk. Athis. And I heard you know your way with a short sword. Perhaps we can spar some time?" He was a shorter and much thinner dark elven man wearing hide armor that exposed his thin and hairless upper body. He had red hair that was tied in a high ponytail and he appeared to have white tattoos on his face. He appeared to be the only elf here.

Kaiah laughed, "Sure, I'd like that."

The rest of the Companions sat at the long table as Tilma brought their plates one by one. Kaiah was looking around the room, taking in the Nord architecture. She had never seen anything quite like it back in Hammerfell. Red banners lined the wooden pillars around the hall and the same red flags out front resided inside as well. The ceiling was withering and looked like it had some repairs done over the years. She did wonder how they were able to get a ship up there though.

She sat in relative silence as she ate, overhearing conversations from around the table. Tales of battles and affairs from around Skyrim kept her fairly interested. The way they spoke so proudly reminded her of her father. He always got lost in discussions about his adventures and various techniques. She supposed it was a Nord thing. And seeing everyone here reminded her of home, just a little bit. She had a feeling she was going to like it here.

And she hoped it would last for a long time.