Author's Note:

There is a perspective shift in the following chapter that I thought I should introduce a bit.

Bishop tells Aeyrin about what happened while they were apart for the few hours, but while she hears it from his perspective, you will see it from a different character's one. The shift comes very early in the story, Bishop's retelling is only used as a framing device here to help make the timeline obvious. It should hopefully be a smooth transition though :)

I hope you're all still enjoying the story and that you'll enjoy this chapter as well.

Thank you all for your continued readership. It means a lot to me :3

Chapter CIX – Cornered Prey

"Someone 'found' you?"

Aeyrin's brows creased in concern.

"How? You're always so careful." Did a patrol stumble onto him? He would never let that happen. Especially not now. Not when he had no other things to do but to actually hide and wait until it was safe. It would have been different if there was something going on, if he was distracted, but he was just alone with Karnwyr in the wilderness outside of the city. What could have happened?

"It wasn't exactly some… amateurs that found me," Bishop let out a sigh.

The second he knew that it was them, he knew he was in trouble. No matter what he thought about them, they were formidable opponents for certain. And formidable hunters.

With a bounty that size, it was no wonder that they went all out.

What he couldn't figure back then was just how they knew that he would be in the Hold at all. Even if they suspected Aeyrin from bringing him, they were onto him very shortly after she went to Whiterun. They couldn't have even spotted her in the city that fast. But now it all made more sense.

They waited for him. They knew he would come.

And he was luckier than he deserved to be after letting himself be found like that.

…

It was a good day. Good for a hunt.

She could smell it in the air. It always felt crisper, fresher. It wasn't just the peak of winter, it was something more. She could always feel it. Today would be a good day.

The Silver Hand got sloppy. Not just sloppy, they pissed her off. They ambushed her and Skjor on one of their own hunts. She loved going hunting just with him. They would run the Whiterun plains together by the moonlight, the winter wind caressing their manes. Prey was easy to find during the night hours. Bandit camps, marauders on the roads when the patrols were low. It was invigorating. And she especially loved it when they retreated in the morning hours into one of the caves by the plains to spend the rest of the time entangled with each other.

But a few nights ago, they ambushed them, right in the thick of it. Just when they had taken care of a small bandit clan occupying a mine north of Whiterun, the Silver Hand scum showed up. They thought that they would get them, tired after the battle. But even through all their own hunts, they still didn't learn not to underestimate the wolves.

They were slaughtered. Almost to the last. But one of them wavered. And she ran. Skjor followed while Aela took care of the rest and he was able to track the bitch down to one of their hideouts.

Sloppy.

Too bad Skjor couldn't join Aela to finish them off there today. The runner managed to wound him. It wasn't too serious, but he would be better off taking a break. She insisted on it. She wouldn't lose him to stupidity.

Fortunately he wasn't the only one willing to go with her.

As strained as their fights could get sometimes, the twins were still excellent partners on a hunt.

They headed out earlier than usual. They often hunted these scum at night, but now they would catch them off guard. Those ice-brains would never see them coming while it was still light out.

"Where's Farkas?" Aela raised her brow at her Shield-brother when he stepped out of Jorrvaskr to meet her by the sapling alone.

"Down at the farms," Vilkas smirked at her. "He went to see Gwendolyn again before the hunt."

Gwendolyn. Some farmhand working for the Battle-Borns at their farm. Farkas had been 'visiting' her for a while now. Aela could always tell when he came back from meeting her. He was practically grinning from ear to ear.

"Well, he'll be in a good mood," she chuckled. She couldn't really blame him. Nothing like a while of passion right before a hunt. Too bad Skjor was wounded. Not that wounded, but the gash on his abdomen made her hesitant to risk it. Still, he looked so pent up. Not just because of the lack of sex. It had only been a few days, but Secunda was waxing. Tomorrow the small moon would be full. Best night for a hunt. Maybe she could take him out for one. Smaller one. Safer one. It would be too cruel to deny him at least that. At midnight, when full Secunda reached its highest point in the sky for the first time in the night, she could feel it. The blood, flowing, boiling. It was like it was calling to her. It was when she felt most free.

"We all will, once we take care of this," Vilkas nodded. "He told me to pick him up when we're on the outskirts."

"Alright," Aela only nodded in response. "Ready?" She wasn't even sure why she asked. He had his armor and he had his claymore. Though those would be disposed of as soon as they reached their destination. Neither of them really needed to take anything with them for the battle. They just needed to get through the town and the plains without giving anyone any hint about who they really were.

They headed out together, past the sapling and towards the market. A few of the citizens nodded at them respectfully as they passed. And Lars Battle-Born stared at them in awe as they walked by the market stalls. Aela was starting to think that the kid was just hanging around there all day, hoping to see the Companions march towards their hunts.

Maybe he could be a good Shield-brother one day. But he definitely had to step up his game. Right now, that little milk-drinker couldn't even stand up to any other kids picking on him, from what she'd seen.

When they passed the market and headed down the main road towards the gates, her eye caught something in the distance.

It was Aeyrin's housecarl and that barmaid she was living with. It looked like they were hauling a bucket of water towards the side of the house.

"You think they're finally cleaning it off?" Vilkas scoffed as they continued to walk down the road. "About time."

"Why? I would just leave it there too," Aela shook her head. "What's the point in dignifying shit like that with extra work?"

"I don't know," Vilkas let out a sigh. "It's fucking disgusting anyway. No wonder the pup barely comes back here anymore when she has to deal with this. One stupid mistake and you're harassed for life, looks like. Just because that asshole duped her the whole time."

"He duped everyone," Aela growled. She couldn't help it, she still felt bitter. She liked him. It was rare to find a honed hunter like him outside of the Companions. There were many who boasted their skills, like Anoriath. He was lucky if he caught one rabbit a day. Word was that he had a supplier for the rest. Pathetic.

But not Bishop. She hadn't seen someone who could actually best her in a hunt in a long time.

And he just turned out to be a common bandit.

"Almost," Vilkas mumbled.

'Almost' what? Aela almost forgot what she had even said before, what he was reacting to, as she got lost in thought. 'Almost' as in: he duped almost everyone? What did he mean by that?

"What does that m-…"

"Shh!" Vilkas interrupted her quickly as he stopped in his tracks, holding his hand up to silence her. It took her a minute to realize why.

The women, now hidden from view behind Aeyrin's house, started talking.

"It won't come off," one of them complained.

"I can see that," the other sighed. "I don't want her to see though."

'Her'? Did she mean Aeyrin? Who else could she mean? Who else wasn't supposed to see that petty sign on the house?

So… Aeyrin was coming to Whiterun? That was good. Aela had been waiting so long. And she knew that Vilkas was trying to keep them away from each other. He was so transparent. And they argued about this all too many times. It never led anywhere. Aela was confident in her decision.

Vilkas visibly tensed at those words. He would try again, Aela just knew it. He would hog all of Aeyrin's attention again and he would try to drag her away on some small missions, just so that Aela didn't have the chance to get a moment of her time.

"How much time do we have again? We need something stronger. Maybe we can get some turpentine," one of the women pondered.

"Belethor won't sell to you, even if he has any," the other growled in annoyance.

"Maybe Carlotta will get it for us again. Aeyrin said she would come by in the afternoon, right?" the first woman asked.

Today? Aeyrin was coming today? That was good. Hopefully they would be able to come back from their hunt early. Maybe Aela could catch Aeyrin in the evening. Maybe Aeyrin would actually come to visit Jorrvaskr tonight too.

"Right. She'll definitely be here before nightfall. Maybe sooner. And then he's gonna come straight home after dark again, when it's safer."

Aela and Vilkas instantly shared a shocked look. It was almost involuntary. She didn't want him to know that she figured out immediately what that meant and he very likely didn't want her to know the same thing.

It could only mean one thing after all.

Bishop was coming to Whiterun. With a twenty-thousand-septim bounty on his head.

Bold.

It was a shock for multiple reasons. Aela had been convinced that Aeyrin did get duped. That she had no idea who she was dealing with. Who she was sleeping with. But now she wasn't so sure. Bishop was coming just when she was going to be there. They were clearly still together. Or back together. Whichever it was, it didn't matter.

Aela wasn't really sure whether she was disappointed or thrilled all of the sudden.

It was always thrilling.

The atmosphere changed entirely, the crisp air called to her and she caught Vilkas's expression once more. She knew that he was thinking the same thing right now.

Change of plans.

They were on a different hunt now.

And she knew that for this one, they weren't Shield-siblings anymore.

They were rivals.

…

"I can't believe she's still with him. What's wrong with her?" Vilkas growled as they neared the farms below Whiterun together. "He's a fucking bandit. Not just any bandit, the worst of these kinds of scum."

Aela often wondered what was up with his hatred of Bishop. Now it made a bit more sense. Bandits deserved to be wiped off the face of Nirn. Weak men, preying on the weaker.

But it wasn't just now. Vilkas always seemed to have a problem with him. And… granted, in the beginning, it didn't look very good. Aeyrin came to them with someone in tow. She barely spoke to that man and she acted cold towards him the entire time. But he still hovered around like a lost pup. And she never chased him away. Strange. It got stranger when they saw them the next time. When Bishop dragged Aeyrin to Jorrvaskr, helpless and sick. He spoke to Aela then, asking her to watch over Aeyrin while he looked for the cure for that strange sickness she had contracted. But he did barge in with her clinging to him as if for dear life and he did crawl into the bed of a barely conscious woman. When the only thing that Vilkas remembered was Aeyrin's previous coldness to Bishop, it was easy to make disturbing assumptions. But Aela talked to Aeyrin. She could see that she cared about Bishop. Anyone could see that, if not sooner, then after she was cured.

But Vilkas still seemed to be seething merely at the sight of the man.

Come to think of it, he didn't even seem that shocked when the truth about that bounty was revealed. Maybe it was just something he had expected from Bishop from the start.

Maybe he could read him better than Aela did.

She wished that it wasn't true. She really thought she found a good hunter, a good man. And she hoped that one day, he would relent and join the Companions as well. He was very adamant about resisting, but she still hoped to try and try until she wore him down.

But that was all before that bounty.

Fucking bandit. She still couldn't believe it.

"We won't get anything if we report his presence to the guards when he's in the city," Aela sighed, choosing to ignore Vilkas's incessant grumbling. Nobody was going to pay them this much money without an actual head or without the man in chains at least. She was still undecided on how she wanted to approach this. She knew how Vilkas wanted to approach this.

"No guards," Vilkas growled. "This kill is mine."

"Confident, aren't you?" she scoffed. "Your 'pup' won't let you anywhere near him if they're really still together. Which is likely."

"I know. We have to wait for her to approach the city and strike then," Vilkas nodded. Even though they were discussing the strategy together, Aela already knew that this would turn into a solo hunt soon after they started. It wasn't just the price on the head – they would share that with the others anyway. It wasn't just the glory either. Not this time. She could see it in Vilkas's eyes. He really wanted this kill.

And she still wasn't sure if she did.

But she did want to win this hunt.

"He'll be alone then," Vilkas continued. "He'll be waiting somewhere near. Near enough to be able to reach the city quickly at night. I wonder how he gets inside."

"Aeyrin will kill us when she find out it was us who did him in," Aela scowled. It was a valid concern. Aeyrin loved this man. At least she had before and it was likely that she still did. And she would find out when they claimed the bounty.

"She doesn't know that we know they're together again. Or still. She led us to believe that she was done with him. We're just doing our job. She can't hold that against us," Vilkas nodded with determination.

"You've obviously never been in love," Aela scoffed. As if any of that would matter to Aeyrin if Bishop was dead. Aela knew that all too well. If anyone ever killed Skjor, she would rip their heart out from their chest without a second of hesitation.

Vilkas only threw her a nasty glare, but he didn't say anything more. They've already reached the Battle-Born farm and they could see Farkas and Gwendolyn in the distance, embracing in a farewell hug.

Farkas spotted them the second they parted and he rushed towards them, already in his black armor and with his axes fastened to his flanks. Aela could practically see that grin of his from the distance.

"Ready to show those Silver-Hand bastards who they're messing with?" he smirked at them when he finally reached them by the road.

"Change of plans, brother," Vilkas nodded at him grimly. "The Thrice-Banished is in the Hold. We're claiming this bounty today."

"Really?" Farkas's eyes went wide at his brother's words. "Are you sure? Why would he risk that?"

Vilkas only scoffed at his brother's doubt. Sometimes his determination was a little scary. Aela knew that she would have her work cut out for her today if she wanted to claim this one herself.

Vilkas merely looked over the horizon, towards the city. His eyes were still narrowed with palpable hatred as he spoke again.

"Does it matter? The bandit scum dies today."

…

All three of them were ready.

They were waiting by the farms and, after an hour or two spent in silence, tense, they finally spotted Aeyrin in the distance. She was making her way across the road towards the city.

It was time. Bishop was alone now. Well… almost alone. And now was the best time for them to find him.

"Alright. This is it," Vilkas nodded with determination. "We should probably split up. Cover more ground that way."

Of course. 'Cover more ground'. They always played these games with Vilkas, never really saying what they meant. This wasn't to cover more ground. This was to claim the kill alone. To claim the glory. And for Vilkas, it seemed more personal. And Farkas would just do anything that Vilkas said, that ice-brain.

Maybe it was personal for Aela too. She wasn't sure anymore. She didn't care about the glory. Not with this one. Besides, it would only put her on Aeyrin's bad side. That was the last thing she wanted.

She just wanted to take this away from Vilkas.

And maybe… maybe she didn't really want this bounty at all.

She wasn't sure anymore. And it didn't matter. She just needed to find Bishop first.

"Me and Farkas will head out south. You take north," Vilkas pointed towards the cliffs in the distance. It was the first place with any hiding spots in the direction from which Aeyrin came. They would each approach from a different point, but they would still be searching the same area.

And of course 'split up' meant the two of them against her. She saw that coming. Vilkas would be more confident with his brother at his side.

The wolves wouldn't come out for this one. They couldn't risk it. Too open, too near the settlements and, if by any chance Bishop got away and saw them in that form, that would not bode well.

An old-fashioned hunt then. That suited Aela fine. She would enjoy the full moon tomorrow with Skjor instead.

Aela only nodded in response. She didn't wait anymore before she headed out towards the more northern road leading towards the cliffs.

Vilkas was confident, but she had a trick up her sleeve. Hopefully one that Vilkas wouldn't think of.

They were looking for a man, but that wasn't so simple. None of them had his scent memorized well enough to sniff him out easily. But Aela suspected that even without Aeyrin, Bishop wouldn't be entirely alone.

She didn't need to sniff out Bishop. She just needed to find a wolf.

Wolves didn't roam near Whiterun often. Some of the Companions thought that it was merely because they preferred the deep woods of the Rift and Falkreath. But she always thought that there was more to it.

This territory was already marked. By bigger and more dangerous wolves.

If one was nearby, it was likely that it wasn't a stray from a pack. It was likely that it was Bishop's wolf.

She rushed across the plains, it was pointless to dawdle – nobody would just be hiding in the tall grass there.

She made it to the cliffs soon enough and she quickly rushed up one of the landings there. She could already smell it. A wolf. She knew that it was there somewhere. She just had to focus. This wouldn't take long. But she knew that she had to hurry anyway. Vilkas and Farkas approached from the south – they should be in the general area already too, or at least they would be soon.

She passed a few cliffs, walking along the paths, but the second she could, she made her way off the trails. Bishop would not be anywhere near a road.

The scent of the wolf grew stronger. It wasn't the wolf itself, but it was still a lingering scent. Equipment? Bedroll? Anything of Bishop's would smell of the wolf too. She would have him soon.

It took her about twenty more minutes, but finally, she smelled something different.

Smoke.

She quickened her pace. Smoke was too telling. It would draw the twins in as well. She really needed to be fast here. It would be a challenge to track Bishop down for a regular hunter, but with their sharpened senses, finding anyone was all too easy. Maybe if Bishop knew what they were, he would have been more careful.

She climbed onto a small plateau on a rock outcropping. That was where she saw the campfire. It was extinguished a while ago, but a few coals were still a bit red. Bishop likely wasn't far.

This was a secluded place. He may have even been around. Maybe he only hid when he heard someone approach. It was very likely.

She should search the area. She could smell the wolf all around and the smoke was obscuring much, but she could have sworn that she faintly smelled a human as well.

She just couldn't concentrate on where the subtle scent was coming from.

She searched through the thickets, through the tall grass, but there was no more sign of him. No equipment left behind, no footprints.

He was good.

If it wasn't for the campfire, she would have never known that anyone was ever here. He probably didn't have the time to take care of that as well.

Maybe he left a while ago though. Maybe her senses were just confused by the smoke. It was a stronger scent than anything else. She couldn't see any sign of him at all. She must have made a mistake. She'd been searching this area for so long.

She should look elsewhere. She couldn't let Vilkas and Farkas get to him first.

But just as she decided and turned on her heel, a sound from above alerted her.

It came from a tree next to her. There weren't many trees around, but there were a couple of them on that plateau. It was a creak of the wood. Nothing unusual, but it did urge her to look up.

Yet she didn't even manage to look up. Another loud creak startled her and then an even louder snap.

Aela barely managed to jump out of the way when an old branch tore from the tree and fell heavily onto the ground in front of her. And tangled in its leaves was none other than the bandit.

She knew he was here. Why did she doubt her instincts?

"Agh, fuck," he muttered as he tried to untangle himself from the small branches holding him hostage. That fall looked like it hurt.

She didn't hesitate any longer though. She reached back and pulled out her bow, notching an arrow and pointing it straight at him. He would not get away from her now.

Bishop finally managed to free himself from the branches, but he didn't move further. How could he? She had him. She could let that arrow loose at any second. She could kill him at any second. That scum. He lied to her. He tricked her. He tricked all of them. He made her believe that he was a hunter, with honor. He was no different from the rest of the filth she devoured on her hunts at night, those that preyed on the weak and helpless.

Right?

"You're not gonna get my head off with that," Bishop snarled at her.

Funny. Any human would beg. Any human would make excuses. Not him. He was like a cornered animal. Lashing out.

She wasn't sure what to do.

The hunt was over.

She won.

But it wasn't that same feeling she got from hunting bandits. Not the hatred, not the desire to kill.

It really was like hunting an animal. If it was a deer there, caught in the branches, at her mercy, she would let it go. She would even help it on its feet. The hunt was done. She was done. Victory filled her and there was no need to claim an animal's life. Not when she showed it who was the hunter and who was the prey.

But this was a bandit.

She needed to decide.

But before she could, another sound caught her attention – rustling of leaves and snapping of small branches. It came from below the cliffs and some distance away, but when she heard it, she quickly concentrated on her senses instead, on what she could smell.

Wolves.

Not just wolves.

Werewolves.

It seemed like there was no time for decisions.

She lowered her bow one second and she grabbed Bishop by the wrist the next. She yanked him up to his feet, worried that he would yelp, that he would talk, but he made no sound. He looked shocked, but he apparently knew better than to say anything. He knew he was in danger.

She kept holding him firmly, making sure that he wouldn't escape her, but it didn't even seem like he tried. As she broke into a run, he followed. It was probably automatic. He probably didn't even realize that he should try and escape her. Or maybe he did think that he would be safer with her.

Good thing she knew this area like the back of her hand.

She rushed across the plateau and jumped down from one of the outcroppings. Bishop collided with her back in that motion painfully, but she didn't let it stop them. She ran forth, further and further to the east. She knew where she was going.

She stopped after a few minutes of constant running, right in front of a narrow crevice. She knew this cave well. Barely anyone would ever notice it. It was out of the way and the crevice was quite narrow, but she knew it was there. She had spent many a night there with Skjor after their hunts.

"Inside. Now," she hissed at Bishop. There was no way she was going in first. She wasn't letting him out of her sight. It was oddly invigorating that she didn't even hold any weapons brandished and he still obeyed.

She wondered if he thought about the same thing that she did.

About the fact that she won the hunt and no matter what, he had to admit his defeat now.

It was a tight squeeze, but no tighter than it always was for Skjor. The twins would have to probably at least remove their armors if, by some miracle, they found this place, those lummoxes.

When Bishop was finally inside, she followed. It was dark, the cave was only illuminated by a few glowing mushrooms, but she could still make him out there. He was standing there, still in shock and clearly uncertain about what to do.

Well, she knew what to do.

Her fist connected with his nose. Hard.

Damn, how she needed that.

"Fucking bandit!" she yelled at him while he staggered back from the blow. "What in the Void am I supposed to do with you now?!"

"Fuck!" Bishop growled back, but he didn't even try to punch her too. He just clutched his nose for a bit, wiping off some of the blood that sprayed over his upper lip. "I'm not a… fuck. Not anymore!" he snarled.

"You lied to us!" Aela snarled right back. "You lied to all of us. You played Aeyrin. Why should I let you go?!" She wasn't sure if she was asking him to convince her or… to just give her a valid reason. Because she wanted one.

Bishop blinked a few times and he stared at her in disbelief. "You… you're considering letting me go?" He looked at her as if she was insane. "It's twenty thousand drakes. You're a fucking bounty hunter!"

Are you trying to convince me to kill you, you ice-brain?!

"Shut up!" Aela spat at him. "You… you were… you were a fellow hunter," she gritted her teeth. She still wasn't sure how to explain. She used to respect him. And she wanted to again. She didn't want him dead. Not even for the money. And she definitely didn't want to piss off Aeyrin. "It… it meant something," she growled angrily.

It was dark, but she could have sworn that she saw his face soften a bit. His tone was certainly… calmer.

"I didn't lie to any of you. It's in the past," he shook his head regretfully. "And I didn't 'play' Aeyrin. She knew. Long before any of you did. I was a fucking kid when the bounties were made, Aela. You think it's easy to get away from that life?"

No… it probably wasn't. But… that didn't excuse… she… she didn't really even know what. Has he ever done something? She knew that he was a kid on that bounty. Vilkas told them stories about the Thrice-Banished clan after this shit came to surface but… it didn't mean that it was Bishop himself doing those things.

Still…

"A real hunter finds a way to escape captivity. A real hunter would chew their own foot off rather than be caught," she barked at him.

"I did," Bishop scoffed. "What the fuck do you think I'm doing here? Banditry at the Dragonborn's side?"

Well… fair point. That probably wouldn't go over very well. People would catch on.

Some people in Whiterun pinned every theft in the city on the dreaded Thrice-Banished ever since the Jarl declared that Bishop was one of them. But she herself knew that for most of these, Bishop wasn't even anywhere near Whiterun. Everyone was just spinning tales.

"Vilkas and Farkas will not forgive you," Aela let out a sigh.

"I don't ca-… wait, what the fuck?!" Bishop scoffed. "What the fuck for?! I never did anything to any of you!"

"You were let into our home, into our lives, and you kept this from us," she scowled. He should have told her.

"What? I was just supposed to tell the fucking guild of bounty hunters that there's a twenty-year old bounty on my head worth this much? A real fucking hunter isn't suicidal! A real fucking hunter doesn't turn himself into an easy prey."

"I don't know!" Aela threw up her arms in the air. She understood his reasoning, but she still felt kind of betrayed by all this. And clearly so did Vilkas. She had rarely seen him this bloodthirsty out of his wolf form. "Vilkas definitely wants you dead."

"Yeah, what else is new?" Bishop scoffed, folding his arms across his chest.

"What?" Aela threw him a curious look. He didn't even tell her to try to talk to Vilkas or anything. It looked like he expected her Shield-brother to be this hateful. Though granted, they never really liked each other, but still.

"He tried before. And not after the bounty shit. He tried the first chance he got. Why would he stop now when he could get money for it?" Bishop rolled his eyes.

Vilkas tried to kill him? When? Aela knew nothing about this.

She had wondered for a while why Vilkas was so… invested. At first, she thought that he just liked Aeyrin. Calling her 'pup' all the time and all that. But then… they barely saw each other sometimes. And he still had such contempt for the man at her side. One would think that if it was some infatuation, he would have gotten over it by now. This seemed like something else.

"Why?" Aela scowled.

"How the fuck should I know? Maybe he wants to fuck Aeyrin. I don't really care about what he wants though," Bishop snarled.

Well… that theory was kind of obvious, but Aela no longer thought that it was the right one. But Bishop clearly had no more information for her about this.

"So… 'fellow hunter'," Bishop narrowed his eyes at her after a moment of silence. "Do you want to kill me? What happens now?"

"Yes. I fucking want to kill you," Aela growled at him. "I also want to do this again," she clenched her fist and swiftly punched him once more, now below his eye, making him stagger and grunt in pain. It was satisfying. She just… dammit, she was probably just angry at herself. Maybe she was angry at letting that kind of money slip by her. But she never really cared about that. She cared about the hunt, but she won that. Her prey was here, cornered and at her mercy. It was over.

Maybe she was angry that she had to make this decision at all.

But did she? The entire time she was competing with Vilkas, it felt like the decision was already made. This hunt wasn't for the glory. It was for Bishop's life. And she won it for him.

"Now?" she sighed. "Now you will be more careful. I don't want to catch you again, understood? It's a shit-ton of money and the guild could use it."

Bishop still looked surprised at her words, even though it must have been obvious that she wouldn't actually kill him.

"I… I will tell them I won."

"'Won'?" Bishop scowled at her.

"The hunt. I caught you first. The twins are hunting too, you know? But I won and I get to decide what happens to you," she explained.

"And what happens to me?" he still looked wary, but at the same time, kind of relieved.

"I will tell them that I decided you should live. And that I decided not to piss off the Dragonborn. That I helped you escape. And that you're nowhere near the Hold anymore."

Bishop stayed silent. He didn't look too happy about her decision and she knew exactly why. But it was only a cover anyway.

"And you will stay right here until nightfall, understood? Nobody can know you're still here. And you will make sure nobody sees you get inside the city," she narrowed her eyes at him.

"How do you know I even want to go inside the city?" he gave her a wary look. Fair question.

"Ugh, me and Vilkas overheard those two women from Aeyrin's house talking. That's how we knew you were in the Hold. And that you're still with Aeyrin," she shrugged.

"So you're letting me go to the city? Why? So you can tell the guards I'm there?" he growled.

"No, ice-brain. We tell the guards, we get nothing because we didn't 'catch' you. If I really wanted the money, I would have your head by now," she scoffed. "I want you to go to the city, go to Aeyrin, and give her a message. It's been long overdue."

"Your meeting?" Bishop raised his brow at her.

"Oh. You know about that? Good," Aela nodded. Aeyrin had always slipped through her fingers somehow. Always called off on an emergency or distracted by Vilkas's schemes. It was time to get what Aela had wanted for so long. She would make such a fine hunter. One of them.

"Tell her to come tomorrow. An hour before midnight," Aela continued. That would be perfect. The hunt could start just when the full Secunda was high then. "I'll send her a note too, but I want you to actually get her to go and not to run off again. If you left the Hold, I'm pretty sure she would disappear on me once more."

"Yeah, that's likely," Bishop smirked. "And I hope you realize that if you actually send anyone to that house, or if one of your murderous friends do, it won't be pretty."

"I'm aware," Aela sighed. She wasn't planning on it in the slightest. Not only did she not want Bishop dead, but she knew that if something like that happened, Aeyrin would defend him with everything she got. Even if it meant that neither of them could ever show their face in Whiterun ever again. It was not an option. It was why Aela needed to convince Vilkas that Bishop had escaped. "I will make sure that you're safe from us. The rest is up to you."

"Are you… serious?" Bishop shook his head in disbelief. He still didn't trust her, but that was fine. She didn't need him to trust her right now.

"It pisses me off that you were one of those scum," she growled. "But… you aren't now. Now you are a… fellow hunter. And I bested you," she smirked at him.

"Huh. True. You did," Bishop smirked back at her. Finally he didn't look so guarded. "First time too, huh?"

"Piss off," Aela chuckled.

"It was a fucking coincidence though, so you better remember that. Stupid tree," Bishop grumbled. "But… you did find the camp. That was pretty impressive."

"I know," Aela grinned back at him. And more importantly, she bested Vilkas.

"Stay here. And don't forget to tell Aeyrin how nice I am," she winked at him after a moment of silence. She suspected that Vilkas had been feeding Aeyrin some lies to keep her away. This should earn her trust.

Bishop nodded in response. He would be stupid to leave this perfect hiding place anyway.

Now she just needed to make it convincing. To make sure that Vilkas had given up.

But that was going to be easy.

After all, the hunt already had its clear victor.

…

"So she didn't want to claim the bounty?" Aeyrin looked at Bishop in surprise. "When I talked to her the last time, she sounded like she wanted nothing more." It was surprising, but she was definitely inclined to trust Aela more now. She was definitely grateful to her for sparing Bishop's life, despite the enormous price on his head.

"Yeah. She had so many opportunities to kill me back there," Bishop nodded. He never really liked the Companions – that was no secret. But… he still always felt this… bond with Aela. She was the least annoying one of them for sure, but there was something more to it. Maybe it was the whole 'fellow hunter' thing. He wasn't sure.

"Vilkas said that she wanted to talk to me at that meeting because she wanted to convince me to lure you here," Aeyrin's brows were still creased a bit as she pondered on everything that Vilkas had told her ever since this bounty came to light.

"That's obviously not true. She had her chance," Bishop scowled. "And I told you, you shouldn't trust Vilkas."

It sounded like Bishop was right all along. It sounded like he was right about Vilkas trying to kill him back in those ruins ages ago too. It made Aeyrin's stomach clench uncomfortably. She always liked Vilkas, she thought he was her friend. But… she also always knew that he had a beef with Bishop, even though she had no idea why. And she knew that he couldn't be trusted about anything that involved Bishop.

"It… sounds like it's what I thought in the first place. Maybe she really does just want me in that Circle of theirs," she smiled weakly. It was nice, in a way. But she still felt bitter about the fact that Vilkas had fought so hard against this. Why? Because she was an elf? He made quips about her race often enough for her to think that.

"Yeah, probably," Bishop smiled. "Is that something you want?"

"I don't see why not," Aeyrin chuckled a bit. It wasn't a big deal, really. Nothing would change. But it was nice to feel wanted in that Circle of theirs. By Aela at least.

She still felt uncertain about the twins and how they would react to all of this, but she was so angry at them just then. Aela was able to look past the bounty, to see that Bishop was not a bandit anymore and to see that the bounty was unfair. Why couldn't they?

In any case though, there was no harm in seeing Aela. They could talk this over. She could finally tell her what Vilkas was doing, why he didn't want her in the Circle. If this was what it was about, but she couldn't imagine what else it could be.

She would just have to wait for tomorrow.

Until then, at least she had Bishop here, safe and sound. Even if he was a little worse for the wear.

But that was an easy fix.