"I am done!"
Saadia sighed as she threw her cards back on the table again.
"It's just not fun to keep losing when I'm not even losing my clothes," she smirked. Lydia had been winning all night. Sometimes Bishop or Saadia managed to win one, but it wasn't often. It was really weird how good Lydia was, but they kept mocking her that it was just beginner's luck.
"Fine, fine," Lydia chuckled at her before she took another swig from her tankard. They've been playing for a long time anyway. Aeyrin had been gone for more than an hour – already well into her ceremonies and celebrations without a doubt.
It was getting a bit late though and Saadia and Lydia seemed to be getting tired. Saadia had said that she worked the night yesterday so she probably didn't get much sleep.
"It's fine if you wanna go to sleep, I don't care," Bishop smirked at Saadia's unsubtle attempt to hide a yawn. "She's probably still gonna be there for a while, celebrating."
"Maybe we should," Lydia nodded while she ran her hand over Saadia's shoulder briefly, as if in quiet understanding of her state. "We can go camping somewhere again next time again so that you don't have to risk… what happened."
"Or maybe you'll be inviting us to a housewarming next?" Saadia winked at him conspiratorially.
"Hardly," Bishop smirked. "That won't be for a while yet, I think." He didn't want to tell Aeyrin about the cottage just yet. Not when so much was still going on. Not when it could just turn into a target for the Brotherhood – a place where they could always wait for them and find them. It was supposed to be a safe space for them, not a trap.
"Well, whenever that is, we will definitely…" Lydia started to talk again with a warm smile on her face, but a loud crash coming from outside interrupted her.
They all looked at the door and even Karnwyr perked up in his spot by the fireplace, but nothing else followed for a while.
But suddenly, Karnwyr started to whine. He was letting out low whimpers before he actually started to growl, eyes fastened on the door.
"What's wrong?" Bishop scowled at him. Was there an intruder? Someone trying to get inside? He didn't hear anything, but Karnwyr maybe did. Bishop wasn't sure if he should hide though or do something else. What that 'something' should be, he had no idea.
There were a few strange very muffled grunts heard from the outside, but that was it. But just then, Karnwyr began barking angrily at the door.
He was loud.
Bishop had no idea what could be on the other side, but he couldn't let Karnwyr get so riled up here. If someone heard barks and growls from inside, they might figure out that Bishop was here. They probably all knew that Lydia and Saadia didn't have a dog and neither did Aeyrin come in with one.
He got up from his seat and approached the wolf tentatively. It was not a good idea to startle him when he was riled up like this, so Bishop spoke first before he got anywhere actually near.
"Hey, what's going on? Calm down." He knelt by Karnwyr and started to slowly rub him behind his ear to calm him down. The wolf barked again though and Bishop had no idea how else to calm him. This was too risky. He grabbed Karnwyr around the torso and dragged him back, into the adjacent room. The wolf was reluctant, always growling angrily at the door, but he didn't really put up a fight either and let Bishop get him further away. Funny, Bishop could have sworn that the wolf even looked… scared.
Karnwyr allowed himself to be pushed into the other room and he only let out a low whine at Bishop in response to his actions. He was much calmer now though.
"What the fuck was that? Did you smell something? Through that smoke?" A deep crease formed between Bishop's brows. It wasn't impossible, though very unlikely, for him to smell something despite the smell of the smoke from the fireplace and despite the closed door.
"Maybe a dog ran by?" Lydia suggested.
Maybe. But Karnwyr didn't tend to get like this around dogs. Not even other wolves. He was usually much more composed and wary, even if he had the upper… paw for certain.
Karnwyr continued to whine softly, but he gave Bishop no indication at all about what could be wrong. He didn't know what to do. He usually knew instantly what was wrong with Karnwyr, but this time he was acting so unusual.
Bishop didn't get to ponder on it for too long, however, as another sound made it past the walls of the house.
A terrified scream.
"Alright, what's going on?" Saadia scowled and rose from her seat as well. She marched towards the window by the door and peered outside, but as they waited with bated breaths for her report, she only turned back with a disappointed sigh. "I only saw a guard rushing by."
"The scream sounded like it came from the markets," Lydia pointed out. It did. It was pretty distant but still loud enough to reach them here.
"Right. I'll go check," Saadia nodded with determination.
"What?! No! We don't know what that was!" Lydia shook her head vehemently.
"Relax. Guards will be there. I'll just check real quick," Saadia smirked, and before Lydia could protest, she was out of the door.
"I… I should have gone," Lydia sighed. "At least I have some fighting training."
"She doesn't seem like someone who can be talked out of dangerous shit," Bishop smirked at Lydia. Saadia did have a point, guards would surely be there by now, it wasn't really dangerous, at least he believed as much. But he did find it somewhat amusing that Lydia had to deal with Saadia's brash decisions in the same way he had to deal with Aeyrin's.
Still, this situation made him oddly uneasy. It could have been just some drunken shit caused by the locals, but Karnwyr's reaction made him feel like it was more. He was still whining softly, as if he was scared and unsure what to do.
And it pissed him off that he couldn't go out and check himself.
Fortunately, it only took several minutes before Saadia came back. She looked unharmed, but she did seem disappointed.
"I didn't really find out anything," she huffed. "There was a small crowd of us, trying to see what was going on, but the guards were blocking the marketplace and they wouldn't let us look. They wouldn't tell us anything either. I did catch a glimpse of something though… there was someone on the ground. I couldn't see if he was dead or just passed out drunk or something."
"With guards blocking the scene, he was likely dead," Lydia sighed. It was a safe assumption.
"'He'?" Bishop asked. Saadia had obviously seen something.
"A Redguard. Definitely a man, but that's all I could tell from afar. I… I think it was Amren," she lowered her eyes at that.
"Who's Amren?" Bishop wasn't sure if he really cared, he just wanted to know what happened. And why Karnwyr was still whining. Was there something or someone out there on the streets, endangering people? What if there were more dead? What if something happened to Aeyrin?
"He's a local, father to a little girl," Lydia explained.
"A little brat," Saadia scoffed in response.
"Is that really important?" Lydia sighed. Brat or not, the girl had likely just lost her father.
"Fuck… maybe if I'm careful, I can…" Bishop muttered, mostly to himself, but Lydia clearly heard him.
"Bishop, no! You're not going out there," she scowled. "The guards are on alert now, you can't."
"I'm sure Aeyrin is still at Jorrvaskr, Bishop. It hasn't been that long. Relax," Saadia gave him an encouraging smile. It must have been obvious what he was worried about.
Saadia had a point though. And maybe it was just some drunk. He shouldn't be risking his head, literally, for something like this. Aeyrin was surely still celebrating.
He should relax. And so should Karnwyr. Why was he still so rattled?
"We should really head to bed already," Lydia let out a defeated sigh. "You're not gonna do anything stupid, are you?" she scowled at Bishop preemptively.
"No. I'm not risking that," he sighed as well. It would have been so stupid.
He sat down by Karnwyr and continued to stroke his fur soothingly to calm him down a bit. Lydia and Saadia still looked at him in concern, but he waved his free hand dismissively as he spoke again.
"Go. I'm sure Aeyrin will be back soon."
…
Bishop rolled around on the bed with a frustrated sigh.
It had been at least three more hours. Where was she?
With not much to do alone downstairs, he took Karnwyr with him to the bedroom and tried to at least get a little rest before Aeyrin showed up. It was better than just waiting and worrying.
That didn't really work. He took Karnwyr along because he felt guilty leaving him there constantly whining like that, but it only kept him up. Well… that wasn't fair, it wasn't really Karnwyr keeping him up. He just couldn't help himself. He kept glancing at the moon behind the window, wondering how long has it been, how long could it take. He kept thinking that he might fall asleep and miss the moment when she came back, even though she would have obviously woken him up.
But it was getting so late. He didn't have that much time before the sunrise anymore and Aeyrin knew that. She wouldn't dawdle this much, for his sake alone.
He couldn't take it anymore. He had to find out what happened there with that dead guy. Or drunk guy, whichever. He needed to know if Aeyrin was really just lost in the celebrations.
He pressed himself against Karnwyr briefly, ruffling his fur a bit before he got up from the bed.
He put his shirt back on and marched straight to Lydia's room.
The girls were asleep, curled on the tiny bed together. He didn't really believe them when they claimed that they never slept on the large bed in the main bedroom. Who would sleep like this all the time when there was a better, empty alternative right there? But that wasn't important just now.
He knelt down by the bed, with Lydia closer to him, snoring loudly, and he began poking her bicep incessantly.
"W-wha?" Lydia woke up almost instantly. Thank the fucking gods. At least she wasn't as heavy a sleeper as Aeyrin. She blinked a few times, startled when she saw a face in front of her, but she gathered her wits soon enough. "Uhm… most people knock, you know?"
"Oh please, like you would have heard that over your snoring," he smirked. The snores of drunkenness usually weren't really quiet. "And what's the big deal? I've seen priests more scantily dressed than this," he gestured to her clothes visible under the furs. If she was worried that he would walk in on something like she had before, it was definitely not justified. It would probably take Saadia a whole day to strip her. Wasn't she a Nord? How could she sleep in two tunics and those thick trousers?
"What time is it?" Lydia ignored his comment and blinked a few times again. "You're still here?"
"I am. But Aeyrin isn't. It's been hours. I need you to go find out what happened," he narrowed his eyes. He still had no way of finding out for himself. He needed someone who could talk to people, since he knew that the streets were quiet ever since. There was no more noise breaching their walls.
"Now?" Lydia whined.
"Yes, now. It's like three in the morning. We need to leave before sunrise, remember?" he growled impatiently, though he did feel kind of bad a second later for being so demanding when she was clearly either still drunk or already hungover. "Please," he sighed.
"Alright," Lydia nodded. He promptly left her to get out of bed and at least get some boots on and waited downstairs. Saadia didn't even wake up the entire time he was in their room. She must have been really tired.
Lydia was ready soon and she left right away. Bishop stayed downstairs, just… pacing he had no idea what to do with himself. Karnwyr came down afterwards too, still whining, and Saadia woke up too in an empty bed and she came down to ask what was going on. They knew nothing, however, not while Lydia was still gone.
It took about a half hour before Lydia finally came back. Fuck, she looked kind of crestfallen.
"There are only guards out there, nobody wanted to talk to me," she sighed dejectedly. "But then I saw one of my friends from the guard and she told me. Apparently there was… an attack. A few people saw some kind of… beasts out of their windows, running through the town. They don't know how many or what kind of beasts they were. But… two people are dead. Amren and a gate guard. They were… mauled."
"'Mauled'?" Bishop cringed. What the fuck happened? What were these 'beasts' and how the fuck did they get into the city? Was that why Karnwyr was so rattled?
"Yes. Mauled," Lydia sighed again. "I… I went to look around Jorrvaskr. I didn't go in but… it's quiet. There's definitely no celebrations going on inside."
Fuck. What happened? Did the Companions see the attack? Did they follow those beasts? He couldn't explain it any other way.
But he had to find Aeyrin. He had no idea where she could have ended up or how dangerous these beasts were.
Bishop only nodded at Lydia with determination. He didn't have much time to lose. Fuck, he should have acted right away. He knelt down by Karnwyr and got his attention again by rubbing his head briefly.
"You need to find out where Aeyrin went," he gave him a meaningful look. "You need to be careful. Nobody can see you, understood?"
Karnwyr let out a quiet bark of affirmation before he whined a little again. He was probably scared of the beasts, but they couldn't still be in the city. There would be more dead and the guards would have seen something, as alert as they were.
Bishop went over to the back window and opened it wide for Karnwyr.
"No risks. Just find out if she left the city. Find out if she was by the gates," he nodded. The gates were close, it wouldn't put Karnwyr into much danger.
He was never really sure if Karnwyr could actually understand him, but he knew that he understood it when Bishop said Aeyrin's name at least. He would know what to do and he was smart enough on his own not to take any risks.
With another quiet bark, Karnwyr jumped out of the window. Bishop could hear no more whines once he was outside – the wolf knew when to be quiet.
"You think she left?" Lydia looked at him in concern.
"Where else would she be?" Bishop growled. "If there was an attack, the Companions probably tried to follow those beasts, whatever they were."
They all stayed silent in contemplation after that, but it didn't take Karnwyr very long at all to come back. The second he got inside and Bishop shut the window again, he started whining once more, much more desperately now.
What the fuck was going on with him?
"Where's Aeyrin?" Bishop let out an impatient grunt. He had such a bad feeling about all of this.
Karnwyr only whined again and he shuffled a little closer to the western wall, pointing his maw at it and whining again.
That was the direction of the gates.
Fuck!
Well, that was all what Bishop needed to know. If by any chance Aeyrin was still in the city, she would come back eventually and then leave to look for him outside. But if she wasn't, he needed to find her now while he could still leave. He couldn't wait for tomorrow, no fucking way in Oblivion.
"Fuck," he muttered to himself before he turned to Saadia and Lydia again. "We're going. We need to find her."
"'We'?" Lydia looked at him eagerly. She looked ready to help the search, but that was not what he meant. As much as he would like to have someone around, he couldn't watch over the two of them too and risk getting discovered more. And they were not as experienced in the wilderness as he and Karnwyr were, they would slow them down. He couldn't afford that right now.
"Me and Karnwyr. You two stay here. It's possible she's still in the city, but if not, I need to find her," he nodded determinedly. "If she comes back, tell her what happened. Tell her to meet me at the hunter's rest at night."
"Alright," Lydia almost whispered that. Fuck, she looked really scared. And so did Saadia. It made him feel oddly guilty again.
"It's gonna be fine," he sighed. "She just went chasing after beasts, nothing new," he gave them a weak smile. "I just gotta leave now, I don't have much nighttime left. You should just go back to sleep."
"Can you at least give us a message that you're both alright?" Lydia gave him a defeated look.
"Sure. I promise," he nodded. He really hoped that he would be able to keep this promise. But to make sure of that, he really needed to leave now.
Wherever she was, he was going to find her.
…
Aeyrin couldn't see anything.
She couldn't even breathe. What was happening? She felt so… wrong. She felt so different. She felt so sick.
There was a strange and coppery taste in her mouth that raised the bile in her throat. She couldn't make sense of anything else. She just felt cold and sick and scared. She could feel freezing grass underneath her knees and hands. She felt wind assaulting her. She knew she was naked and she knew she was outside, but her vision was blurred as she kept gasping for breaths. Every bone in her body ached.
She couldn't take it anymore. The taste was unbearable. She heaved and gagged violently a few times before the contents of her stomach forced themselves up and she threw up onto the ground, wherever she was.
It took her a few minutes to calm her body down. Her eyes were filled with tears, but she was slowly starting to see the shapes around. She still felt that taste, now worse than before. And she still felt like everything was just… so wrong.
What happened? Did that really happen? She remembered nothing. She just remembered the cave and the blood. Then nothing. But she could see the light and the grass where she was. Tall trees all around her.
Did they really do this to her? Was she really… one of them? A monster? How could they do this to her? Why would they do this to her?
This was it. It was done. It was over. Her life was over.
She felt panic overwhelm her again and she scurried ahead on her hands and knees. She felt unstable all of the sudden. She managed to make out a nearest tree and she quickly pressed herself to it, leaning her back against it as she curled herself into a protective ball.
Why was this happening?
How did she get here? Was she really… turned? Did she run here as that… horrible beast?
She started to sob violently again. She couldn't help it. She didn't know what else to do. Nothing would ever be the same. Nothing would ever be how she imagined.
She wasn't an elf anymore. She was something she never even dared to imagine. They were monsters, everyone said so. Vuaerion said that there was no humanity left in them. At all. Would she be like that? Would she just want to roam the wilderness and kill?
She couldn't take this. She just wanted it all to stop. She just wanted to go back to the city, to go back to Bishop and pretend that none of this had ever happened.
Bishop.
What would happen now? When would she turn into that thing again? When would she hurt him? Did she hurt people in that state? She didn't remember, but why did she feel that taste in her mouth?
Her hand went to her neck desperately to find the Bishop's ring around her neck. It was still there. Both her amulets were still there. Maybe the chains were long enough to survive that… transformation. Her undergarments and armor certainly didn't survive. But this was more important. At least she still had this.
Maybe the only thing she would have left of him now.
She curled into herself and her sobs turned even more violent. She couldn't stop. She even heard the rustle of grass and footsteps approaching from the distance, but she couldn't stop anyway. She didn't even care. Nothing mattered anymore, she couldn't turn back. This was forever.
The footsteps got closer, but she still didn't look up. She didn't want to. She couldn't deal with anything, anyone. She just wanted it all to stop.
"There you are!" Aela's familiar voice rang in her ears. It made her so angry, seething, but she still couldn't stop crying. Why did that bitch sound so happy? Like Aeyrin wasn't curled there like a complete wreck down by her feet.
"You went really feral on us there," Aela chuckled a bit. Was this a joke or something? She didn't understand what was happening anymore.
"We knew it would be intense, with the moon and the Dragonborn thing, but damn." Another familiar voice. Skjor. He sounded just as pleased as Aela. "Impressive. You'll make a strong hunter."
Hunter?! She was a monster!
"And did you see?" Aela chuckled. Aeyrin blinked enough to catch a glimpse of Aela pointing at her, but she had no idea what this was about. Why couldn't they just leave her alone? She couldn't take this right now. Why did they sound so casual? "What a sight to remember. A werewolf with a Stendarrite symbol around her neck," Aela laughed.
What? This was a joke to her. Aeyrin instantly remembered how Aela had been fascinated by Aeyrin's faith before. How she was even disappointed that Aeyrin wasn't a paladin. Gods, she just wanted to ruin a Stendarrite in the worst way possible? Was this why they did this to her?
"True," Skjor smirked. "We got ourselves a very unique Shield-sister."
Aeyrin heard some noise again and then she felt him closer to her, kneeling by her. She instantly felt like she did back then – like when he held her down and submerged her into that blood. It made her want to throw up again – she wasn't sure if it was still that taste, his presence, or the memories. "It's just the shock," he spoke to her with a calm tone in his voice. "It's normal."
'Normal'?! Nothing about this is 'normal'!
"It will pass," he continued to soothe her and she felt his hand near her head, as if to stroke her hair, but she instantly flinched away. Luckily he didn't try again. "Do you feel the power in your veins? It only gets better. I guarantee you, you'll never feel weak again."
Liar. She felt weak right now. She felt destroyed.
"How are you feeling, love?" Aela's voice rang through the air again and at her words, Skjor finally straightened up and approached her once more. Gods, Aeyrin felt so relieved that he was further away from her. Not enough to fix anything though. She had never felt this bad in her entire life, no matter what. Why were they still acting like they did nothing wrong?!
"Better than ever," Skjor chuckled.
"Oh really?" Aela smirked. "Are you feeling up for another hunt? I'm feeling… invigorated."
"Always." Even though Aeyrin couldn't see them, she could hear the grin in his voice.
"Come on, Aeyrin, get up," Aela ushered her. "You remember the Silver Hand?" She did remember. She almost forgot, but now she remembered. Farkas once told her that they were a guild, intent on killing the Companions. Their rejects, he said. Lie. They were just werewolf hunters! Ridding the world of monsters.
Monsters like her.
"They have a hideout nearby that we still owe a visit to," Aela continued. "Let's go."
Aeyrin finally looked up and she weakly cleared the tears from her eyes. It didn't do her much good, new ones streamed out right away, but she could at least see better. Aela and Skjor were both looking at her expectantly with excited expressions on their faces. They were both completely naked, but they didn't seem bothered by it in the slightest. And quite frankly, that was the least of Aeyrin's worries just now.
"What? Y-you… how can you…" she sobbed again. She couldn't even get the words out. How could they be like this? They really didn't feel human just then.
"Oh," Aela's face fell a bit at the sight of her like that. Had she not noticed before? "Do you need a moment? I'm sorry, I barely remember my first time. We'll wait if you need to," she gave her a warm smile.
That fucking smile. How could she smile?!
"I don't feel like staying idle," Skjor grumbled and he moved towards Aela. He leaned down briefly and bit into her shoulder, coaxing a brief eager growl out of her.
"It's her first time, Skjor," Aela pushed him off a second later. "Let's just wait with her."
As if this would get better!
"You made me a monster!" she yelled at them hysterically. She was surprised that she even got the words out through her sobs.
"Not a monster," Skjor scowled at her. "Something better, stronger, more powerful. Superior. Do you not feel the power? It makes you… invincible," he let out an almost reverent sigh.
She just felt sick to her stomach.
"You are insane! Why would you do this to me?! I… I…" she couldn't get more words out as her sobs choked them out quickly.
"Aeyrin, it will help you," Aela looked at her with a reassuring smile. "It's a reward. A blessing. Can you imagine how much safer you will be now? Even against dragons and any other enemies you might have. An entire bandit clan ambushing you on a road would not stand a chance against you now. We did this for you, not to you."
"Forget what those priests have taught you," Skjor scoffed. "They are only scared of the power our kind holds."
Lies. All lies. This was no power. It felt so wrong!
"You are monsters! You made me into one! This is no favor!" she yelled again. She felt like Shouting. She felt like making them feel what power she really had. Without them. She never asked for this!
But nothing more than sobs came out.
"Maybe we should… give her a moment alone," Aela's brows creased in concern. She actually looked kind of shocked and worried. Aeyrin didn't buy any of that though. If she really cared about her, she would have thought about this before.
"Let's go to the hideout alone," Skjor just waved his hand at her dismissively as he turned on his heel, unconcerned entirely by his bare body.
Aela stayed though. She still looked worried and her voice was full of uncertainty as she spoke again. "If… if you want to return to the city, you can find some armor and clothes in a cave east of Whiterun. Just past the bridge by the meadery. We keep it there for when we return from our hunts. Your own armor is still back at the Underforge."
As if that mattered now. As if that was of any help!
She just wanted them gone! She couldn't stand to look at them anyway. She wanted to kill them for what they've done to her.
Fortunately Aela seemed to sense that nothing good would come from staying. She turned around as well and rushed to catch up with Skjor.
Good. She wanted them gone already.
Even though that just left her there alone, sobbing helplessly. What was she supposed to do now?
Everything was ruined. She couldn't even bear to think about what this would all mean for her life. For her afterlife. Everything just felt so overwhelming.
She wished that this was all just a bad dream.
But not even those nightmares in Dawnstar had anything on this one.
…
Karnwyr was so different, like he was being driven mad by the scents.
No matter what, the more they walked, the further they got from the city, the worse he got. He kept growling, barking and whimpering. He did keep following something. Some scent. Bishop told him to find Aeyrin and they had already crossed the Whiterun plains, heading south, towards the Falkreath border, but Bishop was getting more and more worried.
Was he really leading them towards Aeyrin? Or was he blindly following the scent of those monsters? It seemed to rattle him, it seemed to confuse him.
Then again, if Aeyrin was still in Whiterun and he was just being led on a wild goose chase, that would be one of the better alternatives.
The other scenarios that kept running through his head were far from pleasant.
They've been walking for hours. The dawn was already upon them and they had already passed by Riverwood. But Karnwyr was still leading them further into the forests, into Falkreath.
That didn't make Bishop feel any better. Even with Thorn's men gone, Falkreath still gave him the creeps.
At least their escape from Whiterun went smoothly. Karnwyr really knew when to keep quiet, but once they were safely out of anyone's earshot, he really went all out with his erratic behavior.
It was so unlike him. Even around beasts.
What were these things to get him into this state?
As they both crossed the river, using a few rocks as a makeshift bridge, Bishop readjusted the packs on his back. He had to take both his and Aeyrin's with him. She didn't bring it to Jorrvaskr. She didn't even bring her weapon. She was far from helpless even without her equipment, but still. It only made him more worried.
The packs were fucking heavy with all of Aeyrin's shit and carrying them both was so uncomfortable. But that was really the least of his concerns now.
Karnwyr led them into the woods past the river, around the Guardian Stones and further south into the direction of Helgen. Or what was left of Helgen.
They continued for a while and Bishop had to rush to catch up to Karnwyr more and more. The wolf was really eager to get there – they must have been close. Bishop wondered for a while if he should brandish his sword, just in case, but before he could make up his mind, Karnwyr suddenly stopped, only surrounded by trees and not much else around.
He lowered himself as if he was preparing for an attack, growling and barking madly. But Bishop's attention soon got captured away from the wolf. By a scared whimper.
He looked towards the source and all thought and words left him for a while. He could only stare in horrified shock.
Aeyrin was curled up by a tree, leaning her back against it. She was completely naked, hugging her knees to her chest, and there was dried up blood, covering the entire lower half of her face and her chest. There was more blood, sparser, across the rest of her face and in her hair, clumping it into messy strings. At least it looked like blood. On closer inspection, it was a bit lighter and with a strange slightly orange tinge.
Her eyes were puffy and her cheeks were stained with tears. She was shivering uncontrollably and she looked more scared than Bishop had ever seen her.
Fuck! Shit! What the fuck?!
What happened to her? Who did this to her? Bishop couldn't even make sense of all the terrifying scenarios running through his head. He wanted to rush towards her, he wanted to grab her into his arms and comfort her, no matter what happened, but before he could react, Karnwyr suddenly let out a series of wild barks and he lunged.
Bishop managed to throw himself on the wolf in panic, pinning him down with all his weight, along with all the equipment on his back.
"What the fuck?! What are you doing?!" he yelled at Karnwyr. Why would he lunge at her? Had he been this rattled the entire time from her scent? Bishop didn't understand any of this.
"It's not his fault," a shuddered sob escaped Aeyrin's lips.
Fuck, what did that mean?
Bishop carefully pulled himself off the wolf. He was still growling dangerously, but Bishop barked at him again in an instant.
"Stay! Don't fucking move!"
Karnwyr whimpered at him. He looked so scared and confused. No less than Aeyrin did. But Bishop still had no idea why. He ignored Karnwyr's distress for now and he quickly shuffled across the ground to get closer to Aeyrin.
When he tried to grab her by the shoulders to calm her down a bit though, she immediately flinched away.
"D-don't. Please," she sobbed.
Fuck, that wasn't good. As if any of this could be good. How did she get here? Why was she naked and covered in blood? That didn't mean anything good on any day, but here in the Falkreath forest, it made Bishop's stomach clench even more.
"Princess, what the fuck happened?" He almost asked if she was alright out of reflex before he stopped himself. Stupidest fucking question ever. How could she possibly be alright in this state?
Karnwyr let out a series of barks again and it made Aeyrin flinch in fear. Bishop instantly turned his head over his shoulder and threw the wolf a threatening look. What the fuck was wrong with him?
"B-Bish… you… you can't… you can't be here," Aeyrin sobbed again. She sounded like she could barely speak. "I… I don't know when I will… I… It's too dangerous."
"Like I fucking care! What happened?" Bishop insisted with palpable frustration in his voice.
"They… they…" Aeyrin let out a shuddering breath again, trying to get the words out. He wasn't sure if she had a hard time because of the crying or because she didn't really want to say what happened, but once again, they got interrupted by Karnwyr's feral barks.
"Stop! For fuck's sake!" Bishop yelled. He hated yelling at him, but he had no idea what else to do. Why was he acting like this?!
Aeyrin laid her trembling hand softly on Bishop's arm to calm him down, but she retracted it right away. She looked like she needed to calm herself down first but couldn't find a way.
Bishop gently placed his hand on her cheek, hopefully in a soothing motion. This time she didn't flinch. She let out a few more sobs and pressed herself a bit into his palm before she tried to speak again.
"T-they… they turned me…" she choked up again, leaving him with no more information than before.
"'Turned' you?" What the fuck did that mean?
"Yeah… into… into a… a werewolf." As the words left her, she pulled away from his touch again and buried her face into her own hands, letting out strangled gasps as if she couldn't even catch her breath.
What? Werewolf?
Who?
The beasts? The…
The Companions?
Oh fuck! That made so much fucking sense! That was why Karnwyr acted that way around them. Just some of them. Around those fuckers in that Circle of theirs. That was what this was about?!
They did this to her?! How could they do this to her of all people? This was like a nightmare to her. To anyone with her upbringing.
Those fucking bastards!
Before he could rouse himself from the shock, another growl and bark alerted him and he only managed to look back as Karnwyr lunged again. Bishop managed to react, catching him roughly by the fur behind his neck and holding him at bay.
Not it all made sense. He must have been so confused. He could probably still smell Aeyrin, but along with something else. Something that scared him and rattled him to the very core.
"Bishop, please!" Aeyrin cried out between her sobs. "You have to leave. I don't know… I don't know when it can happen again. Please! I can't…"
Fuck! Shit!
Could it just happen like that? Whenever? When she wasn't even expecting it? And was she in control when it did or did she just… kill anything in her way?
He had no idea how any of this worked, but Karnwyr wasn't really giving him much opportunity to find out.
She was right. He couldn't stay like this. This didn't lead anywhere and Karnwyr was getting more and more erratic.
He needed a minute. He needed to think about what to do now, but he couldn't even hold Karnwyr at bay like this for long.
He had to leave.
He couldn't stop holding Karnwyr. He didn't want to risk it. He wanted to hold her, to kiss her and comfort her, but he couldn't do any of it like this.
Fuck!
This was heartbreaking, but he didn't know what else to do.
He got up on his feet, still holding Karnwyr by his fur. He freed one of his hands and he shook off Aeyrin's pack before he started to finally drag Karnwyr away forcibly. There was no other way.
"Just… just… stay here," he let out a defeated sigh.
Aeyrin only nodded in response. She couldn't speak anymore. But he really didn't have to worry about her following them. As if she could. As if she could ever endanger them like this.
She continued sobbing into her hands, hiding her eyes so that she wouldn't have to see.
So that she wouldn't have to see as he left her.