AN: Thank you for the input for the first chapter, really appreciate it. I am going to steer this into an epic adventure. As reviewer Apollonir pointed out, Jaime has the spirit of an adventurer, a man of action, not much of thought at times. He is a good leader, however.

"Are you sure about this, Jaime?" Danica asked as the tall blonde man examined a steel sword given to him by Aela. "You do not want to overstress your body, you know?"

Jaime wanted to roll his eyes but knew she was just concerned. "Do not worry, Danica, I will be fine. It is just a spar."

The healer looked at him seriously. "They are the Companions, Jaime. Some of the best warriors in the whole of Skyrim, not common rabble you'll find on the road."

Jaime knew this. His blood pumped at the idea of challenging the likes of Vilkas, Farkas and Skjor. From what Aela had mentioned in her past visits, they were quite formidable as swordsmen, but she did point out that the most dangerous was Vilkas.

"He is a cunning fighter, very intelligent. His instincts are sharp, and so are his skills." Aela had mentioned, which made him even more excited.

"Don't worry Danica, I will be back before you know it." Jaime smirked and then walked out of the temple.

As he went outside to gather some fresh air, he bumped into a dark-skinned figure. Jaime was about to apologize when the man spoke, "Do you get to the Cloud District very often? Oh what am I saying, of course you don't."

Jaime sneered at the man and bumped into his shoulder, making the man shout in outrage. The blonde man sneered again and said, "Sorry, oh but what am I saying, of course I don't mean it."

He then walked away, feeling the man's eyes on him the entire time. The tree in the center of the city was quite haunting, almost reminded him of the screaming trees of the bloody north, minus the terrifying faces.

Then a man started shouting beside a beautiful statue. Jaime was not much of a religious man, did not believe but he was quite taken with the statue of the warrior, or god, Talos. The Lannister man shrugged, he did not much care about it beyond that observation.

"Ah, you're the one the cat folk rescued."

Turning, Jaime was met with a huge man. He had a huge battle axe strapped to his back and iron looking armor.

"Indeed." Jaime nodded at him. "Not proud of having been scared of my rescuers." He drawled.

The man laughed. Almost like Robert Baratheon. "Happens to the best of us, lad. Names Ulfberth War-Bear."

"Ironic, you are built like one." Jaime quipped to Ulfberth's amusement. "I hear you are the one to speak to when it comes to armor and weapons."

"One of them." The huge man replied with a smile. "There is also Eorlund Gray-Mane. The man is a legend, lad. I do admit his steel is better than mine."

"Honesty is rare among merchants." Jaime pointed out. "For that, you shall be my first choice to shop." Jaime wanted to laugh. He did not have a single coin to his name and here he was, promising to shop for weapons and armor.

Ulfberth laughed and clapped Jaime on the shoulder. "Glad you are alive, lad. This city needs strong men in these troubling times..."

Jaime deduced he probably meant the unrest all over the province. According to Danica, who briefly explained about the Great War and how the elves had won, the White-Gold Concordat was the issue at hand. No more worshipping of that man or god by the Gildergreen, the empire severely weakened and the nords in Skyrim in an uproar.

Honestly, Jaime did not know much else, as Danica was a dedicated healer, not a historian or worse, a politician. The peculiar thing was that most thought he was a nord, thanks to his blonde hair and tall stature. It could serve to not call much attention, as some had mentioned names like imperials in not a good way.

Jaime then saw the legendary mead hall itself, Jorrvaskr. He honestly thought at first it looked depressing, almost like something to be found far to the north of Westeros. He had to remind himself, though, this was not Westeros.

He was far, far away from that land.

Besides, the ambience was jovial from the sounds of it. He heard laughter and loud voices from the place. Probably the big man Farkas telling a story or a drunken Torvar trying to speak over the others. At least, that is what Aela had mentioned before.

"Outlander!"

He turned and smirked as Aela descended from the steps to the mead hall. "Here I thought you'd stay in that cozy temple with the priestess."

"Priestess that, might I add, kept your fellows in check."

Aela laughed at the cheeky comment. "Those two are hopeless, as she mentioned." She then motioned with her hand. "Come on, this way, we can spar in the back."

Jaime sighed with relief. He did not feel like interacting with many people. He just wanted to test his right hand, his instincts and get back to the old days.

He was also curious of the skill of the woman. She held herself with confidence, so she must be good.

"Alright." Aela spoke as they stopped by a target range. "Here it is."

Jaime was amused at the tables filled with drink and meat. "Are spars usually observed around here?"

"They are, but did not want to embarrass you." She replied with a smirk. "Pick your poison."

Jaime laughed at her comment, but also thought the same. It had been ages since he used his right hand. He was happy with his own sword, a gift from Aela for this very occasion. There was an axe and a great sword. He picked up the latter and disliked it right away. Too much weight; he'd lose his speed and stamina.

"Think I've become too attached with this one." Jaime smirked back at her and pulled out his sword. "More of a swordsman but if needs be, use anything around."

"Wise." She nodded. "I am good but not as good as the others inside, more of an archer." She pointed to her back and there was a bow. "Hunting is a hobby of mine."

"Ah, that explains your light armor." Jaime nodded back. "Ready?"

"Sure." She replied with a smirk and took out her sword. "Ready when you are, it's your move."

Jaime smiled as he held the steel sword in front of him, his eyes shining with delight. This was his element, his true love. Fighting. Training. Overcoming.

He launched himself to test her defenses.

Aela had found the outlander to be quite interesting. When do you meet someone with absolutely no clue of where they were or anything beyond those borders? It was maddening but entertaining.

She had been bored out of her mind until she saw Jaime approaching the steps. Aela knew he'd show up. He had the soul of a warrior, that one. She deduced he was a soldier with the way he held himself and the fact that he was fascinated with Ysgramor and his Companions.

Now that he was here, she saw how his eyes lit up with such fervor looking at his sword that she almost laughed. He was a warrior indeed.

In a flash, he was on her, testing her defenses. He was fast, but a little clumsy, at first.

As she countered a slash to her left, he was already trying to hack onto her right. He was very fast, but something was off.

"Stop!" She yelled, and Jaime just looked at her strangely, stopping in his tracks. "Wait."

"Why?" He almost whined. "It's a good spar."

"You are good but clumsy. You are not left handed?"

Jaime looked at her with wide eyes, which looked almost forlorn. "No, I am not."

"Just rusty then." Aela then prepared herself. "Don't want to hurt you."

The blonde man smirked as he readied himself. "You will not."

They sparred for a while then. Indeed, the sun was setting by the time they stopped. Jaime was exhausted, lying on the floor while Aela simply breathed a little heavier but was otherwise fine.

"Nice showing." A deep voice spoke. "You are quite clumsy, though."

"Ah, Vilkas, nice of you to join us." Aela turned and smirked towards the man by the tables.

The man nodded at her, then looked at Jaime. "You are fast, but need more practice. Any of that outside and you'll be skewered like a pig by bandits."

Aela was a little apprehensive at the harsh criticism of Vilkas but knew that it was needed. The man was trying to be nice, which was astounding. Perhaps he had seen something in the sparring besides the outlander's clumsiness?

"What is this, Aela? Trying to recruit more into the Companions?" The man spoke with slight amusement, interrupting her thoughts. "I thought that was Skjor's job."

Aela shrugged. "He could be a good addition. Like you said, he is fast but needs a bit of practice."

"He hardly knows anything about Skyrim." Vilkas shook his head. "He'd be dead on his first assignment."

The huntress saw Jaime standing up and looking at Vilkas. "Some practice would not hurt, you are right."

Vilkas nodded at the man. "Wise choice, do that and we might consider you."

With that, he turned around and walked back into the mead hall.

"He can be harsh, but he is a good man." Aela mentioned to a tired Jaime. "Want to have some mead?"

Jaime laughed as Aela mentioned the insane antics of both Farkas and Torvar.

"Farkas threw a punch at him during a feast and then tossed him outside, locked the doors and told everyone to leave the 'drunken mess' outside."

Jaime just shook his head amidst laughter. "Quite harsh."

"He had placed manure all over Farkas' bed."

"Oh, that is just…" Jaime just laughed. "Well, I am glad he had his punishment."

They talked well into the night. Jaime did not even notice that he was slurring his words a bit after six or seven of those mead drinks. They were tolerable but he had been thirsty after the sparring and they were catching up to him now.

"Where are you from, Jaime?" Aela looked at him with curiosity. "You hold yourself with the poise of a soldier, and a noble as well."

Jaime just looked at her with a frown.

"You don't have to deny it." The huntress laughed. "You sneer quite a bit, I noticed but the way you speak tells me of an educated man, someone from court."

"Something like that." Jaime replied vaguely. "My father was a lord, and we had tutors to help us along."

"Are you from Cyrodill?"

"The province of the Empire, right? No, I am not. In fact, I don't even know if my home still exists." The drink was making him speak too much but he wanted to let it out. What would it hurt? Maybe he'd be labeled as a lunatic but he did not peg Aela as that.

"Where is your home then?"

Jaime looked at her and then sighed, scratching his hair. "I come from a continent called Westeros, very far away from here, I wager. It's a large land, maybe the size of Tamriel, from what the maps look like." He looked at the stars, which he noticed were different, especially with those huge red orbs. "Yeah, I think it's too far, or it does not exist."

Aela just nodded at him to continue.

"There are seven kingdoms, ruled through the Iron Throne, located in the south." At her confused look, Jaime laughed and grabbed a stick.

He began drawing on the dirt. It looked atrocious but he was not an artist. Leave that to Tyrion maybe.

"This is Dorne, a harsh desert land. Like your Hammerfell, except probably worse, ruled by House Martell." Jaime smirked. "Just after this mountain chain it's the Reach, very fertile and bountiful, maybe like Cyrodill? They were ruled by House Tyrell." He frowned but then shook his head and pointed at a little peninsula. "King's Landing, the seat of power and capital for the whole continent." His finger then touched the middle. "Riverlands, full of yes, rivers, and some crops. They are quite shitty." He pointed to the right. "That is the Vale, surrounded by huge mountains. They can withstand wars by just waiting them out. Not fertile at all."

Jaime just looked at the crude drawing, as if on a trance.

"And this one?" Aela pointed at the left of the Riverlands, trying to get his attention.

Jaime smiled sadly. "The kingdom of the Rock, the Westerlands, the land of House Lannister."

"Wait." She looked at him. "You told me your name was Jaime Lannister."

"You are quite sharp." Jaime chuckled quietly. "The seat is Casterly Rock, it's like this Whiterun but bigger in scale, much bigger." He smiled sadly again. "I won't ever see it again but I can tell you, it was beautiful."

Aela then prompted at him with a smile. "Hey, in your bragging, you forgot everyone else."

"Ah, apologies my lady." She frowned at the comment and Jaime laughed. "So, these turds are the shit islands, well the Iron Islands, but they are nothing but shit stain, ruled by slavers and pirates, no honor in any of them." Not that there was any honor within him but it was nice to point out the uselessness of the Ironborn.

"Then we got the North. Vast and huge, but empty." Jaime smirked. "Ruled by House Stark, whom are honorable to the death. Never liked their lord, did not get along with him but his children were nice."

"Why didn't you get along with him?"

After taking a long drink, Jaime replied, "Always judged, called me kingslayer with such passion. He was a good man, I admit, but never liked him."

"Kingslayer?"

Jaime winced. "A story for another time." He then smirked. "Yes, I was from House Lannister."

"Explains your attitude, outlander." Aela laughed. "You almost reminded me of Nazeem."

"Who?"

"An idiot that looks down on anyone not from the Cloud District, stupid idiot." She then imitated him. "Oh what am I saying, of course you don't."

Jaimed started laughing uncontrollably.

"Oi! What?" Aela wanted to know what was going on. "What happened?"

"Met him today!" Jaime laughed.

Jaime went on to describe what happened and it was Aela's turn to be laughing with no control.

"Serves him right! What a…" Aela then fumbled. "What did you call those Iron Islands?"

"Shit stains? Turds?"

"Either shall do." The huntress laughed out loud. "Shit stain is my favorite, however."

"I should not have lost my temper." Jaime concluded. "I am new here but then again the guards did not say anything."

"They despise him as much as everyone else here." Aela pointed out with a laugh.

Laughing, Jaime stood up and turned to the huntress, who was doing the same. "Thank you for today, I needed this."

"The drinking?" She asked with amusement.

"That and the sparring, I need to practice, become better."

"Don't let the guards catch you; they'll try to recruit you. The jarl is always looking for guards."

"Promise I won't." Jaime chuckled. "Goodnight Aela, thank you for today."

"Sleep well… outlander."

Jaime laughed and began to walk away. Could have gone worse but she never labeled him a loon or an idiot, or a liar.

He needed to continue practicing but first needed to sleep in order to help out tomorrow at the temple. Danica would not be pleased if he was hung over and not in the mood the next day.

His only thought now was to sleep. Quite ironic because he did just that for weeks after being rescued… Maybe he'd try to meet the cat folk that saved him the next day, provided it was alright with the guards here. For some reason, the cat folk were not allowed inside the city…

"So, he asked if his right hand was alright?" Vilkas asked with a blank stare.

Aela nodded. "He did, I don't know if he suffered an accident but Danica would have said so. Who knows? It is quite strange."

"What did you two talk about outside? All I heard was laughter."

Aela shrugged. "Funny things from his childhood, and I shared some of the idiocy that happens here once in a while."

"The juvenile pranks of Farkas and Torvar?" The man sneered.

An embarrassment, Vilkas would say. Once, Torvar was being arrested by a guard for drunkenly taking a piss, in the middle of the street. Farkas then told the guard that Torvar had been plotting to steal skooma from some dealers. It developed into a brawl as Torvar charged at Farkas. Two other guards joined and Vilkas had to save face for them both. It was a mess.

Idiots of the highest order, those two but then again they were some of the best things here in Jorrvaskr.

"What is your take on him?" Aela asked.

Vilkas looked at her. "He has the spirit, and the skill, but something is holding him back. It is peculiar you tell me of his questions about his right hand."

Aela was equally confused about the subject. "He is really good, no doubt. Some practice might bring out his potential."

The man nodded. "Indeed. Now, let us get some rest. I am sure you are tired."

"Goodnight Vilkas."

"Goodnight, shield-sister."

Aela then went to her quarters and thought out loud, "Westeros? Where in Hircine's name could that be?"

Jaime was either too good at lying or he did come from another land not of Tamriel. She did not peg him as a liar… and that was maddening part. Just what the hell was going on?

Hope y'all are safe! Thank you for reading. See you next time! Adios.