Author's note: Switching back to Aranel for the time being. I've been playing as her a lot, since she's a harder character to portray for me. On a related topic, you might have noticed that I've been writing from Faendal's perspective. I have a tendency to use third person to portray my PC, and it's easiest to do that from the follower's perspective. So you'll be hearing from him a lot. He's also a fairly neutral character, so he provides an objective POV, which is fun to write in comparison to, say, a Stormcloak, who would be very biased. The more you know!
For anyone who doesn't remember Faendal, and, like me, is too lazy to go look him up, he's an elf follower that you get after completing a side quest. I don't remember the name, but it's short, sweet, and earns you one of two followers.
Also, my policy on pairings is in my profile. Just saying.

So yeah. On with the story!

Disclaimer: STILL not mine.

"So… have you lived here a long time?"

Faendal sighs, and decides to go wait in The Bee and Barb. Aranel is speaking to Mjoll the Lioness, and it's blatantly obvious that she will be awhile. Aranel has this weird tendency to flirt with everyone in town, and despite his attempts to pry her away from the nearest object of her attractions, she always ends up gravitating towards someone. This time it's Mjoll, last time it was some court wizard, the time before last, some Stormcloak soldier and so on.

It has gotten to the point where Faendal has given up on trying to get her to focus on whatever they are doing at the time, and has started sitting back and silently laughing at her newest conquest's bewildered expression when they realized exactly what is going on. Mjoll is most obviously not interested, and so, after a few attempts, Aranel makes her way back to Faendal sporting a large frown and a somewhat disheartened attitude. And before he knows it, she's whirlwinding away again, this time latching onto some Argonian with a skooma addiction. He merely shakes his head, and follows along.

The Argonian turns out to be more trouble than she's worth, in his eye, though Aranel obviously doesn't think so. In the end, they had to clear out an entire illegal skooma base, as well as about eleven people that he's sure they would never have had to deal with if Aranel hadn't gotten involved... again. And it wasn't even worth it, seeing as they have yet to even get a reward for the entire operation. To top it all off, when Aranel went to visit the Jarl, she managed to acquire yet another thing to do, requested by the scatterbrained court wizard. Of course. However, he can't really fault her for becoming involved in others problems. Aranel seems to have a heart big enough to encompass the whole world and then some, and though she's willing to kill, it is only ever for the sake of others that she does so.

This single minded loving does lead to some interesting scenarios, though. For example, just yesterday, the entire market of Whiterun got to witness Lydia throwing an absolute fit over the state the house was in when she got back. And shortly before that, he got to see her try to free a werewolf from where it was imprisoned (That proved to be a bad idea, but it was still amusing. After all, how many times in his life will he get to witness that?). However, for all the scenarios with… less than desirable outcomes, there is always at least one good one. And that is something that he has never seen before. In this land plagued with misery, war, politics, and legend, all that he has ever seen come out of the incessant war is even more strife. Between neighbors, friends, and even brothers. But then Aranel comes in and somehow turns all that upside down.

Faendal doesn't think he had ever met someone who was legitimately kind before she came. Which, when he thinks about it, is something to mourn. Aranel is a light in their world of darkness, and perhaps their savior. Only The Greybeards know the answer, and maybe, just maybe, she does as well. However, Faendal still wonders. Is she the Dragonborn because she is kind? Or is she kind because she is the Dragonborn?

He is inclined to believe both.