The journey to Skyrim was as uneventful as it was arduous. Kyra had forgotten how monotonous the trip was, and her age, or her self abuse, was beginning to show in the nausea brought on by the tossing sea and the fatigue of travel.

Once making port in Windhelm, they hired a carriage to Whiterun. Sofie was asleep in Kyra's arms when the driver pulled on the reins and slowed the cart at the city stables.

"Seventy five." He says as Kyra hands a coin purse to him, tosses her bag over the edge and picks the sleeping girl up in her arms as she drops down out of the rear. She slings her pack over one shoulder and rests Sofie against her hip as she makes her way up the winding road to the city gates.

"Halt, citizen." The guard at the gate stops her with an open hand.

"No one is allowed through the gates after ten, not with all the Stormcloak attacks on the rise again." Kyra adjusts Sofie tighter against her hip and looks at him.

"Come on, you're kidding me right? Listen man, I am in no mood for-" The other guard, who was staring at her, suddenly slaps his friend's chest.

"Ow-hey."

"Menro...it's her."

"Her? Her who?" Kyra rolls her eyes as she adjusts Sofie in her arms again.

"The Dragonborn." Both of the guards straighten as they look at her, eyes wide behind their helmets.

"I'm so sorry ma'am, I'm sure you understand that we thought-"

"Everyone thought you were dead, but I saw you once. I was just a boy when you were with the Companions..."

"Guys, I am really tired and she's getting heavy, could you just open the gates?"

"Of course ma'am, of course." Kyra blows the air from her lungs as she hitches her pack higher up her shoulder and walks through the open gate.

Kyra unfolds a faded letter in her hand, walking down one of the long row of houses in the Wind District of the city until she finds the one she was looking for and opens the waist high iron gate, stepping up to the door. Kyra exhales and bites her lip before she knocks on the door.

There's no answer for a long moment so she knocks again, the door opens just as she pulls her hand away and the sleepy eyed woman looks up at her. Her eyes widen and she rests her hand on the door frame, the other one on her waist.

"Wow." The woman says as Kyra smiles nervously.

"Hi."

Aela sighs and steps aside gesturing for her to come in, Kyra stepping in out of the cold. She gingerly lays Sofie down in one of the soft chairs surrounding the warm fire in the hearth, rising to her full height she turns and Aela's hand slaps across her cheek with an audible clap.

"That's for never writing." Aela's eyes bore into her for a moment before she hugs Kyra tight.

"I thought you were dead."

"I was." Kyra hesitates for a long moment before her arms slide around Aela's familiar frame, she breaths her in Aela's scent bringing back a thousand memories. They part as they both look down at the blanket wrapped girl sleeping peacefully by the warm fire.

"Yours?" Kyra nods.

"Let her sleep, come into the kitchen." Aela takes her hand leading her into the next room, pointing to a chair and setting the tea pot on the stone surrounding the crackling fire in the small wood oven.

"Where's her father?" Aela turns her back to Kyra as she takes two cups from the shelf.

"Her mother, my w-" Kyra pauses, her lips not being able to quite form the word.

"Your wife?" Kyra bites her lips and nods.

"Where is she?" Kyra looks down at the table for a long moment before she looks back up at Aela, tears welling up in her blue eyes and falling down her cheeks.

"Oh..." Aela circles the table and hugs Kyra tight, Kyra's face pressed against Aela's shirt.

"I'm sorry." Aela runs her fingers through Kyra's hair as she softly shushes her, her lips against the top of her head.

"What happened?" Kyra sniffs and wipes her eyes trying to compose herself, it had felt like a lifetime since she'd been near someone who she could just open up to.

Everyone always offered to talk but no one would've compared to Aela, or Farkas, she shuddered to think how she would've reacted to that same question from Kodlak, she'd still be sobbing like a child. These people were her oldest and dearest friends, her family, maybe she'd missed Skyrim more than she'd ever realized.

"She um-" Kyra clears her throat as Aela sweeps the wisps of bangs matting to Kyra's cheek away and brushes her thumb against her soft skin.

"A year ago she was killed, by a daedra."

"Where were you?"

"Too far...on the other side of the island."

"Did you avenge her?" Kyra nods.

"Then everything will be all right." Aela kisses the top of her head, goes back to the bubbling tea pot and pours two cups.

Aela sits down across from her and they drink their tea in silence for a few moments.

"Do you have a place to stay?"

"I haven't thought that far ahead."

"You never did." Aela smiles over her cup and takes a sip from it.

"Probably just stay at the Mare."

"The Mare is no place for either of you, you'll stay here."

"Aela...no."

"It's not up for discussion. There's a spare bed in Minette's room why don't you go settle her in." Aela downs the last of her tea and gets up going back to her bedroom at the far end of the house.

Kyra sits there for a moment then gets up, moving quietly into the living area where Sofie was still fast asleep by the crackling fire. Kyra gently scoops the girl up in her arms and carries her into the bedroom just off of the kitchen, laying her in the empty bed. She pulls the covers up to her shoulder and leans down kissing the top of her head.

"Sweet dreams, kid."

Kyra softly closes the door behind her and goes back to the kitchen picking up a bottle of mead from the shelf and popping the cork from it, she sits back down at the table and takes a swig. She looks up when Aela walks back into the kitchen.

"There's only one bed left you know." She says as she takes the bottle from Kyra's hand and takes a sip from it before handing it back. Kyra looks up at her then back down at the table.

"I kind of guessed as much, but I don't really sleep anymore or at all really."

"Who said anything about sleeping?" Kyra laughs for the first time in months, a short laugh a chuckle almost, but it still caught her by surprise.

"Well, how about some company then?" Kyra nods as Aela pulls a chair closer to her and sits down.

"So what about you?" Kyra asks after several minutes of drinking in silence.

"Not that much has changed." Kyra picks at the label on the mead bottle as she hesitates to ask what was really on her mind.

"So you haven't been...with anyone else?"

"Oh there's been the odd thing here and there but nothing serious." The fingers of their hands seem to find their way to one another's.

"Kyra...are you ok?" Kyra plays with Aela's fingers before looking up into her eyes and shaking her head.

"No."

"Tell me."

"There's been a lot of stuff since-since Selena died. I've been different."

"How so?" Aela moves forward in her chair resting her elbows on the table, still holding Kyra's hand.

"Just stuff. I haven't been there for Sofie like she's needed and all my friends ever since I- well, they look at me different now and I hated it so I just pushed them away." Aela brushes Kyra's thumb with her own as she gives her hand a squeeze.

"It's going to be ok." Kyra looks into her eyes and then back to the table.

"I don't think so, not this time."

"I've seen you lose control before Kyra, in time it'll-"

"Not like this, for the first time I think-I touched something, a power that I was never supposed to... it frightened me, I guess you of all people would understand."

"That's true, the beast within is a powerful drive. After all this time I still crave the hunt, and still fear it will overwhelm me." Kyra looks down at the table her mind far away as she sips her drink, then manages another small laugh.

"What?" Kyra leans back in her chair and looks at Aela.

"I was just thinking about our first place together, after we left Jorrvaskr, in Lakeview."

"Gods, I haven't thought about that place in years."

"Tiniest little shack you ever saw, the two of us crammed into that single bed cooking pit right in the middle of the floor." They both smile as their fingers interlace.

"Yeah, but it was our little shack." Aela takes a sip from her bottle.

"We always swore to be together forever...until we started all those renovations and we were at each other's throats." Kyra says with a soft smile, sighing wistfully as she remembers that summer.

"Hottest summer this side of Hammerfell. Working the mill everyday, carting the logs back, come home to eat over that damned anvil striking nail after nail." Kyra says, she smirks as she drinks her mead.

"I think what I'll remember most, besides all those moonlit swims, is when we decided to build that room off the main hall with the upstairs porch." Kyra laughs already knowing where this was going.

"And we started by cutting the doors into the walls, a few mornings later still half asleep you went right through the door off the bedroom." They both laugh as Kyra shakes her head.

"Two story drop tends to jolt you awake." They both take another drink, both looking down just realizing their fingers were intertwined, so natural, so normal they didn't notice. Aela looks up into Kyra's eyes.

"I'm glad you're here."

"Me too." Aela gets up taking Kyra's hand.

"Come to bed."

"Aela, I can't."

"Kyra..." Aela leans down and softly presses her lips to Kyra's, she pulls away after a long moment gazing into Kyra's eyes.

"Trust me."

She lets Aela pull her to her feet and follows quietly down the hallway to her bedroom, closing the doors behind them.