I studied my hand, and the faces of the room around me. Deciding I had no reason to keep a five, I set it in the discard pile.

Aela was winning, of course. She and Skjor had spent most of their nights playing Rummy in the mead hall over the years. Though he had taught her the game, she soon became a master strategist and almost always won. I wasn't far behind her but I was worried, as I discarded my five, about the sly grin she gave me. She had a plan, and I was apparently a pawn.

Cassius and Lydia were almost tied, but ultimately, Cassius was losing. Of course, that is if you exclude the fact that Farkas and Kara lost a long while ago. Farkas hadn't quite grasped the concept of the game, and Kara quickly became bored and quit. The two just sat next to each other at the other end of the table, my brother's head on her shoulder, reading a book out loud.

"Cass, I saw that." Lydia said from beside me, her eyes never leaving her cards.

Across the table, Cassius looked appalled. "What? I didn't do anything."

Lydia looked up then, her eyes darting between Cassius' face and Aela's cards. Aela raised her eyebrow, a sly look on her face. Cass looked down at the amount of sets Aela had on the table before her, then shrugged. "Not like looking at her hand is gonna do a damned thing for me, anyway." He drew and discarded rather quickly.

Aela smirked. "You're right." Aela picked up the card Cass had discarded, placed it in a set with three other cards from her hand, and discarded the only remaining card she had. "Not a damned thing."

We all groaned, tossing our cards down on the table as Aela slid her winnings toward her. Lydia gathered all of the cards up, stacking them in a pile and reshuffling.

As Lydia dealt the cards out, Cassius nudged me with his foot under the table. "You're coming to Solitude with us, I hear."

I nodded. "Yes, Kara asked me today. I hope that's not at all inconvenient for you."

Cass laughed. "Not at all. I was actually dreading a trip across Skyrim with the two of them. Love them both, but I have no desire to sit in awkward silence while the women converse."

Lydia raised her eyebrow. "Keep talking."

Cassius' eyes widened, then he rolled them. "All I'm saying is it will be nice to have you along."

I scratched my beard. The lower half of my face had been itching nonstop since I'd begun growing it out. "I'm glad to go along. I haven't left Whiterun in a very long time." I looked over at Kara, who smiled at me as she continued to read.

We all picked our hands up, putting our cards in order again. Lydia began the new round, picking up a card and setting down a set. She nudged me with her elbow. "I'm glad you're coming too. Maybe you can help me keep the Dragonborn in check." Cass gave her a wink and mouthed the word 'never' as Lydia continued. "Now, we'll be leaving early on Middas to hopefully arrive by Turdas. We want to spend a reasonable amount of time there, but obviously, Karalissa has obligations here in Whiterun." She looked at Kara. "When will you need to be back?"

Kara groaned, setting the book down. "I have my monthly meeting with the Jarl on Mondas. If we could, I'd like to be back by Sundas." Cass grumbled about Balgruuf across from me.

Lydia nodded. "Three days in Solitude sound like enough, Cassius?"

Cass shrugged. "Three is plenty. Honestly, my patience with Viarmo will probably run out by Fridas. It's rather…difficult for me to tolerate him."

"He seemed to be a rather demanding man when I met him." I chimed in. "Well, I wouldn't say we met, per say. Really, he just barged into our conversation and began interrogating Kara." I suppressed a shiver as I remembered that day. Though it wasn't the worst of days, I saw a side of Kara that frightened me. She had more difficulty controlling the beast than the rest of us, yet she had complete control over it. She was convinced that she had absolutely no control over it.

I was worried for her that day, when she stormed out of the Bannered Mare and right up to the edge of a cliff. I remembered being convinced she was going to freefall, toss herself off a cliff rather than let the beast take control of her. I understood later that it was because her ability to read other's emotions was seriously affecting her own, and she wasn't even sure what she was feeling. Still, to see her so close to the edge, having to talk her down, it was mind-altering.

Of course, she seemed to have a better grasp of the beast now. I imagine the turmoil of the previous week, Skjor's death as well as her own, was just a lot to handle on top of her stepfather's sudden appearance. Remembering all of this then, it dawned on me that her brother may not know any of this. I imagined she wouldn't tell him about the beast so soon after his reemergence into her life, but the rest may not be known to him either.

Cass laughed. "Sounds like he hasn't changed much." He set his hand down, shaking his head. "He's far too demanding. Wants things done his way. I had actually been hoping he may have changed since…" He looked over at Kara, who nodded in understanding. "I guess it doesn't matter. It's only for a few days."

"We're going to see Ma. Not Viarmo." Kara said. Farkas' head was still resting firmly against her shoulder, but he was looking at me, his brow furrowed in utter confusion at the conversation happening around him. I shrugged to him.

He sat upright then. "Wait."

"What is it, brother?" I asked him.

"Lissa, who's in charge while you're gone?" He looked around the table, waiting for anyone to answer.

Kara furrowed her brow. "Are you not capable of taking care of yourselves?"

Aela turned to face Kara from where she sat beside her. "We are, but who's in charge?"

Farkas leaned around Kara to look at Aela. "Lissa, you should leave me in charge. I'd be a great leader. I'd be organized and supportive and—"

"You don't even know how to spell 'organized' or 'supportive.'" Aela countered.

Farkas laughed. "You don't have to be able to spell to kick ass."

"Harbingers don't kick ass, Farkas. They do paperwork." Aela nudged Kara. "I'm great at paperwork, Lissa. It would blow your mind."

Kara leaned on her palm, looking at me and shaking her head. "It's only a few days. You can make it a few days without a Harbinger." She said to them.

The two continued to ignore her. Aela scooted closer to Kara. "What if we have a spider infestation? Farkas couldn't handle a situation like that."

"Oh, and you could handle a skeever infestation?"

"Please. It's far more likely that spiders would infiltrate Jorrvaskr."

Farkas laughed again. "And what if Njada acts out? You can't control yourself."

Aela thought about that for a moment. "Fine, you could be in charge of just Njada. I could handle the rest."

"Aw, that's not fair!" Farkas put his chin on Kara's shoulder. "Tell her that's not fair, Lissa!"

Kara ran her hands over her face. "Eorland is in charge."

Aela and Farkas groaned in unison. Aela put her head on Kara's other shoulder. "Come on, Lissa." she said. "All Eorland does is forge. He's never even in Jorrvaskr."

"All the more reason to leave him in charge. You're grown men and women. Look after yourselves for less than a week."

Aela sat up, mocking a pout. "You're no fun." She turned back to the card game, picking up a card.

Later that night, most of Jorrvaskr had gone to sleep. Though a few were still up and drinking, I could hear Kara shuffling about in her room a few doors down. I had been trying to throw a few things together to bring to Solitude, but the sound of Kara moving around was proving to be rather distracting. I left my room, heading toward the door at the end of the long hallway.

I didn't bother knocking, knowing she wouldn't hear it from her actual bedroom. I pushed the door open, striding across her study to the doors that divided this room from her actual chambers. I stopped suddenly before I knocked.

I leaned against the door frame, relaxing my head against the wooden arch and crossing my arms. She was packing no doubt, but she was singing quietly to herself. It sounded like Tale of Tongues, but she didn't know half of the words, and she was half-humming the parts she didn't know. I laughed quietly, wondering why she didn't pick a song she knew all of the words to. I closed my eyes, listening to her soft tune and silently cursing myself for being so irrevocably in love with her.

After a few moments, I knocked on the door. She opened it shortly after, her face lighting up when she saw me. "Hi, stranger." She poked my chin. "You look a lot like a man I know under all of that beard."

I tried not to laugh, but I couldn't help myself. "Can I come in?"

She stepped to the side, letting me through the doorway. I sat on the side of her bed, watching her as she continued to pack. She was wearing her usual ratty pajamas, but her hair wasn't up like it usually was at night. It was long and flowing over her shoulders.

"I wanted to talk to you about something, pup."

She looked over her shoulder at me, trying to judge the seriousness of the conversation. "Am I in trouble?"

I laughed again. "No."

She leaned against the dresser across from me, an eyebrow raised. "What would you like to talk about, then?"

"Your brother's distaste for the elf." I watched her face, deciding whether or not I should continue. She seemed confused. "I was wondering what started their fight. The one that caused you two to leave Solitude."

Kara's face was emotionless for a moment, then she nodded. She crossed her arms, looking more unenthusiastic than I'd ever seen her. "Hmm." was the only thing she said in response.

"We don't have to talk about it, if you don't want to. I'd just been thinking about what you said this morning. That you weren't sure if you'd be able to control yourself." I scratched my beard, a sudden itch forming on my chin. "Cassius doesn't seem to want to fight, so why are you preparing to?"

Kara took a few breaths before she answered. "It's a very long story."

I nodded. "I assumed so. Take your time."

She walked across the room to sit in the chair in the corner. She folded one of her knees to her chest, letting the other one hang free as she launched into her tale. "Viarmo and Cassius didn't ever get along, but I didn't get along with him either." She leaned back in the chair. "I've never been as hot-headed as Cass, but I never liked Viarmo. I just had a…calmer way of dealing with him.

"When he and my mother were married, I was actually very happy for them. I don't remember my father at all, so I could only ever remember her being sad. When she found someone who made her happy, I couldn't have been more excited for her. Cass was a bit more stubborn, but he was almost seven when our father left us for the war. Ours was the only father he wanted.

"Once they married, they left us at the Bard's College to travel Skyrim. We both hated the College. Even though Cass liked the attention that came with it, there was nothing there for us. We're warriors, not poets or musicians. When they returned, Viarmo wanted us out of the house, and mother just let him do what he wanted.

"Viarmo had been trying to arrange to send Cassius away, in more ways than one. First he tried an arranged marriage with his niece, but Cass obviously wanted nothing to do with that. Then he tried the Imperial Legion, trying to convince him to join." She paused, waiting for me to respond somehow.

"But he supported Ulfric. He wanted nothing to do with the Legion." I said, nodding to her. She seemed so nervous.

"Yes. But this day, Viarmo changed his tactic. I don't know if he was drunk or just stupid, but he was saying horrible things about our father. He'd never even met the man, and he was saying these ridiculous things about him. It was bothering Cassius, of course, but he was just sitting there and simmering. I knew he was angry, but I just remember him clenching and unclenching his fists, trying to control himself."

Kara sat up then, straightening herself out, but looking at her hands in her lap. "He started talking horribly about our mother, too. She was sitting right there, listening to all of what he was saying, and she was just silent. I remember yelling at her, asking her why she was letting him do this, why she was letting him send us away.

"She never answered me, but Viarmo did. He was in my face, yelling a bunch of nonsense at me, about how my brother and I were the product of two worthless people, so we must be twice as bad. He said it was great we got our mother's looks though, because that would make it easier to pawn us off to someone else. Make us someone else's problem."

Kara looked up at me, her eyes so confused. "I don't know what happened to me, Vilkas. I've never been an angry person, but something about the way he was just…objectifying us. Treating us like we weren't people. We were like an old couch that dampened his living room. It made me crazy."

"It would make anyone angry, Kara. You're not crazy."

She shrugged. "Well, I lashed out, shoved him away from me, and he grabbed my face and told me I had no right to touch him. That's what sent Cass over the edge." She shook her head. "They beat the hell out of each other. I think Cass may have killed him if he hadn't heard my mother crying." Her eyes were so distant, remembering.

"After we left, I kept apologizing to Cassius, trying to take all of the blame for what happened, but he wouldn't hear it. His face was all bruised and bloody, his lips were busted. He just kept saying, 'I don't want to talk about it, Karl. I don't want to talk about it.'" She shrugged. "So we never talked about it."

I shook my head. "And you still haven't?"

"Nope." She looked at me then, her face full of concern. She spoke in a very low voice. "That's why I'm worried, Vilkas. If I were to lose my temper again, I wouldn't push him. I would transform and tear him apart in my mother's living room."

"You have more control over yourself than you think, Kara." I said it to comfort her, but I meant it too.

She laughed quietly. "You should have heard the things the beast was telling me to do when Viarmo came to Whiterun. You'd be worried too."

I thought about that for a moment, then stood and kneeled beside her chair. I put my hand on her leg, trying to offer her some comfort. "The trip will be fine. I'm sure the elf learned his lesson when your brother let loose on him."

Kara smiled a little. "I hope so."

"And even if he hasn't changed, what can he do? You're grown Nords now. He can't do anything but cower at the fact that one of his wife's children could eat him alive, and the other could kill him with a simple word."

She laughed at that and scooted forward to wrap her arms around my neck for a hug. I held her tightly, trying to squeeze away any doubt she had. "Thank you. I needed that."

"Of course. I would do anything to keep you happy, pup."

She kissed my cheek, just below my eye. "You make me happy."

"Good." I said, pulling her in for a longer kiss.