Unnatural gold eyes stared back at her, fierce and angry on a field of scraggly brunette fur. The creature was crouched over a dead body, the fur on the back of its neck standing up in alarm and wariness. It couldn't decipher whether Thorunn was friend or foe. Her blade was bloodied, yet she had the scent of a wolf.

"Aela," Thorunn said gently. "It's me. Thorunn."

The werewolf cocked its head, huffing noisily. Thorunn's shoulders tensed as it started approaching her on two powerful hind legs. Its nostrils sniffed at her neck, her hand, then her midsection. Thorunn flinched and started backing away as the beast suddenly erupted into a long, drawn out howl. It pierced Thorunn's sensitive ears and simultaneously made her sad. She couldn't place why.

The beast began transforming right before her eyes. Mangled fur turned into skin, wolfish cries turned human and mundane, gold eyes recolored to blue. Eventually, all that was left a naked, human woman crouched on the ground.

Thorunn hurried over to one of the corpses and yanked off a cloak to wrap around her shoulders. Aela took it, clutching it around her as she got to her feet, still shaking from the transformation. Her expression was listless as she side-eyed Thorunn's stomach. "What is it?" she prodded.

"Your child is gifted," she answered. It was impossible to discern her own feelings towards the situation. "But it is..." Her brows furrowed as she struggled to convey. "...so strange. I am certain the wolf blood is the only thing that's protected it thus far, but... there's something else, too. Something unnatural."

Thorunn's concern was palpable. "What do you mean?" Her tone had gone cold. If something was wrong with her child...

Aela shook her head, confused. "It's impossible to tell. That wound in your side should have killed it, yet it lives. Wolf energy surrounds it, yes, but as I said, the wolf isn't the only thing. Perhaps it... has something to do with you being dragonborn."

Thorunn heard a guttural scream. "We'll talk about this later," she promised before taking off. The scream led her to Dra'hana, and the sound did not come from her, but the warrior she'd slain. There was nothing to fight when they arrived. Thorunn made a note of that and kept moving, her team slowly building.

Farkas and Vilkas were together and roaming when she found them. They'd already taken care of their group and two others; Volediri and Vunthar walked behind them. Thongvor was found next, mildly injured but alive, and then Mulnak, who treated the situation like it was child's play. To him, it probably was. Kottir came next in much the same circumstance as Mulnak. Isha was the only one they found still in battle, but she was nearing the end, impaling a soldier's throat with an arrow.

Their party swiftly dealt with the remainder of the Dominion soldiers. Thorunn wiped her blade off on her sleeve, then sheathed it. "That farmer really didn't know how to count," she commented, walking to gather Aegetha's reins.

"Harbinger," called Vilkas. Thorunn turned to face him. His dark hair, wet with sweat, hung over his eyes like black curtains. He raked his fingers through it, annoyed. "Does your promise withstand?"

"Aye," Thorunn confirmed, "but your job isn't over. One battle in exchange for a cure, that was the deal. That battle has yet to occur. You'll be ready when I call on you, I trust?"

Displeased, Vilkas nodded stiffly.

"Good. You, Farkas and Aela have leave to return to Whiterun until such time. As for the rest of you, we're heading back to Solitude."

Her hope- the last of it -was that the Redguards had come to a decision in the time Thorunn was gone. With their forces combined with the Nords, the Dominion stood no chance. And how was Ulfric faring, ruling as High King alone? Had he sought more allies? Sent scouts after them, or envoys to Markarth? This incessant unknowing annoyed her to no end. Once she returned to Solitude, she didn't plan to leave Ulfric's side for a long time.

They had to take the long route to Solitude to avoid stepping into the Reach. Taking the main road was too risky, so they stuck to mountain passes and alleyways. For most of the trip, they took the Pigeon's Nest Passage, named rightly after the innumerable amount of pigeons that passed overhead. The constant cawing was annoying, but some inconveniencing noises were preferable to another battle with the Dominion.

They passed through Whiterun Hold and Hjalmarch uneventfully, occasionally stopping to rest or pulling over at a tavern if there was one. The innkeepers of these taverns would give information in exchange for coin, and a couple of them claimed Dominion soldiers had passed through. One mercenary claimed he beat them bloody until they ran scrambling. Thorunn hoped that was true. Were these taverns in cities, the Thalmor wouldn't have dared enter them, knowing the guards would kill them before they ever got within reach. But these taverns were roadside and unprotected save for the choice mercenary or two.

Other rumors flitted through. Vampire attacks, sleepless nights in Dawnstar linked to a Daedric Prince, a man who killed children for his experiments in Morthal, a Mythic Dawn museum preparing for a grand opening, an alarming rise in thievery presumed to be the result of the Thieves Guild, cultists claiming Thorunn was a false Dragonborn. None of these concerned Thorunn half so much as the ones concerning Ulfric and his way of ruling. They said he was becoming restless and ruthless, executing anyone for even whispering an implication of not supporting him. Thorunn hoped for Ulfric's sake that that wasn't true.

There was so much on her mind that the travel was little more than a blur. She worried ceaselessly for Altair, hating every time she had to go to sleep not knowing if he lived or not. She worried for Odahviing, as well, and prayed unremittingly that this wasn't the foreshadowing of something bigger and world-threatening. She loved dragons as much as she loved her own self, and had had her fair share of killing them. She called for him again on the third day of traveling, and still he was absent.

More roads and passageways they ventured through. Through Pigmy Pass, the Priamn Road, the King's Track, the Rosebush Walk. Mountains, too, from the Calm Heights to the Whispering Peaks. Wolves were savage but smart enough not to go for food they had no hope of defeating, so they looked on in envy as Thorunn and her entourage passed. Dra'hana granted them immunity from the sabertooths, as well, but as for the skeevers and giant spiders, they were forced to contend with. Each time, they were put down swiftly, usually before Thorunn even had to draw her blade. They didn't run into any vampires or cultists, sadly, but they did exchange greetings with a few Vigilantes of Stendarr. They were very polite, Thorunn thought. She didn't tell them she happened to be a Daedra herself, with the wolf blood and all.

After a week's worth of travel, Solitude finally neared them. Strategically built on the banks of the Sea of Ghosts, Solitude was domineering and sturdy. The weather was always fair and its marketplace even fairer with all the goods and smiles it had to offer. An archway of stone arced across the road, and further down the gates stood, tall and barred with two stern guards on either side. A plethora of grasses and flowers rose up from the surroundings of the pathway.

When the guards caught sight of Thorunn and her party, they rushed to help. The one helped Thorunn from her horse while the other took a chest of luggage from Mulnak. Once she pushed through all their coddling, they made way to the Blue Palace, ignoring all the gapes they received from the passing by smallfolk. The doors to the palace opened at their advance.

Ulfric had been coming down the stairs to see what all the raucous was about when he saw her. His grip on the railing visibly tightened as if his knees might buckle beneath him. He looked rough, with overgrown hair and eyes red from lack of sleep. He looked thinner than he had when Thorunn left him, too. She rushed towards him and he met her half-way, taking her in his arms with a smile and sigh of relief.

"My love, who is it you bring with you?" he asked as they pulled away but not apart.

"Stormcloaks," she answered. "The last surviving of the army you sent, it seems." Her heart hurt for Rayya, Kemaan, and Yngvar the Singer. "The Dunmer and the Khajiit are new. Introduce yourselves."

"Volediri of House Gidralo," bowed the Dunmer. She didn't look pleased to see Ulfric and offered no 'sir''s or 'Your Grace''s.

"Dra'hana," said the Khajiit. "I am honored to meet you, Ulfric Stormcloak."

"Do you seek to take your oaths?" Ulfric asked pensively.

"Correct," said Dra'hana, while Volediri merely inclined her head.

"Galmar, see to it," Ulfric ordered with a casual wave of his hand.

Galmar clapped a hand on Thorunn's shoulder as he passed. "Good to see you, lass," he said. He took Volediri and Dra'hana from the room, leaving a hollow silence behind.

"Kottir Red-Shoal, I would have you return to our camp in the Reach, but not yet, not until I have men to send with you. I have good news." He took Thorunn's hand in his, smiling genuinely at her. "Hammerfell has agreed to assist us. In two weeks time, fifteen-thousand Alik'r will be at our disposal, heeded by Queen Ahleen."

Thank Talos. Thorunn's confidence was restored to her. "At what expense?" she asked, ever suspicious of one's intentions.

"They ask only for us to assist them in return when the time comes."

A small price to pay, in hindsight. They couldn't afford to think about the long-term consequences right now, though. Thorunn nodded in acknowledgement. "That's good news. We'll need to map out what we're going to do with them."

"I have already begun," Ulfric responded testily. He ran his eyes over the group Thorunn had brought with her. "You lot can retire to the training grounds with the rest of the garrison. Hot food and warm beds await. There's healing in the Temple of the Divines if you need it and a sum of gold will be delivered to each of you in due time for ensuring my betrothed's safe arrival. Thongvor, go with Jorleif."

After they were gone, Ulfric placed a hand on the small of Thorunn's back and led her up the stairs. "I heard of Altair's capture," he said. "There is... troubling implications regarding Thongvor and his regent."

Thorunn's brow creased. "Elaborate."

He sighed tiredly. "Freya Gentry's 'snakes' tell her that Vikkesia willingly let the Dominion into the city shortly after a letter from Thongvor was deployed."

"And you trust her word?"

"Do I have any other choice?"

He wasn't wrong. He'd chosen Freya for his council with good reason, and he wouldn't have done so if her information wasn't good nor if she wasn't trustworthy. "Acting against Thongvor could ruin any chance we have of gentling the Dominion's presence in Markarth," Thorunn said.

He hesitated for just a moment, and that told Thorunn all she needed to know. He'd distanced himself emotionally from her in the past three weeks. And now he was withholding information from her.

"Ulfric," she warned. She stopped at the top of the stairs.

"With Thongvor indisposed, we have an excuse as to why we didn't answer the Dominion in the time period they gave us. It will give us more time and simultaneously deal with a potential traitor," he explained haughtily. He'd lowered his voice, careful not to be overheard.

"You plan to kill him." Thorunn shifted her weight and crossed her arms, narrowing her eyes.

"I am left with little choice, Thorunn."

"You are always left with choices." She had to fight to keep her voice level. "There are questionable rumors flying about your name right now, that you've been executing people like flies. Are they true?"

He sighed, and started to defend himself-

"Don't," she demanded. "Do not ever sigh at me like I'm some child who just won't understand. Are they true?"

"Yes, Thorunn, many people have been sentenced to the headsman's axe as of late," he snapped impatiently. "This is war. One too many have spoken out against me and I will not have people spreading doubt in my leadership. We can't afford it, not now."

He was wrong, but was it too late to reason with him? "You can't afford to kill half of your people for unfounded reasons, either," she retorted.

"Unfounded? They spew treason."

"If so many people oppose you, perhaps you shouldn't be king." She regretted the words the moment they left her mouth. That regret deepened as Ulfric's expression twisted into anger.

"Get out of my sight," he ordered. "I have enough doubt lain on my shoulders. I don't need it from my lover as well." He started to shoulder past her, but Thorunn caught his forearm and yanked him back.

"You need to learn how to contend with opposition," she said. "If a brick wall's in your way, you can't just sack it. You go around it."

He rolled his eyes. She slapped him, fist backhanding into his cheek at full force.

His head whipped around with the force and he stumbled before regaining his balance. He held his steadily bruising jaw, staring at her in shock. She held her ground, arching an expectant brow.

For an agonizingly intense moment, they simply stared at each other, their gazes fighting for dominance. Ulfric was first to relax. He clenched his jaw. "It's good to have you back," he stated.

She smiled thinly. "It's good to be back."