She awakens many hours later. Or… maybe not many hours later. She can see the sun streaming in through a window above her bed, and it seems as bright as it was when she fell asleep. She tries to sit up, to get a better look, but groans as her injured ribs protest the pressure. As she falls back to the pillows, there is a rustle from across the room; she turns her head to look and sees Ria hovering over her.
"Are you ok?" The woman – if she could be called that, being so close in age to Mayenor herself – asks worriedly. "I mean, obviously you're not. Your ribs are broken and everything. And Vilkas hasn't even apologized!" She looks annoyed by this fact, and Mayenor chuckles.
"I don't expect him to, Ria," she assures her Shield-Sister, slowly raising herself into a sitting position and wincing when her ribs are jostled. Ria flits around her, chattering vaguely, but Mayenor ignores her.
She realizes she's been stripped of her armor, presumably by Aela, and left to rest in her underwear and tank top. Sighing, she stands and struggles to at least pull on some pants. She manages just fine by herself until it comes time to button the linen slacks, when she finds that trying the button causes her forearms to put pressure on her ribs. Ria swoops in to help her, and she bites her lip, fighting back the indignation that consumes her. As soon as Ria is out of the way, she limps her way out the door, carrying herself as proudly as she can manage.
"Where are you going?" Ria continues to flutter around her. "You don't have shoes on. You shouldn't go upstairs, it'll hurt your ribs. Oh, and Aela wants to see you when you wake up. And, obviously, you're awake now, so you should go find her." Mayenor closes her eyes and draws a slow breath, begging the gods for patience. Ria means well, but her over-eager and overly-chatty nature quickly grates on her nerves. She's the reason Mayenor almost never spends the night in Jorrvaskr, sometimes paying for a room just to avoid her.
"Luckily, that's exactly where I'm going. And I have a private matter to discuss with her, so if you'd let us have a moment…?" She's being as gentle as she can manage, but Ria still looks crestfallen.
"Oh. Is there anything I can do for you? Anything at all? I want you to get better. See, I was thinking maybe I could go with you on your next adventure-"
"Breakfast," Mayenor cuts in sharply before Ria can get carried away. "Could you get me some breakfast? Maybe a sweet roll?"
"Of course!" Ria coos, happy to be useful. As she turns and heads for the stairs with a spring in her step, Mayenor slips down the hall and to Aela's study. She knocks and waits for an answer before entering.
"You're up. Good. I was beginning to think the Temple of Kynareth had lost its healing powers." Aela is bent over her work and barely spares a glance at Mayenor when she enters. "Drink that," she demands, jerking her chin toward a reddish bottle. "It'll taste like shit, but it'll take away the pain and speed up your healing." Obediently, Mayenor takes the bottle and uncorks it, sniffing warily at the contents. "Don't you dare turn your nose up at it," Aela warns. "I paid good coin for that. Besides, you're gonna need your strength." Something in the woman's voice gives Mayenor an inexplicable feeling of dread. Nonetheless, she takes a deep breath and tips the contents of the red bottle down her throat.
She coughs and splutters, struggling to swallow and fighting not to vomit even once she has.
"Don't you dare throw that up!" Aela orders. "I paid two hundred septims for that!"
"I'll pay you back," Mayenor mumbles, her words muffled by the hand that covers her mouth, "if you let me throw it up."
"No," she replies sternly, and Mayenor closes her eyes, forcing her gag reflex to calm down. After a moment, she straightens and looks to Aela, nodding.
"I think I'm good now."
"Good. And don't worry about paying me back. It came from the Companion's funds. Now," she begins shuffling the papers on her desk around. "I have an important matter to discuss with you."
"Yeah, you mentioned I'm going to need that potion. Why?" Mayenor asks, already feeling the warm comfort of healing magic blossoming over her injured ribs.
"I need you to accompany another Companion on a job," Aela answers carefully, which only heightens Mayenor's suspicion.
"Which Companion? Please not Torvar. Last time I went on a job with him, he tried to get into my sleeping roll with me and I ended up stabbing him in the arm." Aela bites back a grin.
"No, it's not Torvar," she assures her Shield-Sister. "Worse."
"Ria?" Mayenor guesses. "She's a bad shot and she's annoying."
"Worse."
"Um… You? You're a bitch to travel with." Aela shoots a playfully threatening glare at Mayenor, but shakes her head in the negative. "Well then who? I don't know who else would be awful to work with."
"Vilkas," Aela sighs, and Mayenor stares in disbelief.
"Vilkas? The guy who just broke my ribs? No. I refuse the job."
"You can't refuse a job and you know it."
"Why don't you send Farkas with him? They fight well together."
"They're too competitive. They start trying to out-fight one another and they get reckless. The Jarl of Falkreath didn't give many details when I took the contract. All he said was that he's having a 'serious problem' with bandits attacking farms and houses throughout the Hold. The attacks have been pretty scattered, so it looks like we're going up against an entire camp, not just an outpost. I can't risk Farkas and Vilkas making a mistake and getting themselves killed."
"Well then send Torvar with him. Let them have some nice bonding time." Mayenor is practically begging, but she can't even care. She'll do anything to avoid a job with Vilkas.
"I know you're just trying to get out of this, but you're not going to." Aela's voice is firm, but her smile is sympathetic. "As much as you hate it, the two of you make an excellent team. Plus, you're more familiar with Falkreath than anyone else. My Thane." She smirks when she voices the title, and Mayenor wrinkles her nose.
"Don't call me that. I didn't want to be Thane," she says, a distinct whine to her voice.
"You shouldn't keep it hidden from everyone," Aela comments. "We're your family. You should share honors like that, not keep them to yourself."
Mayenor thinks of everything else she's keeping from the Companions: that she is the Dragonborn, that she belongs to the Thieves' Guild in Riften, that she is an assassin with the Dark Brotherhood. There's much about her life she's kept hidden from the various factions with which she's associated. No one in Skyrim, save Mayenor herself, truly knows her, though at least one thinks he does.
"I just don't want anyone treating me differently," she finally says, shrugging.
"Not even Vilkas? He might give you some respect if he knew your position."
"I don't need his respect," she scowls. "If he wants to treat me like a whelp, that's fine. It'll just hurt his pride even more when I kick his ass." Aela shakes her head.
"Don't kill each other, please. I need you both in good condition. With all these dragons showing up, I get the feeling we're going to be getting in quite a few contracts. Now, go get details from Vilkas. He should be in his room packing." Aela waves a vague goodbye, obviously dismissing Mayenor.
With a huff, Mayenor leaves the office, shutting the door behind her. For a moment, she stands and glowers at the wall, quietly fuming. She doesn't spend a lot of time at Jorrvaskr: between the Dark Brotherhood sending her out to fulfill contracts, trying to keep the dragon threat under control, and getting the Thieves' Guild back on its feet, she has her hands full most of the time.
"Figures I'd get a job as soon as I get back," she grumbles, kicking angrily at the stone floor.
"Say what?" Mayenor jumps in surprise when Ria swoops up beside her, carrying a tray laden with sweet rolls, fruits, and a pitcher of juice.
"Nothing," Mayenor replies, waving a hand dismissively. "Thank you for this. It looks wonderful." Ria beams, and together they find a nearby empty table and settle down to share a meal.
"So what did Aela say?" Ria asked as Maynor devours her food. She must have been knocked out for quite a while; she's starving.
"She's sending me on a job. With Vilkas." Ria looks as appalled as Mayenor feels.
"After you've spent the last three days doped up with healing magic? Your ribs are broken; how does she expect you to accomplish anything?"
"Healing potion," Mayenor answers, patting her side to prove that she is, indeed, better.
"Still, why him?"
"I don't know," she answers with a shrug, washing down the last bite of her sweet roll with a gulp of juice.
"Well… When are you leaving?" Ria asks earnestly, clearly hoping Mayenor won't disappear anytime soon. After a job, she tends to vanish to who knows where for a few months.
"I don't know. I have to go find Vilkas and ask." Mayenor scowls, clearly not looking forward to the conversation. "Thanks again for the food," she asks, standing from her place at the table. "I better go find Vilkas…"
"No problem!" Ria chirps. "And make him apologize!" She calls after Mayenor as the younger girl heads down the hall. Mayenor can't hide a grin.
She's never been to Vilkas's room, but she knows it's across from Farkas's, which she's visited a few times on various errands. She pads down the hallway on which the brothers live, the stone floor cool against her bare feet, and when she reaches the end of the hall, she turns to face Vilkas's open door. She can see him in there, clad in plain, cotton slacks and a loose-fitting shirt; his armor is carefully laid out on the small bed, and Mayenor allows herself a moment to take advantage of this rare sneak peek into Vilkas's private space. She's always imagined that his space would be neat and uncluttered, so she's surprised to see various weapons leaning against the walls and alchemy ingredients scattered in the most nonsensical places. There is a dresser across from the bed, and out of this, he's taking fresh clothes and folding them tightly into his rucksack.
Curiosity sated, she clears her throat and knocks once. He throws a glance over his shoulder and grunts for her to come in. She doesn't, instead leaning against the doorframe and waiting for him to acknowledge her. After all the indignities she's suffered at his hands, from being relentlessly hazed as a whelp to his continuing effort to make her life hell, she's not about to beg for his attention. So she waits, arms crossed and eyebrows raised, for him to deign to speak with her.
After a moment, he pauses in his packing and half-turns, looking at her expectantly. She returns his look in kind, and he sighs.
"Can we not make this any more unpleasant than it already is?" He asks, tone bordering on exasperated. She bristles.
"I don't know. Ask my broken ribs," she retorts, and she knows it's a childish thing to say, but he always brings out the worst in her.
"I didn't mean to hurt you," he rumbles, turning back to his rucksack. "And I apologize." Mayenor stares at his broad back, stunned into silence. He has never once said anything verging on kind to her, much less apologized for hurting her, and yet this came unprovoked.
"Tell me about this job," she finally says, deciding to ignore his unprecedented words.
"Bandits in Falkreath. Gotta find the camp and wipe it out. Big reward. We leave at dawn." He turns around fully for the first time and looks at her without a hint of his usual sarcasm and arrogance. "What else do you need to know?"
"Horses or cart?" She asks, hoping they're riding to Falkreath on their own. The cart drivers always want to chat and gossip, and she's rarely in the mood to oblige them.
"Horses," he answers. "We'll have to go slow in this heat so they don't overheat. I plan to make it to Falkreath Hold by nightfall and rent rooms. Tomorrow is all travel, so hopefully no fighting except for the occasional bear or wolf."
"Fine." She turns to leave, but he calls out to her to wait.
"How are you feeling?" He asks, and she is visibly taken aback by the apparent sincerity in his words.
"Fine, now. Aela bought a strong healing potion so I'd be healed for this job." He nods, and Mayenor almost thinks she can see relief in his eyes.
"Good. I'm glad."
"Yeah…" She agrees dumbly, not sure how to interpret his sudden change of heart.
"Well. See you in the morning, then. Be sure to pack tonight. Don't worry too much about food; we'll get the supplies we need when we get there. No sense to load ourselves down for the ride." He turns his back to her, an obvious dismissal, and she wanders back down the hall to where Ria still sits at the table, awaiting news.
"Well?" She prompts. "Did he apologize?"
"Yes, actually." Mayenor's voice is dazed as she continues to puzzle through Vilkas's actions.
"Oh." Ria looks surprised. "Well… Good. He should have. So when are you leaving?"
"Dawn." Mayenor pulls herself from her thoughts to look at Ria, who seems to droop.
"So soon? I was hoping you'd stay around a while longer…" Mayenor almost smiles, feeling an odd, almost maternal fondness for the older girl. It was obvious from the day Mayenor stumbled into Jorrvaskr that Ria is considered a lesser Companion, and Mayenor can understand why: her combat technique is poor, she's clumsy, and she lacks stealth and restraint. Even so, her determination and eagerness to please makes her useful for small contracts.
"It shouldn't be a long job," Mayenor assures her Shield-Sister. "Just a bandit camp in Falkreath. I'll be back in a few days." She doesn't add that, once back in Whiterun, she'll only stick around long enough to collect her payment for the job before leaving again, though she's not sure where she'll go this time. She's spent the last several seasons in Riften – or, rather, under Riften – and the knowledge that she's no longer needed there stings. She had thought after taking care of the Mercer problem that she could finally settle down and spend a little time relaxing with her fellow Guild members, but Brynjolf had made it clear that she had served her purpose as far as he was concerned.
Mayenor pulls herself from her thoughts and forces herself to listen to Ria, who is still rambling cheerfully.
"I was thinking that maybe you and I could go hunting together sometime, when you're not busy," the brunette was saying, eyes earnest. "Maybe you can help me with my archery? I'm getting better, though; I killed a bear the other day!"
"Really? What'd you do with the pelt?" Mayenor asks, feigning interest.
"Took it to the blacksmith." Ria proudly tugs at the leather bracers around her wrists. "Had these made. And made a necklace out of one of the claws." She produces a long, curved claw from under her tunic, holding it out for Mayenor to see.
"That's a pretty sharp claw," she says, whistling appreciatively. Ria looks irrationally pleased. "Anyway, I better start packing. Gotta do some shopping in town before I'm ready to set off again. See you for dinner?" She starts toward her bed, intent on gathering her clothes and weapons so she can tend to the necessary repairs. Behind her, Ria is still grinning as she waves a too-energetic farewell.