"What's your name, girl?"

The man in front of her had a familiar face, one that Ria had somehow managed not to forget in nearly twenty years. He smiled warmly at her, crinkling his eyes a bit. On his cheek was a swirling tattoo, the same one she'd noticed all those years before. It was easy to remember an encounter like that, especially now, as she stood in the brightly lit mead hall of Jorrvaskr.

"Ria," she said proudly, "of Falkreath. I seek to join the Companions."

"Do you, now?" The old man crossed his arms as he looked at her. "I see a certain strength of spirit in you-"

"He says that about everyone," the man next to him interrupted. Ria recognized him, too, though not quite as readily. He had the same warpaint he'd worn when she'd seen him long ago, the same snide smile, but he was far more weathered, and his hair had thinned to the point where the top of his head was completely bald. "But you'll be able to prove yourself."

Ria smiled as Kodlak shot his comrade a warning look. "Anyone with a brave heart and a strong arm can be a Companion. I believe you've got the heart, but let's test your arm to be sure. Vilkas!" He called out, and a younger man standing near the doors turned around. "Take this lass out and spar with her. See if she's got what it takes to join up."

The younger man waved his arm at her as he grabbed a sword from the weapons rack. "Outside," he called in his thickly accented voice, and she followed him, leaving her pack by the back doors and gripping her rusted old sword so tight that her knuckles turned white.

Sparring didn't take long. Ria tried to remember everything Lod had taught her, but she didn't get many hits in before Vilkas managed to knock her to the ground. But she was here, and that was something, so she smiled all the while.

"You'll need training," Vilkas said as he offered her a hand up, "but Kodlak will like you." The side of his mouth twisted into a grin as he made his way towards the doors. "Grab your pack again. The whelps' room is downstairs."

As Ria went to bed that evening, it was all she could do to keep her excitement contained. She was really there, among the fabled Companions, the place she'd wanted to be her entire life. She only wished her parents could see her now, that they'd gotten to take some small part in it. The journey ahead was long still, but she would muddle through somehow.

For the first time in a month, Ria slept easily.

She'd made it.