'Wake up!' I opened my eyes and the Imperial and Nord women were standing above me. The Imperial looked concerned, while the Nord looked like she was extremely angry with me.

'Are you okay?' the Imperial asked.

'I think I'm going to be sick,' I gasped, throwing myself out of the bed and running out the door. I heard someone call after me but I just continued running. I hurried out of Jorrvaskr through the back door and collapsed to my knees and began coughing and spluttering in the cold air. I pulled myself up onto one of the benches and put my head between my knees.

When I gathered myself I wiped the sweat from my brow and caught my breath. I thought back to my dream. Those horrid wings almost touching my face, those hands grabbing at my body. The pain and then the cold in the snow.

I wanted to go home. I wanted my hunting bow and my own clothes. I wondered was my mother's ring still in my house and were my other belongings still there. Had my house been raided since I was gone or did people even know it was there? I wouldn't be able to get home until the war was over though. Crossing the border from Skyrim to Cyrodiil was too risky. And considering what happened at that bandit fort, I wasn't in a hurry to go running through desolate places by myself.

I walked up to the wall of the city at the back of Jorrvaskr and used the targets for help, kicking off the shoulder of the target to climb to the top of the wall. I put my back against the pillar and let both of my legs hang on either side of the wall. I inhaled the cold air even though it sent me into a fit of shaking, I didn't mind it. I looked up at the sky and saw it was clear tonight. Masser and Secunda were visible tonight too. I feared the sight of a dragon appearing in the sky and I waited for this to happen, but thankfully it didn't.

I closed my eyes, but I didn't sleep. I waited for the rest of the night, every so often looking to see when the sun would be rising. Spotting a few Luna Moths outside the city made me smile.

I looked to the sky, it was close to dawn now and I expected some people would be getting up soon. I heard a creaking noise and turned my head towards Jorrvaskr and saw the Imperial and the Nord from my room walk out to the courtyard. The Nord stormed up to the wall I was resting on.

'You think you can just disappear all night after something like that?' she called to me.

'Njada leave her!' called the Imperial.

'Stay out of this new blood!' she hissed at the Imperial. She glared up at me. 'I don't care for your relationship with Farkas and Vilkas. You can only get so far in this by being their courtesan! ' I looked down at her but I would not move.

'Farkas and Vilkas are my friends, nothing more, but if you want to be jealous then go ahead,' I told her, turning my head to look at the outside of the city.

'Prove to me you're here because you're worthy then!' she challenged.

'I don't have to prove myself to you,' I called, still staring into the distance. I could see the trees in the distance and I imagined myself climbing one and running from branch to branch.

'Njada, Vilkas is here,' the Imperial woman hissed to the Nord.

'No, but you do have to prove yourself to him,' she snickered. I turned my head and saw Vilkas walking down into the training court. He held a bow and a quiver full of arrows. Njada and the Imperial girl walked over to the targets and drew their weapons and began practicing.

'Are you going to stay up there all day too?' he asked, crossing his arms across his chest. Did he know I stayed out here all night? I swung my leg to inside the walls and jumped down from the wall, kicking off the shoulder of the target and landing on the ground.

'When did you say you were heading North?'

'A few weeks. Right now you're doing standard protocol, just like everyone else did,' he said, tossing me the quiver and the bow. I swung the quiver over my head and onto my back.

'I thought we were going hunting?' I whispered.

'You are. After this,' he said, 'Show me what you've got. I can take it.'

'What?'

'Hit me,' he ordered, pulling out his sword and pointing it at me. I pulled an arrow from the quiver and lamely shot at his chest. It bounced against his breastplate and I looked up at him and frowned. He pulled out his sword and swung at me. I stumbled backwards quickly to avoid being hit and looked at him in shock.

Njada began laughing in her stance at my shock.

I ran at the target she was practicing at and pulled myself to the top of the wall, using her target as a stepping stone by kicking off it in one swift movement. I stood on top of the wall, pulled an arrow from the quiver again and shot an arrow at Vilkas, purposely missing his ear. I instinctively pulled another arrow and aimed at him again. He looked back at the arrow that was now sticking up from the ground and then to me.

'Not bad,' he commented, sounding quite surprised himself. I jumped down from the wall and he snapped the bow from my hands. 'Remind me not to give you one of these again though,' he said. I handed him back the quiver and bowed my head slightly before walking into the hall.

I could feel my heart pounding in my chest, bashing against my ribcage, ready to explode. I should have told Farkas I could use a bow before I ventured towards Dawnstar on my own. If I had a bow I could have stopped myself from falling into that situation. I should have told someone and then maybe it would have never even happened. I knew I could use a bow like that, but Vilkas and Farkas didn't. If I told them before, I could have had that spare bow, saved myself and I could be in Dawnstar right now. But would I really want to be in Dawnstar?

Was I meant to be raped by bandits? Was this supposed to happen to me? Could I have stopped it? Was I supposed to stop it?

I was stupid and it was my own fault for going through there alone. It was a stupid idea and it was my fault. It was all my fault.

I slammed straight into Farkas and stumbled backwards. I looked up at him and tried to steady myself. I then realized I was shaking with fear. I could feel the cold paleness on my face and I hoped Farkas didn't notice.

'Did Vilkas see you?' he asked, unaware of my trembling body.

'Yes,' I whispered. I put my head down and walked past, into the hall. I hurried down the stairs, taking two steps at a time and through the doors into the hallway of the living quarters. A strong hand grabbed my arm and spun me around.

'You said you could hunt, you didn't say you could stick an arrow in someone's head if you wanted to,' Vilkas growled. He released my arm roughly and stared down at me.

'I'm sorry,' I squeaked.

'And you want to go to the College?' he growled through gritted teeth. 'You want to throw away that for magic?'

'I hunt for food, I don't kill people,' I told him as sternly. He grabbed my wrist and pulled me down the lengthy corridor and ushered me into his room.

'If you leave Farkas for a College-'

'I'm not leaving him for a College,' I said sternly.

'You're going to attend the College and you're never going to come back. I don't care if you're here or not Luna, but Farkas does,' he told me.

'Why would he care so much?'

'You have no idea how much it bothered him when he knew what those bandits did to you,' he told me.

'But why?'

'Talos knows,' he said rolling his eyes. He paused and looked up. 'Wait here,' he ordered, walking out the door. I sighed and looked around the room.

There was some Chaurus eggs in a bowl, a book shelf and some potions sitting on a shelf. I didn't recognize the potions because my mother always used empty wine bottles and put her own labels on them. I walked over to the book shelf to inspect his choice of reading. I slid out a book that sat under a smaller book and a pair of ice wraith teeth. My mother used to collect the Chaurus eggs and the ice wraith teeth so I recognized them.

I opened the book and read the title; Lycanthropic Legends of Skyrim. I had heard my parents talk of Lycanthropy when I was younger. Mother was obsessive of finding a "cure in a bottle" for it and father suggested a potion to contain it each night. I never heard much of their conversations about it but my father did tell me of an encounter he had with a werewolf or a "lycanthrope sufferer" as he called it.

'What are you doing?' snapped Vilkas. I dropped the book to the floor with a jump.

'Sorry, I was curious,' I blurted. He snatched the book from the floor and tucked it away in his bookshelf and sent me a nasty looking glare. He pulled out his sword and my heart began to pound in my chest.

'Take this to the Eorlund in the Skyforge for me to be sharpened. Be careful with it, it's probably worth more than you,' he warned, handing me the sword. I gripped it with both hands and tried not to let it fall to the ground. 'Go. Now!'

I left the room and hurried up the stairs and through the hall, huffing and puffing, trying to carry Vilkas' sword. I climbed the stairs to the Skyforge and dragged myself to Eorlund who was smelting something in the forge.

'Vilkas. Wanted you to. Sharpen his sword,' I panted, 'Please.'

Eorlund took the sword from my hands in one of his and stared at me for a moment.

'You must be the new whelp then,' he commented. 'Were you not here with Farkas a few days ago?'

'I was,' I said weakly.

'And now you're running errands for Vilkas,' he chuckled, his silver beard shaking in the morning sun. 'Don't always do what they tell you. You may be new blood, but no one is in charge in the Companions. No one is in charge. Every man is his own and every woman her own.'

'Are you a Companion?' I asked.

'No. But none of them can work a forge properly so I am honoured to work for them,' he told me. 'I'll have Vilkas' sword ready in an hour.' I nodded and turned to leave. 'Actually, could I ask a favour of you?'

'Of course,' I said nervously. He lifted a shield from behind his grindstone and held it in his hands.

'Could you bring this to Aela for me? My wife is in mourning and I would like to get back to her as soon as I can,' he explained.

'Of course. Is your wife okay?' I asked, accepting the shield in both of my hands.

'She will be fine. She is worried for our son. It is no worry,' he said. I nodded my head and left the Skyforge. The shield was a lot easier to carry than Vilkas' sword. I entered Jorrvaskr again and hurried down to the living quarters. I looked around for a few minutes before discovering Aela's room. I knocked and entered on her approval and saw her sitting at a small table talking with a man.

'Eorlund asked me to bring this to you,' I told her, setting her shield down beside her, leaning it against the leg of her chair.

'Thank you Luna,' she said with a kind smile.

'You're the new blood,' the man commented.

'Ah yes, Skjor, this is Luna. Luna this is Skjor,' Aela said. Skjor extended his hand and I shook it.

'Pleasure to meet you, Sir,' I said with a nervous smile.

'I saw you with Vilkas in the training yard,' he informed me.

'Ah yes,' Aela laughed, 'Ria said you gave quite the show.'

'Indeed you did,' Skjor said, folding his arms across his chest.

'I knew you could handle Vilkas in a fight,' she said with a wink.

'It wasn't really a fight,' I said with a small voice.

'Don't be modest,' laughed Skjor, 'She could have put that arrow through his eye. Almost did too.'

'I believe Farkas said something about you teaching him to hunt?' Aela inquired.

'Um…Yes. I told him I'd help,' I said.

'Good luck. Ice brains has trouble keeping quiet when hunting. I don't mean talking, I mean he makes a lot of his noise, what with his armour and his inability to hide in bushes,' Aela laughed.

'Good thing we have food here then,' I laughed nervously.

'Aela, have you seen L-' Farkas stopped at Aelas door when he spotted me. 'Oh. There you are. Vilkas said you're going hunting now.'

'I guess I am,' I told him.

'Vilkas left a bow and some arrows upstairs,' Farkas told me. I nodded and said my goodbyes to Aela and Skjor.

'I don't know the woods around here,' I told him.

'I don't know them too,' Farkas replied.

'I guess we can try the pine woods near Riverwood,' I suggested. He agreed and we left Jorrvaskr after collecting my bow and arrows.

'What's wrong with the tree?' I asked him.

'It's the Gildergreen,' he told me. 'I don't know much about it, but folks say it's dying.' I looked up at the pale bark that was peeling from the trunk. Farkas continued walking. We walked through the market and out of Whiterun. I didn't need to look back at it this time. I was going back this time and I knew it.

'I was thinking of taking a trip to Winterhold in a few weeks,' I told him as we walked down the road.

'Why? Don't you like it here?'

'I do. But I don't think the Companion life is quite for me,' I said as sweetly as I could.

'You gave Vilkas quite a showing this morning,' he stated. I got the feeling he wasn't as brainless as everyone thought.

'I don't think the Companions life is something I want to do Farkas.' He stopped in his tracks and looked at me oddly.

'So why would you go to Winterhold?'

'The College is there,' I explained.

'You want to learn magic?' he gaped. He stared blankly at me.

'Well… Maybe. I mean I'm able to use magic. Not very well, but I'm able and I want to learn to control it,' I told him.

'You can do that here.'

'Farkas,' I said sternly, 'I'm going to the college to study. I know you worry and I know you just want me to be safe, but I can't stay running errands in Jorrvaskr for the rest of my life.'

'You could get your own place in Whiterun. You can do magic there,' he said with a hopeful smile. He continued walking and I had to continue with him.

'I can come visit every few weeks,' I told him. He stopped again and I turned to look at him.

'Luna, the roads aren't safe. Especially up North,' he warned.

'I know that Farkas,' I said quietly looking down at my feet. My boots were getting dirty from the dusty road and I focused on that and avoided the memories that came flooding back into my head.

Farkas' head snapped up and he began looking around frantically.

'What?' I asked worriedly, 'What is it? What's wrong?'

'Vampires,' he growled. I looked around, following Farkas' line of vision. In the distance I could see four figures marching toward us. I didn't know how he knew they were vampires from so far away.

'Stay behind me,' he warned and he pulled me gently behind him, tugging me along the road as we walked.

'You there!' came a proper voice. I tensed behind Farkas, but he continued to walk and so I continued to walk behind him, staying as close as I could to him. I knew my bow was secured around my chest and I could rip it off easily if needed, but I was scared.

'Luna,' he hissed under his breath, 'Get behind that rock and stay down until I tell you otherwise.' I stood back as he took the greatsword from his back and held it up. I ran behind the rock and pulled the bow off my back and swiped an arrow from my quiver. I held it down, tucking my legs into my chest, but ready to aim and fire if needed.

I felt the rock shake and I jumped. The grunt from the receiver of that knock sounded like Farkas. I told myself to jump from the rock and help him, but I was frozen. The vicious noise that came next had me shaking so badly, the arrow was making a racket against the bow. I couldn't contain the violent shaking that my body was now locked into.

Within a few seconds I heard a cry from an unfamiliar voice. One vampire. Another let out a scream. With both cries from the vampire, I could hear a strong growling roar from something else. Something beastly. And then the third was dead.

The last vampire fell in front of me with huge scratches along its arm. It hissed and lunged toward me and I held up my bow, hands shaking, pulled back the arrow and released it and pulled another from my quiver. The creature pounced in front of me, behind the vampire and I released the arrow and shot it in the shoulder, but it barely noticed. It looked up and grabbed the undead in its huge claws. It opened the vampire with its strong jaws and the vampire screamed in pain before it was silenced for good.

The great grey beast looked up, its muzzle destroyed in blood, its claws dripping. It looked away from me and jumped above the rock I was hiding under. I dropped my bow and held my hands to cover my mouth to stop myself from screaming. I still couldn't help myself from shaking uncontrollably.

'Farkas,' I whispered with a shaky voice. 'Farkas,' I said a little louder, pulling myself up from behind the rock. I stumbled out from behind the rock and saw Farkas on his hands and knees, stark naked on the road with an arrow in his shoulder.

'Oh Divines,' I gasped, 'It was you.'

'I didn't want you to see this,' he said quietly. I walked up to him slowly, extending a shaking hand to him and gently touching his back.

'I'm sorry. I wouldn't have shot if I had…'

He grabbed the arrow and with a swift move pulled it from his shoulder and dropped it on the road. I kept my trembling hand on his back. It was hot with sweat and blood.

'Don't tell Vilkas,' he said, barely above a whisper.

'How did you…'

'In the Companions is The Circle. Few join. You join and you become…' He stopped and put his head down and stood to his feet. He stretched his shoulder in a circular motion and silently gathered his armour, pulling it over his bare skin.

'You don't want to be?' I asked.

'No. Usually I can contain it but since we left you for Dawnstar it's been getting hard to control,' he said sadly.

'I'm sorry,' I told him.

'It was my choice, I took the beastblood. It's not your burden.'

'What if there was a cure,' I suggested. He stopped, half crouched in an attempt to pick up his sword. He stared at me and I swallowed hard.

'There is no cure,' he said, picking up his greatsword and placing it on his back.

'I could make one,' I told him.

'You can't make one if there is none,' he told me, 'Even I know that.'

'Farkas, I mean I could create a cure,' I explained.

'I think we should just go home,' he said, taking leave back to Whiterun. I followed him home, walking a few steps behind him, neither of us saying a word. Once we reached Jorrvaskr he stormed down to his room and Vilkas stood in front of me, staring at me in the hall.

'What happened?' he asked.

'I don't know,' I whispered.