I own nothing, make no profit. Skyrim and chars are blah blah, Bethesda, blah blah. Yeah.
While nothing too violent, I feel the need to warn people for a bit of violence towards the end. And thank you wonderful people who reviewed, favorited, and read! This will not be the last of Aela and Nora, though the next bit of them will solely depend on if and when someone posts a prompt on the kinkmeme that would fit them.
Aela observed her and noted Nora seemed far more settled than before.
She was extroverted with her surroundings, would trot off to investigate this, that, and the other thing before promptly returning to Aela's side.
The huntress paid no real attention to her path, both woman and beast content at the moment to wander with her new pack mate. Continuing down that imaginary path, the wilderness called and cooed soothingly at the two women. The air was brisk and crisp, attempting to nip at them, though their coats kept the cold at bay.
Nora pressed against Aela's hide, tension and nervousness rolling off her in waves. Pausing, Aela double checked the area around them; there wasn't any prey around (they wisely made themselves scarce as the pair made their way through the woods), though she could catch the scent of a sabrecat. It wasn't anywhere near them though, and even if it was, it wouldn't be any threat to the the two weres.
Aela knew the reason for Nora's apprehension; her fear of sabrecats was hardly a secret.
Giving an unimpressed huff, Aela's disinterest, paired by the fact that she continued moving, was apparently all the reassurance Nora needed, as she trotted away to sniff at something else.
In a way, Aela envied the new blood. The first transformation was always the most intense, and everything was so much more clear. Though her memories of her own first were vague and rushed, they were fond ones regardless.
Part of her knew that they should probably head back; after all, the entire purpose of tracking Nora had been to bring her back to Jorrvaskr. Yet another part wanted Nora to enjoy this first high, take in as much as she could, as her world would never be clearer than it was currently.
Casting a glance backwards, Aela observed the new werewolf. As the seconds ticked by, Nora seemed to grow more and more comfortable with herself and her surroundings, moving a bit further off and not looking to Aela for reassurance as frequently.
There was a break in the trees; moonlight would have lit the canopyless area up, but clouds had rolled in, casting everything in dark shadows. Not that it bothered the females' eyes any, both continuing on their unplanned path.
When they came across a great river, the two werewolves hesitated slightly, silently debating whether to simply follow it or try crossing; there were large boulders in the river, large and wide enough across that they could manage it if they so chose.
Deafened by the water, and down wind, Aela hadn't noticed the trolls until the creatures were almost right on top of the unsuspecting females. With barred teeth, Aela had fluffed her fur and laid back her ears, presenting an unquestionable stance of dominance. The trolls didn't pause to the obvious display, still coming towards the pair with the intent of fighting. Vaguely, she can hear Nora's awkward growling, her vocal cords not quite cooperating with this new state of being.
It was difficult to hear over the rushing river, but the trolls stomped against the earth, the very ground vibrated and shook. Nora stood next to her, their fur brushing together but not quite pressing against the older Nord's side.
As muscles tightened underneath her pelt, Aela barred her teeth and held her ground. Still the trolls came towards them; Aela wasn't the first to lunge, surprisingly. Nora shifted beside her, opening her mouth for what was intended to be a ferocious snarl. The resulting sound would have been comical outside the current situation. While Aela had intended to wait for the trolls to come to her, Nora lunged at one of them, her teeth scraping across the beast's chest at an odd angle. Aela wasted no time, charging the second one before it would have the opportunity to gang up on Nora. Far more experienced, Aela was quick with her teeth and claws, gouging out the troll's eyes and snapping at his throat.
The body fell as a bloody heap at her feet. A sharp crack split the cold air, followed by a soft whimper, clear above the deafening roar of the river.
Rage flooded Aela; as she spun around towards Nora, the Companion didn't need to know the details- only knew Nora'd managed to seriously injure herself. Black blood was dripping from both beasts; the troll's movements were significantly slower, but Nora still didn't have complete control of her body, and seemed to have injured her hip by the way she was limping. The young Nord's teeth snapped at the troll's throat, giving an excited whine when she finally found good purchase. Clamping down, the girl shook her head vigorously, claws raking at any ground she could grasp hold of while she ripped grooves into the beast's front.
Slowly, the knees started to buckle. As its ability to support itself failed, Nora leaned her weight on the troll and pushed it onto its back. A wet squelch pierced the air as she reaffirmed her grip on the creature, arms pinned the weakly thrashing body.
In the short time it took Aela to reach Nora, the troll was nothing but a steaming corpse. Nora had trouble unlocking her jaw and settled to simply rip the troll's throat out before she coughed up the flesh and fur in her teeth.
She was favoring her back right leg, never quite settling her weight on it. Casting a glance towards Aela, Nora pawed at the ground before she gestured as if she intended to lay down. Aela herself had her own injuries, but they were not as severe and she knew better. As she stalked to Nora's flanks, she snapped her teeth at the young Nord and growled.
If she laid down, she'd fall asleep, and when she fell asleep, she'd shift back- and she'd be naked. Even with Nordic blood, there was no way she would survive the night without a stitch of clothing on her; not out here.
Nora ignored her, pawing a bit more before she shifted her weight down. Aela snarled lowly, displeased. This time the nip was harsher, and closer to her injury.
A sharp yelp and Nora was back up, turning to Aela submissively, a confused whine at her throat. Aela merely reached out and licked at the wound across Nora's jawline, the blood running down her neck. She had to get them someplace safe for the night; Nora wouldn't be able to hold up to a trip back towards Whiterun like this- not without shifting back.
It wasn't the best of options, but crossing the river was their only choice at this point. The crossing was safe here- there was no guarantee it would continue to be so if they moved further up or down river. Tail wagging low, Nora pressed up against Aela and shivered slightly. That was not a good sign; she needed to get Nora across the river before she shifted back. Aela could handle it from there.
Aela had to shift from leading to herding when Nora expressed her reluctance to cross. There were no other options right now; if Aela's memory didn't fail her, there was a cabin across the way, deep in the trees. A snap of her teeth, just above Nora's hip lit a fire under the young woman, limping across. Her grip only failed her once, the girl's hand slipping from underneath her before scrambling for purchase.
Once the river was behind them, Aela slipped in front of Nora once more, leading from a distant memory on where she thought the old cabin was.
The woods were quiet, the river behind them nothing but a faint whisper. Leaves and twigs snapped underneath the pair. Every now and then Nora would stop, refusing to move until Aela would start to herd her. The shivering increased, and the older Nord knew Nora would change back any minute now. A break in the tree line appeared, presenting the women with a quaint but sturdy cabin. When she nipped at her again, the girl froze as she felt teeth in her hide, casting a glance to Aela.
The Nord swiftly moved towards the cabin, nosing the door open; it was long abandoned, but she didn't want to run the risk of someone being inside and catching them off guard.
Unsurprisingly, it was empty.
Slipping through the doorway, Aela felt a bit cramped in the cabin. This sensation only intensified as Nora entered. However, that didn't last for long- the girl was shaking violently, probably unable to comprehend that this was the indication her shift was about to come to an end, and fighting it out of fear and confusion.
The trembling stopped, only for Nora to collapse and shift back to a human. Rather than passing out, she held on to consciousness, though seemed very dazed and confused, alternating between sluggish and rapid-fire blinking, and trying to talk, though her voice was currently failing her.
Mindful of her claws and Nora's hip, Aela scooped the younger Nord up before she carefully deposited her on the bed tucked away in the corner. Whoever had preserved the furs had been a master at their craft; though naturally they were in a state of... disrepair, being left unused for so long, all things considering, they were in good enough quality to get her through the night.
At some point, while Aela was rather awkwardly gathering (read: ripping) the furs off the walls and out of the chests, Nora had nodded off and was now asleep. While part of Aela wanted the younger girl awake, it was now significantly safer for Nora to sleep. The house protected them from the windchill, and the furs would protect against the cold. Setting them at the foot of the bed, Aela's eyes were quick to note each injury. The beastblood had already gotten to work on healing her injuries, though she was barely hours old and her body didn't yet know what to do in an effective manner. Thus far though, her wounds had stopped bleeding. Instinct guiding her, Aela felt the natural inclination to do what she could to help her pack mate. Most of the cuts were on Nora's font and sides; this made it easier for Aela, since she wouldn't need to move the slumbering girl, who currently was on her back.
As a were, there wasn't enough room in the bed for Aela to sit, so she adjusted herself as best she could on the side. Muzzle out stretching, Aela carefully lapped at one of the injuries- Nora didn't so much as twitch, too out of it to notice even in sleep, it seemed. Much like with dogs, werewolves possessed an agent in their saliva that helped heal injuries; a powerful tool when paired with their natural abilities.
And in the morning, Aela didn't remember how she got in the bed with Nora, under the covers and with limbs entwined, but to be honest, she couldn't bring herself to care that she had. Nora's smaller body was pressed against Aela's, searching for heat away from the early chill- dawn has yet to break. The girl's head was tucked in under Aela's chin, hands loosely grasping at her back and shoulder.
Though innocent enough (sharing body heat was hardly a rare occurrence in Skyrim), there was something decidedly intimate about their current position. Maybe that had something to do with the fact that Aela's nose and one of her hands had fingers laced in Nora's hair. Or the fact that their legs were entwined rather closely; but Aela could care less, shutting her eyes to enjoy the quiet. They'd plan their next move in the morning, after day break.