Hi everyone. Sorry for the late update again. Thanks again for your views, reviews and encouragement!

This is a bit short but I hope you enjoy :)

Vilkas strode proudly out of the gates of Whiterun, with Lily trailing close behind in his wake. For a man in heavy armor with 50 pounds of Skyforge steel greatsword on his back, he moved fast.

Lily was fretting. She'd have a snowball's chance in Oblivion of passing this Testing, now that Vilkas was her judge. Getting kicked out of the Companions would make stealing Wuuthrad next to impossible.

When they arrived at the stables, Vilkas stopped in his tracks and turned to face Lily. She marveled at the fact that a man with such a grim expression could be so handsome at the same time. The wind of the plains stirred his dark hair. The black war paint he wore around his eyes added a certain intensity to his expression. Lily could see distrust reflected in those ice-blue eyes of his.

"What now?" Lily asked him.

"I'll give you 400 gold if you leave Whiterun."

Lily's eyes widened at this proposition. She gazed with longing at the horse and cart in front of the stables. She would love to take that money, hop on the cart home to Riften and leave Vilkas in the dust. But without fulfilling the contract on Wuuthrad, she couldn't rejoin her friends and have her old life back. Mercer would not let her.

"It's a generous offer but I'm afraid I'm going to have to say no," Lily answered.

Vilkas' scowl deepened a little. "Very well, 800."

"Daedra's balls, 800?! Look, I'm flattered that you dislike me enough to want to pay that much, but my answer is still no."

"Fine!" Vilkas spat. "Then let's get going." He started down the road out of town at a swift pace, forcing Lily to practically run to keep up with him.

Vilkas was disappointed. He was sure that coin would reveal her devious character and they would be easily rid of her. Now he would have to complete the damn mission with her along. He was not looking forward to this.

Her Companion was clearly not in the mood for talking, so Lily enjoyed the surrounding views instead. Sunlight bathed the rolling hills of the tundra in golden hues. The rocky terrain was decorated by wildflowers and green, orange and gold grasses. The lack of trees did not make the place any less beautiful; it granted an unbroken view to the towering white mountains beyond.

Vilkas maintained his grim silence as they continued hiking in a northwesterly direction. As much as Lily enjoyed looking at that handsome stony expression of his, she was getting bored by the silent treatment. She would start talking to herself if she had to.

Lily: "Whoa, what's that big campfire over there? Is that a Giant's Camp?"

Vilkas: …..

Lily: "Ugh, what's that horrific cheesy smell!? I had no idea Mammoths could even be milked."

Vilkas: …..

Lily: "You know, that rock over there bears a resemblance to my old friend Delvin's head."

Vilkas:…..

Lily: "Gods, my feet hurt like the fires of Oblivion. How much farther do we have to go?"

"I thought thieves were skilled at keeping silent," Vilkas replied through grit teeth.

"That's only when we're sneaking around," Lily said with a shrug. She was glad to get some response out of him, even if it was only sarcasm.

"Anyhow, I told you I'm former Thieves Guild now."

Vilkas looked at her seriously. "How could you steal things? Just take things that others have worked hard for?"

Lily was caught off-guard by this sudden challenge to her morals and ethics (or lack of). Vilkas put her instantly on the defensive.

"It's just stuff. Taking it doesn't really hurt anyone," She countered.

"You don't know that," Vilkas said quietly.

"Trust me, the rich lords and ladies won't miss the trinkets I've taken. They've got plenty more where that came from," Lily answered with a scowl.

"It's still wrong," Vilkas said, disgusted. "What drives a person to thievery in the first place? Did it thrill you to steal? Or was it pure greed?" He asked with a sneer.

"Runny porridge," Lily said.

"What?" Vilkas frowned at this total randomness.

Lily smirked. "I said runny porridge. If you must know, that's what started me on my life of crime."

Vilkas stared mutely at her in confusion, so Lily continued.

"Grelod the Kind got a stipend from the Jarls all five holds to pay for our food, clothing and education. Truth is, she pocketed most of the money. That's where the runny porridge came in. It was breakfast, lunch and dinner."

"So, you grew up at the Honorhall Orphanage," Vilkas said. He'd heard of Grelod the Kind and the orphanage. Riften was known for its seediness and corruption. The orphanage was just one more of the city's problems that no one ever bothered to fix.

Lily continued, "Yeah, I lived there from the time I was seven. Grelod would have a child mutiny on her hands, if the lack of food hadn't kept us so docile. One day we got hungry enough to try something crazy. When Grelod took her afternoon nap, we picked the lock on the back door and snuck into town. It was me, Rune and bug-eyed Lew. We got caught stealing food from the merchant stalls those first few times. Then we wised up and started stealing fish and clams from the docks. We had a good thing going on for a long while." Lily smiled at the memory. "We'd swim underwater and take the catch right from the nets, sight unseen."

"One of the old fishwives started a rumor that a monster was responsible for the stolen fish, some kind of water-imp. We started calling ourselves the "Dockside Imps" after that. Thought we were real tough." Lily's smile faded. "One day, bug-eyed Lew caught his foot in one of the nets and we couldn't get him free. We ran for help, but by the time the guards came he was dead. A year later Rune came of age and was released from Honorhall. The Thieves Guild took him in, and not long afterward they took me too."

Vilkas remained silent for a moment. Her confession brought back some memories of his own. Unfortunately, he knew what it was like to be a child torn away from family and struggling to survive.

"Farkas and I are also orphans." Vilkas admitted.

Lily looked up at him, surprised.

"The Companions rescued us from a den of necromancers when we were but 5 winters old. Jergen was the one who saved us and brought us to live at Jorrvaskr. Farkas still calls him our Father. All I know is that he left to fight in the Great War and didn't come back, and then he wasn't my problem anymore," Vilkas said.

Lily nodded. "Hurts like hell doesn't it."

Vilkas looked at her sharply, thinking she meant the words as an inappropriate jest, but her expression was far away.

"I know. I was angry at my parents too. It's not like they died and left me on purpose…but feelings can't be helped…" Lily said.

They both walked in silence for a while, lost in their own thoughts.

After some time Vilkas spoke, "Look up ahead. See that hill there with the standing stones? That is Dustman's Cairn."