Winterhold was the party's disappointing introduction to Tamriel (Vivienne in particular had taken to making critical comments about the College, which Tanya did not take kindly to), Whiterun was deemed an acceptable city to show them. They walked into the city, and the others took to turning and twisting their necks to view the city.
"The walls could use work, as could the architecture," Vivienne sniffed, "but it's a vast improvement over that sad excuse for a hold in which your university is, my dear Tanya."
The Dragonborn said nothing, instead growling under her breath, turning her gaze to the ground. She knew better than to argue with Vivienne; she would end up getting upset, too much so. The two weren't exactly friends; their views on mages and magic were polar opposites, but they had remained mostly civil until Vidar's secret came out. Vivienne was disgusted by, and distrusted, the werewolf, calling him a beast and a threat. Then Tanya began arguing back, yelling, eventually having to be pulled away by her own brother. His beastial strength was barely enough to hold back her rage. The Dovahkiin's and Iron Lady's relationship ever since was rocky.
She knew better than to argue with her about the college. So long as it wasn't about her brother, she would bite her tongue. Vivienne eyed her, smirking. "No comments, Darling?"
"Mmph." Tanya grunted; Vidar put an arm around her and pulled her away, giving an annoyed look at the mage.
"She's got more control over her mouth than you or I do, apparently." Vidar said. Vivienne sniffed disdainfully.
"Amazing, really, considering what manner of beast you are." She coughed. "Ugh, I told you to dry off more after that last bath. It's like we're back in Ferelden."
"Fucking piss off, Vivvy." Sera snapped.
"All of you, play nice and act like adults. We don't need to draw more attention than we're already getting." the Inquisitor ordered, though she didn't look up as she continued to fuss with the thick glove on her left hand. It made her hand sweat, and the leather didn't breathe. Taking it off wasn't an option, though; showing the mark to anyone was unwise. Its appearance on her skin was unfamiliar, even by Tamrielic standards; it was safer to hide it, lest the public react in the opposite fashion of Thedas.
Cassandra watched her toy with the glove and sighed. "I know it's uncomfortable," she hissed in a whisper, "but it's safer for you and all of us to keep it a secret. That's the only glove thick enough we have to hide the light."
Dawn shrugged. "I know, I'll be fine." she said, dropping her hand. "Let's see Whiterun, shall we?"
"Talos the Mighty! Talos the Unerring! Talos the Unassailable!"
Neither Strong-Steel sibling reacted to Heimskr's yelling. He was typical background noise for Whiterun, and they couldn't bother to be annoyed by him any longer. The others, however, were taken aback by the nord's crying.
Dorian tried to avoid eye-contact, lest the preacher notice his gaze and try to talk to him. He tried to pretend to focus on the sapling of the Gildergreen that the siblings brought in to replace the old one. He leaned over to Tanya.
"Do people do that normally here? No one seems to care that there's a raving preacher." he asked, looking mildly annoyed.
Tanya shrugged as she peeked through a street vendor's books for sale. "Oh, Heimskr? He goes over there every morning and preaches about Talos. If you've been to Whiterun enough times, you stop noticing." she replied calmly, as if it were the most normal thing in the world. Cassandra blinked.
"Isn't Talos worship illegal? I'm surprised he hasn't been arrested."
The Dragonborn shrugged again. "Dunno. The guards here are all Nords and probably worship Talos. They won't bother to arrest him; not worth their time. Jarl Balgruuf has clung to neutrality in the civil war, so the Empire's and Thalmor's presence isn't really strong enough to try enforce the stupid law."
Dorian grimaced. "It would probably do everyone a favor to arrest him on the grounds of being a public nuisance. It was funny for the first few moments, but now his shouting's giving me a headache."
"Do they not have raving lunatic street preachers in Tevinter?" Cassandra teased. Dorian rolled his eyes.
"None match that one's level of stubbornness. I'm amazed his lungs haven't given out." He looked back towards Heimskr, stealing one last glance before they headed to the rest of the market. Sera made herself present, darting right up to Heimskr, who beamed at the sight of her.
"You have come! You have come to-"
"Talos's bitch says what?" Sera shouted. Heimskr blinked.
"What?"
Sera cackled and ran along. Heimskr sighed briefly and continued his preaching, albeit slightly sadly. They never want to listen...
Iron Bull watched several of the Companions spar in the training grounds, standing beside Vidar. "So this is the Companions, huh?" He grunted. "Not bad. Mead hall's nice, too."
Aela looked up from shooting a target, giving them an odd look briefly before recognizing Vidar. She smiled and approached. Vidar threw on a smile. "Aela!" he greeted, shaking her hand. "How have you been, since..." He wanted to kick himself for leading immediately into that. He knew Aela and Skjor had been an item, but bringing it up with her was...
"I'm okay. It hurts all of us, but we'll get our revenge." Aela replied, sighing. She smiled. "Where's your little sister? You can't tell me you came back to Whiterun without bringing her here. I need to ask her about the college. I've heard a rumor that she's met a...special mage at the college." Her eyes glinted with mischief. Vidar raised an eyebrow.
"Why? So you can interrogate him? My sister isn't even a Companion, and..."
"We're looking out for her, too, alright?" Aela interrupted. "You know Tanya's kind of a little thing; young, too, barely out of her teens. She's a strange sort of girl, but she's our little strange mage girl, even if she's not a Shield-Sister." She grinned. "I have to help make sure she's not being toyed with by someone...undeserving."
Vidar chuckled. "I've got it covered. Her boyfriend Onmund's a nice man, and they seem like a match made in Aetherius...so far. Believe me, if I think otherwise, I'll handle it. Anyways, Tanya's out at the market with some friends. I'll be sure to drop by with her before we go."
"Good." Aela's eyes turned to Bull, and they scanned him up and down, taking in the oddly tall dark elf. She whistled. "Was your pa a high elf or something?"
Bull snorted. "Something like that. You must be Aela."
"Observant, this one." the warrior said, grinning. "That's me. And you are...?"
"Hissrad." Bull lied. He hadn't been Hissrad ever since he was exiled from the Qun, but he figured it sounded more like what a dunmer would be called over The Iron Bull. He and Aela shook hands, and he noticed the distinctly high skin temperature on her. It was similar to Vidar's temperature, and the smell was nearly identical: the faint stench of wet dog. None of the workings in his brain showed on his face, thanks to Ben-Hassrath training.
"Odd name for a Dunmer, Hissrad. Greetings, and welcome to Jorrvaskr." She smiled a toothy smile, which Bull silently analyzed. If one paid close enough attention, they could see that a werewolf's teeth, even in human form, were ever-so-slightly sharper, particularly the canines. Vidar bore the same sort of teeth. He nodded.
"Pleasure's mine, Aela. Nice little setup going on here. All your men are training well."
Aela chuckled. "They're not 'my' men, or anyone's; we're in charge of ourselves."
"What about your Harbinger?" Bull asked. Aela shrugged.
"The old man's offers us guidance and settles arguments that can't be solved with our fists. We haven't had the type of leader you're thinking of since Ysgramor." She sized him up and down again. "Thinking of joining? You look like you'd fit in."
Bull shook his head with a smile. "Nah. I have my own company, the Chargers. I'm just a friend of Vidar's who wanted to check out the mead hall."
"Fair enough. Well, perhaps I'll you around. Nice to meet you." Aela returned to the targets. The two men walked away, heading back for the main market. Vidar looked up at him.
"Was it what you expected?"
"About. I was a little surprised by the lack of leader...why'd you join up with them?" he asked. Vidar sighed.
"To be honest, I was just disillusioned with the Legion after they almost beheaded my sister. They mistook the Count of Kvatch's eldest daughter, who had a permit crossing the border for the college, for a Stormcloak and arrested her when she was in the middle of a skirmish." He coughed up a weak laugh. "Idiots didn't even bother to check her out; they just assumed. They almost killed my sister and didn't realize it until I ran in and shoved her off of the chopping block. Same time Alduin attacked.
"When we headed to Whiterun to inform the Jarl about the dragon, I wanted to see the Companions. I...I didn't know what I wanted to do. I wasn't even sure the Legion would keep me on for interrupting executions, wasn't really thinking straight, but my sword-arm was good and I needed to hit something. Might as well join where I could get paid for it, too."
"You're a noble. You have money." Bull pointed out.
"Not on me at the time." Vidar answered, shaking his head. "They confiscated all of Tanya's, and I lost a lot of mine in the run from Helgen. We needed fast coin, and I could get it." He grunted. "Turns out the whole spectacle was revealed by the Stormcloaks to shame the Legion. It became a massive scandal across the entire Empire, because not only are we nobles, but we're from a family of Empire loyalists who have graciously donated troops and coin to the fight."
He rolled his eyes. "They raised my rank and tried to offer us enough gold to forget the whole ordeal. They knew I was mad, so they assigned me to follow her around and make sure the Dragonborn keeps breathing. I just...I needed something. So here I am."
Bull whistled. "That's some bullshit on behalf of the Legion. At least under the Qun...which I'm not under anymore...they don't just pick people out of skirmishes and decide to kill 'em."
The other man frowned. "Doesn't the Qun destroy the minds of their prisoners to make them work for them if they won't cooperate?"
The Iron Bull shrugged. "Yeah, but we...they...don't do it right off the bat. Anyways, that lady, Aela..." His voice dropped low, so only Vidar could hear. "She's a werewolf, isn't she?"
Vidar nearly jumped out of his skin, staring wide-eyed at Bull, who laughed. "I think that answers my question. Don't worry, her secret's safe with me. She's not the only Companion there like that. Those twins, too. Didn't see the old man, but I would bet he is, too."
The other man was left stuttering, seeking words. "H-how...how did...?"
"Ben-Hassrath training." the qunari said cheerfully, "I notice everything. I'll be they had something to do with you getting infected, right?"
"It's not their fault. It's mine." Vidar replied hastily. He looked Bull in the eye, exhaling sharply. "Fine. I'll come clean on the whole story if you keep this under wraps. The only other person who knows is Tanya. We clear?'
"Crystal clear," Bull confirmed, "so, how did it happen?"
"Do you go to the Cloud District very often?"
Vivienne's head turned at the haughty tone of a man, who she saw to be a Redguard dressed in...she grimaced at what was considered the height of Skyrim fashion. Nazeem didn't give her an opportunity to reply, adding a sneering comment. "Oh, what am I saying? Of course you don't."
The mage gave him a cold stare and looked him up and down. She scoffed. "I hardly see why you're even trying to insult me, my dear," she started, "when such insults hurled from the mouth of a supposed noble to a random passerby is clearly telling. How pathetic must you be to spend your idle time harassing strangers?" she snapped snidely, managing to put on a composed face and stance, looking stoic as possible.
Tanya nudged Vivienne sheepishly, eying a small crowd of onlookers beginning to form. "Vivienne, there's no point-"
"Hush, Darling. You may be too shy, but I am not." Vivienne shushed her, gently pushing the Dragonborn aside, not even looking at her. Nazeem's eyes widened, taken aback by this new stranger's unwavering attitude. He scoffed after a moment's surprise, crossing his arms.
"And who are you to accuse me...well!" He huffed. "Oh, it took me years, but I run the very successful Chillfurrow Farm, which is very profitable, the best in all of Skyrim." He put a hand to his chest, which he puffed out in pride. Vivienne continued to look unimpressed, which resulted in a powerful glare from the man. "I'll have you know that I actually advise the Jarl on political matters. My input is invaluable, of course. But this is all probably a bit over your head."
Vivienne raised an eyebrow. "Just the one farm? Not several? Is that the only business you own?"
The Redguard's face contorted into an expression even more indignant than before; his nose wrinkled and eyes narrowed. "I'll have you know that Chillfurrow is the single most profitable farmland with the highest quality good in all of Whiterun!" Nazeem snapped, losing his composure. "One farm is enough to make plenty of gold."
"A single farm? Truly?" Vivienne laughed. "Pathetic, simply pathetic. I know people who run multiple plantations, on top of a variety of other businesses. You claim to be all-powerful and all-important from a single farm. Now, pitiful business stratagem aside, you claim you're the ever-important political advisor to the Jarl." The mage raised an eyebrow. "Why are you wasting your time among the people who deem beneath you, trying to remind them how important you are, instead of doing your job?"
The Inquisitor and her party was left staring at the confrontation in silence. Dawn had not gotten involved, smiling quietly, knowing her friend could handle herself. Nazeem sputtered for a moment before rapidly speaking again. "How dare you? Obviously, the Jarl is quite busy at the moment, and assured me that-"
"-that what?" Vivienne interrupted. "He's too busy running his own hold to bother to ask his own supposed political advisor for assistance? Odd, considering you claim he relies on you so much, that you have free time at all to wander around aimlessly between your business and your Jarl to be a nuisance." She laughed again, haughtily. "Face it, darling. You're nothing more than a lowly merchant trying to convince yourself and any fools that listen that you're of remote importance to anyone. But you're not important, and you've wasted enough of my time."
Nazeem was red, infuriated, trying and failing to find any words. Vivienne turned on her heel for the market, not giving a single look back to the mortified man. The others followed her quietly, after backwards glances. Sera and the Inquisitor snickered and whispered ideas of pranks on the man, which Vivienne heard. She pretended as though she had heard nothing and moved on with her day in this pitiful country; Skyrim was a cesspool in her book.
Aela thinks that Tanya is a tiny precious cinnamon roll. Tanya does not know how to feel about this.