chapter 2
five and a half years later.
"Stand still boy!" Eorlund grunted and growled as he tugged on the leather straps of the new wolf armour he'd spent nearly three months working on.
"It pinches and its uncomfortable!" Kodlak whined, trying to pull away from the old smith.
"It'll loosen up the more you wear it." Aela smiled as she watched Eorlund wrestle to fit the armour onto the Harbinger's son from the porch. The other companions all sat at the table or on the steps watching in mild amusement.
Kodlak, for his birthday, had asked for armour. So Eorlund had made him some. It had been finished early so the little boy could join his mother, father and uncle out hunting for sixth birthday.
First of course, he had to break it in.
"You look very handsome Kodlak." Ria teased him from the steps. She was holding on tightly to the wolf pelt the little lad usually wore out and about. Vilkas had given it to him when he turned five and Kodlak was very rarely seen without it.
Kodlak stuck his tongue out at her before yelping as Eorlund tugged at his breast plate.
"I said be still!" The old smith hissed through his teeth, quickly losing patients.
"I must agree completely." Lovejoy smiled around her mead tankard. "You do look very dashing little wolf cub. I bet all the girls will be after you soon!" he giggled.
"Just like his father..." Ayah murmured with a smirk while stood leaning against one of the porch's wooden beams, watching her son with a proud smile.
Finally, Eorlund finished and stood back away from the boy, leaving him to grumble and take his first, quite wobbly, steps in his new armour.
"Its too heavy." He muttered, trying to swing his arms.
"You'll get used it it with training." Vilkas commented, wiping his mead dampened lips with the back of his hand. "I'll teach you to get better."
"I don't think I like it." The little child scowled.
Eorlund's hand went to his face in despair at the boy's words and Ayah quickly descended the steps toward her son.
"Now Kodlak, that's not very grateful. Eorlund has spent a long time working on this armour for your birthday and it looks beautiful. Its amazing craftsmanship too." Ayah smiled over to the smith, trying to defuse the tension. "Thank you very much Eorlund. Say thank you Kodlak." She urged her son.
"Thank you..." He groaned, scuffing his boot against the dirt of the training area.
The old smith continued to scowl, but nodded once in acknowledgement before heading back to the forge. He passed Sharn on the way, the young half Orc smiling at her master, but not a word was uttered between them.
Sharn had grown considerably over the past five years, her shoulders and upper body beginning to bulk out from both genes and hard work at the forge. She was still a child, only twelve years old, but like all Orc children, she was growing fast.
She entered the courtyard, taking one look at her baby cousin before bursting out laughing. Kodlak gave a disgruntled scowl and glared over at the older girl.
"What are you laughing at?!" He demanded, a little red in the face.
"You look adorable !" Sharn howled with laughter. "Oh Kodlak, you look like your playing dress up!"
"Do not!" The little boy puffed up.
"I think he looks handsome." His mother cooed gently, ruffling his wild black hair.
"I DO NOT!" Kodlak insisted, stamping his little booted foot on the stone.
"He's a warrior!" Vilkas announced, standing from his seat at the table. He took the wolf pelt from Ria and walked down the steps toward his nephew. "He's not handsome or adorable. He's fierce and brave." He smirked and crouched down to come eye level with the boy. Kodlak puffed up with pride immediately and allowed his uncle to wrap the wolf skin around his armoured shoulders and tie the two front paws together over his chest, as it was accustomed. Kodlak reached back and grabbed the head of the wolf, the front teeth still fastened in and pulled it over his head.
"I'm a wolf!" He grinned from under his wolf head hood.
"You are." Vilkas agreed quietly, knowing the duel meaning in the little boys words.
"That reminds me." Ayah leaned over Vilkas and slipped two nibble fingers down the collar of her son's armour. She fumbled around for a moment or two, her smile quickly disappearing. "Where..." Nudging Vilkas out the way, Ayah knelt down in front of her son, slipping her whole hand down the neck of his armour.
Kodlak wriggled and fidgeted, giggling as his mother searched.
"What are you doing?" Mog asked from the shaded doorway, watching the Nord harbinger in bemusement.
"Kodlak, where is it?" Ayah questioned the boy as she pulled her hand out of his armour. Gripping his shoulders, she looked at the boy with a hard expression. "Where's your necklace? You know it's not meant to come off."
Kodlak's eyes widened and quickly turned away from his mother's in shame.
"Ayah, what's the matter?" Aela approached curiously from the porch.
"He's lost his necklace." The Harbinger bit back, panic raising in her chest.
Kodlak's necklace, or more accurately, the ring of Hircine which Ayah had given the boy as a baby was usually tied tightly around Kodlak's neck on a thick leather braid. He wore it at all times, on strict instructions from his mother. To others, it looked like a fancy bit of jewellery. A gift from a mother to her son.
To the higher members of the circle however, the member that had been companions under Kodlak Whitemane's reign, the meaning was clear and much much deeper.
As soon as he could talk, the child, named after the great harbinger before his mother, had complained of terrible nightmares. He whined of aches and pains. He often had bad feelings and most of all violent tendencies. It had been harder to keep the ring on him as a tiny child. He often pulled it off or slipped off the braid. But as he'd grown, Ayah had stressed to him the importance of the ring.
All those years ago, when she had gained the ring, fought for Sinding the werewolf's life and come face to face with the God of hunt himself, Hircine had, in return for being entertained, cleansed the ring of the curse he'd placed on it, allowing the rings true power to work.
The ring cleared the mind of those with beast blood. Those who were the children of Hircine. It pushed back the feeling of primal aggression and dispelled the need to hunt, all while allowing the user to use their beast blood talents. Kodlak's mind, when the ring was on, was clear and bright. He had such a sweet personality like his father, but was brave and daring like his mother.
When the ring was off however, red mist began seep into his thoughts. Kodlak became restless quickly and would often snap and snarl. The change was noticeable and hard for Ayah and Farkas to hide from those in the companions that were not aware of the child's nature.
"It's a necklace. What's the big deal?" Hingor shrugged and polished off another sweet roll.
"You can't even comprehend..." Aela snapped back at him.
"Where is it Kodlak?" Ayah asked her son firmly, still grasping his shoulders.
Kodlak gave a low growl, a clear sign that the red mist was creeping in and that he wouldn't stand for much more of his mother's demanding questions for much longer.
"I lost it in a bet." He finally said with a bitter tone.
"WHAT?!" Vilkas, Aela and Ayah barked in unison.
"I lost it in a bet!" Kodlak snarled back loudly, his teeth grinding together.
"How? A bet with who?" Vilkas pushed him for more information.
" Bojack." Kodlak wrenched his arms free of Ayah's grip and stormed up the steps of the porch. Farkas watched silently as his only son grabbed the door handle and threw the back door to Jorrvaskr with such force, it left a dent in the wall as it hit.
"Who?" Aela scowled, he mind raking over and over the names of kids in town.
"The new boy. His family have just moved here from the imperial city. He's been throwing his weight around." Sharn told the huntress. "Last I knew he was picking on the little boys in town, taking their money or precious things. I think Kodlak said something about socking him in the mouth if he tried anything..."
"Where does he live?" Ayah asked the Orc girl. Sharn shrugged and shook her head.
"I couldn't tell you. Maybe you should ask Ana."
"Aye." Ayah stood to her full hight and before anyone could say anything, had disappeared around the mead hall. Aela took off after her, followed by Vilkas and Farkas.
The four made their way through the streets, down into the plains district and over to Warmaiden's.
Adrianne was working the forge as usual, accompanied by a little girl the same age as Kodlak.
Ana had been born not long after the Harbinger's son and the two were very close friends. The smiths daughter spent many hours playing in and around Jorrvaskr, sharing Kodlak's love of swords and fighting.
She was often shunned by the other little girls in Whiterun for that very reason, but she didn't care. She dreamt of one day working the Skyforge at Jorrvaskr, though it was unlikely.
"Adrianne!" Ayah called from down the street. The smith stopped work on the sword she was making and looked up, her daughter doing the same."Can I have a word with Ana?"
Ana gasped softly and bit her lip. She wiped her dirty hands on her little apron, a habit she'd learnt from her mother, and shuffled forward to meet Kodlak's mother.
"Ana." Ayah greeted the child coolly.
The smith's daughter blushed and pushed her auburn hair out of her face shyly.
"This is about Kodlak's ring, isn't it?" The little girl asked in a small voice. Ayah gave a firm nod and Adrianne rounded the forge to see what was going on.
"What's the trouble?" She asked, looking between Ayah and her little girl.
"Kodlak has had his necklace stolen from him. I wondered if Ana knew anything about it?" Ayah scowled, crossing her arms over her chest.
"It wasn't stolen!" The little girl suddenly piped up. "Bojack bet Kodlak he wouldn't win in a fight and Kodlak lost. He didn't have any money so Bojack took his necklace..." She trailed off.
"Ana!" Adrianne looked down at her little girl angrily. "How could you let that happen? Why didn't you tell Ayah sooner?"
"We were gonna steal it back..." She mumbled and fiddled with the braid in her hair. "I'm sorry."
"It's not your fault." Ayah sighed. She knelt down to the girl, gently coaxing her to look up. "Can you tell me where I can find Bojack, or where he lives?"
Ana nodded and pointed up the steps directly facing the shop. "He lives up there. In the Battle-born's old place." She told Ayah.
"Thank you." Ayah pet her head and stood.
"You gonna go see him?" Adrianne asked.
"Of course. I need that necklace back." Ayah told her.
"Well good luck. I hope you do better than Ulfberth did when he went to see the kid." Adrianne huffed.
"What was he doing up there?" Aela asked from beside Ayah.
"That spoilt kid took Ana's wooden sword and threw it into the fire." The smith said, motioning to the fire pits that burned beside her shop on the end of the little stone bridge. "Ulfberth went to go tell him off but ended up getting deafened by the boy's mother. She screeched and screeched until he didn't even want to try and speak to her any more, gave up and returned to the shop. He's making her a new sword now but he's worried the kid'll do it again. He's nothing but a bully."
Ana scuffed her feet silently against the ground. The little girl had cried so much over the incident Ulfberth felt guilty about letting her down like that.
"Don't worry." Ayah snorted. "I can go one up from screeching and I can assure you she'll have no house left if I do."
-oOo-
As Ayah and the other companions walked up the steps toward the Battle-born's old home, they saw the new family's two boys sat on the doorstep. They were looking at the loot they'd taken from the other children in town and looked really quite pleased with themselves.
It made Ayah's blood boil.
As she neared, the boys looked up and quickly collected up their stash before scurrying inside.
Ayah climbed the steps swiftly and hammered on the door. Farkas came to stand beside her for support and Aela and Vilkas stood behind.
The door eventually opened and they were greeted by a very shabby looking woman with ruffled brown hair sprouting out from under her dirty looking cloth cap. Her skin looked grimy as well as her clothes and Ayah was left wondering how someone so...disgusting...could have moved into a house that was formally owned by the Battle-born's.
The Battle-born family had moved out about eighteen months ago. Coincidentally, it was around the same time Ulfric Stormcloak finally claimed victory over the Empire and had taken the throne.
Ayah had stayed out of that. She was a companion and they had nothing to do with wars.
The Battle-born's had probably fled to Cyrodiil to remain under the empire's rule. They probably didn't give a damn who moved into the house after them. They just wanted to get the coin and leave. Maybe they thought the place was going to the dogs, so they'd sold it to some.
"What?" The woman snapped, crossing her arms over her chest and leaning against the door frame lazily.
"Where's your boy?" Ayah asked her.
"Which one?" The woman sneered back to her own amusement.
"Bojack." Ayah sneered back to mock her.
The woman's lip curled up in disgust, her eyes rolling over the harbinger.
Ayah was fully armoured, her swords on her hips and flanked by two bulky men and a tough looking woman. She could only imagine what sort of first impression she was making.
"Why'd you want him?" The woman asked her in a somewhat less harsh tone.
"Your boy has stolen from my son. I want the necklace he took back and I want it now." Ayah ground out.
"Is that so?" The woman's voice pitched slightly as he pushed herself off the door frame, her hands going to her hips. "How very dare you!" She screeched, causing all four companions to wince. "You come here, accuse my son of theft. Everyone's always accusing him since we got here!"
"Made your son really is a thief then..." Vilkas growled. "We don't just randomly start accusing people of crimes around here."
"What do you think you're doing now then?!" The woman yelled, throwing her arms in the air. "You're picking on us! Everyone in this town is picking on us because we're new and we're not as stuck up as the last lot that lived here, or anyone else in this town for that matter!"
"You're changing the subject." Aela said flatly. "You're son has taken something from our harbinger's son and he needs to return it."
"Harbinger eh?" The woman croaked, eyeing Ayah again. "Then you're all companions? You should be ashamed of yourselves, going around in groups, hassling normal people and little kids."
"YOUR SON HAS STOLEN FROM MY BOY!" Ayah suddenly raged. "The companions have nothing to do with it. This man here..." She snapped, motioning to Farkas. "Is my husband and the boy's father. That's his uncle..." She said pointing out Vilkas. "And that's my eldest shield sister." She added finally while jabbing her thumb at Aela.
"You're still a gang." The woman chimed, wagging her finger.
"Aye, but they're not here to hassle your son. They're here to stop me smacking you in the face." Ayah hissed.
"You should be ashamed of yourself!" The woman surged forward to come face to face with Ayah. "You're the leader of a respected warrior guild and your making threats against normal people. People you're meant to protect!?"
"I sure am!" Ayah bit back, shoving her face forward too.
"Enough!" Aela pushed between the other women, her arm pushing Ayah back. "Go get your boy. Now."
The woman moved back, her eyes still fixated on the seething Harbinger behind the huntress.
"Bo!?" She yelled. There was a bang behind her and then the sound of people moving about the house. The kid obviously knew he was in trouble, taking his time to come to the door.
"What?" Finally, a dirty blonde haired boy appeared at the door. His shirt and pants here ripped and dirty and he was sporting a beautiful black eye.
"Did you take something from this woman's son?" His mother asked.
He hesitated to answer, looking between all the companion's carefully. "No."
"He doesn't even know who my son is." Ayah growled. "I mean he has taken from every kid in Whiterun. I could be anyone's mother."
The boy stared at her blankly, sporting the same disgusted look as his mother.
"I'm Kodlak's mother." Ayah informed him.
"Kodlak?" The kid suddenly reeled. "That kid gave me this black eye!"
"He what?!" His mother screeched. For a second time, the companion's winced in unison.
"Good. You deserve it." Vilkas spat angrily.
"You have some nerve!" Bojack's mother spat back. "You come here, accusing my son of stealing, when it's you're boy that's the bully!"
"My son is a companion!" Ayah yelled back at her. "His heart is good and he's not got a bad bone in his body. You're son's a bloody menace! He's taken from all the younger kids, beaten some up. He even burned a toy of a little girl I know. And you, his ignorant mother, refuse to acknowledge his bad behaviour, probably because he's learnt it from you!"
The force of Ayah last word caused a blast of air that nearly took Bojack and his mother off their feet.
"Ayah calm down." Farkas cooed softly, his hand reaching for her hip.
"No!" She snapped. "I want the necklace he's taken from Kodlak and I want it now!"
All the shouting had attracted a lot of attention, unbeknownst to those actually arguing. A small crowd had gathered at a distance, all watching eagerly and talking amongst themselves.
Two town guards pushed their way through the crowd and headed for the house, walking up the steps and pushing between the two parties.
"What's going on here?" One asked.
"This woman's son-!" Ayah began, but was quickly cut off by Bojack's mother.
"This woman has come to our house, accused and threatened my little boy and I want her removed from my property this instant!"
The guards looked at each other before looking at Ayah in surprise. "Harbinger?"
Inhaling deeply through her nose, nostrils flaring, Ayah forced herself to relax.
"This woman's son has taken something that was very precious to Kodlak. We have people that have seen him do it. We came here to try and get the issue resolved, but this...woman..."
"And we use that term loosely..." Vilkas grumbled.
"started screaming. We just want Kodlak's necklace back. That's all."
The guards looked back toward Bojack and his mother expectantly. "Well?"
"I won it fair and square!" Bo protested. "I said I could win him in a fight and I did. He had to give me his necklace because I won!"
"Childish games." The female guard shrugged.
"That necklace wasn't something Kodlak could just give away. It was very important." Aela pressed.
"Well maybe he shouldn't have bet it then." Bo sneered at the flame haired woman.
"Well maybe you shouldn't be fighting kids half your age." Aela sneered back mockingly.
"Listen, just hand it over and we can forget all this. You're all making a scene." The male guard said calmly.
"I don't have it any more." Bo said defiantly. "So I can't give it back."
Ayah's stomach dropped out at the thought that the ring was lost forever. She immediately worried how Kodlak would function without the power of the ring keeping him in check.
Her face must have reflected her worry, because Farkas's hand reached for hers and held it tightly.
"Is that so..." Aela drawled, her lips a thin, tight line. Leaning in, the huntress looked the boy straight in the eyes with an intense green gaze. "Well lets hope you can get it back...because that ring means the difference between us leaving your family alone or me talking to a person that can call up some werewolves to come and eat you up, little boy." She whispered.
Bo's face dropped and he paled considerably.
"Let's go." Aela stood straight again and turned on her heel to head off back to Jorrvaskr.
Reluctantly, Ayah followed, her heart weeping at the thought that her son might loose his mind.
-oOo-
"I locked the door." Aela said as she came to sit beside her harbinger on the stone ledge of the Skyforge. "He was quiet again when blew out the candle. He hasn't had nightmares in a long time."
"It's the ring. He needs it back." Ayah whined into her hands covering her face.
"We dealt with it. He'll be fine Ayah." Aela tried to reassure her.
"We weren't born with the blood. The link with Hircine must be stronger with him." The younger woman sighed and raked her fingers down her face in despair.
Night had fallen over Whiterun and all was quiet. Well, all but Kodlak's room. The boy, after some struggle with his father, had been put to bed. It hadn't been long until his nightmares had returned and he woke howling for the second time that night.
"You really think he still has the ring?"
"Of course he does." Aela waved her hand casually. "Who could he give it to? The boy has no friends. He can't sell it. So where would it go, other than in his draw or a box in his room?"
Ayah nodded, thoughtfully rolling a mead bottle between her hands.
"I have no doubt he'll give it back soon. Then we just need to make sure Kodlak can never take it off. Maybe we could do what Teagan did with his earrings and have Eorlund weld it onto a necklace and onto his neck so no matter what, it'll never come off."
"We have to get it back first..." Ayah muttered absently. Her mind suddenly sparked and Ayah turned, looking at the huntress with narrowed eyes. "What did you say to that kid anyway? He looked terrified when we walked away."
Aela gave a long, lazy smirk and shrugged a shoulder. "Oh nothing really...Only that if we didn't get the ring back I'd be having a chat with someone that knows a pack of werewolves that eat naughty little boys."
Ayah felt a laugh bubble up inside her and didn't bother to restrain it when it broke free. "Aela! You can't say that!"
"I can and I did." The huntress chuckled. "Anyway, it seemed to work."
"Excuse me?"
The women's conversation was interrupted by a soft, yet confident voice from below them on the path. Aela and Ayah sat up straight to look down on two Nord girls that lived in the wind district.
Rose and Petunia were sisters that belonged to another new family to come to Whiterun. The older girl, Rose was bold and bright. She often came to Jorrvaskr to see Sharn. Her little sister petunia was a lot younger and often followed her sister about carrying a dolly in a bright blue dress.
They were sweet girls, always polite and kind. They lived with their mother, their father having been killed fighting for the Stormcloaks.
Both were dressed well and and pleasant and they were very much welcomed by the companions.
"Harbinger? Lady Huntress?" Rose called up to them. "We have something for you."
Aela and Ayah looked at one another before Ayah got to her feet. "I'll be right down." She descended the stone steps and walked toward the two girls stood on the path. "You're up late."
"We're about to go home to bed actually." Rose smiled and held out her hand to Ayah. The Harbinger held her own hand out and Rose dropped Kodlak's ring and leather braid into her palm.
"Bo threw this at me this afternoon and told me to bring it to you. It's the necklace he cheated to get."
"Cheated?" Ayah clutched the jewellery tightly to her chest and gave the girl a puzzled look.
"He said if he won, he wanted Kodlak's necklace. If Kodlak won, he got Bo's pocket money." Rose shrugged one shoulder and took her little sisters hand. "He was losing horribly, so he got his brother to tip Kodlak."
"I knew the boy was better than that." Aela called down from the forge.
"So did I." Ayah smiled softy, relief washing over her.
"He gave him a great shiner though, didn't he!?" Rose laughed.