Author's note: took a minute, but here we go!

The Tolerant & The Standoffish

Eleni hated storms. Even as a child, she'd hated them. Alastor, her former teacher and care-taker, had always been left exasperated because of that. She glanced at Farkas and realized that her fear – yes, her fear – of storms did not matter. She hardly noticed it with him around! She was finding more and more to be thankful for, including his comforting strength.

"I've a question," she said as they veered off a worn trail and started walking through some tall grass. Like a lost puppy, she followed in his footsteps.

"What is it?"

"You keep calling these people 'milk drinkers'. I get the sense that you don't mean it in a good way. Is it so bad to drink milk?" She drank milk, mostly because she couldn't handle the hard stuff, or so Alastor had told her one night after she'd tried drinking with him. And now she felt stupid. That was probably the point behind the insult.

Farkas looked back at her, his expression sympathetic. He didn't answer her question, just turned back around. "We're almost there. Be ready."

He'd chosen a job that was relatively close to Whiterun. She could understand why. She was still inexperienced and he didn't want to have to haul her sorry-ass back to Jorrvaskr if she fell. But it was supposed to be an in-and-out job. They'd go in, exterminate the bandits that had been terrorizing travelers, and then they'd head back. Shouldn't be too hard for someone like her when she was with someone like him.

"It's dark," she said when they entered the cave – the cave the bandits had been seen running into after making off with a caravan's goods. She reached out and touched the cold metal of his armor. Yeah, she intended to stay as close as possible if it was going to be like this the entire time.

"There's a light up ahead," he told her, keeping his voice low. "I can hear voices, too. Be careful."

She found it odd that he could hear them while she couldn't. Her senses were acute, especially her senses of sight and hearing. She'd needed those two things a lot during her travels. They'd saved her countless times. She peeked out from behind him, noticed the flickering flame. They were closing in on the bandits now – they clung to the shadows, creeping along the stone wall, trying to get into an advantageous position.

The cave ceiling lowered to the point that Farkas needed to crouch a little. The tunnel shrank and then widened again, creating walls that were easy enough to hide behind. He moved to one side and directed her to the other. Under the cover of the thick foliage, she moved. Farkas looked around the wall, counting heads.

Reaching back, Farkas grasped the hilt of his blade. She unsheathed her own, waiting for his go. He held a hand up: stay. He moved even closer, brandishing his great-sword. He was heavy, not only because of his size, but because of his armor, so he wouldn't be able to sneak for very much longer, she thought.

She heard the clash of metal colliding with metal and flinched. Her first inclination was to run, but she shook her head and peeked out from behind the wall. From his eyes, she knew Farkas to be a kind man, an honorable man. But when put in a situation like this, he became more like an animal. He seemed to sense oncoming attacks and dodged them effortlessly before countering. There was no thinking. It was pure instinct.

She looked up, noting the higher level. More bandits had been up there and were now rushing to help their comrades. She hesitated briefly before going to assist Farkas. She lifted her sword high and her blade met another one. The collision had tremors running through her arms. She knew this feeling, she reminded herself. Only this time, someone meant to kill her. She had to fight.

Eleni was able to deflect a couple of the swings, but their numbers seemed to keep growing and her fear was mounting quickly. She backed away hurriedly, her eyes wide and searching. Where was Farkas?

She yelped, catching yet another sword with her own. Glancing around, she tried to watch for more attacks. Eleni staggered back when her blade was smacked out of her hands. She fell, staring up in horror as a sword came down swiftly, aimed at her neck. She went flat on her back, avoiding the attack and rolling out of the way of the second attempt. She came up in a crouched position, lifting her hands.

Flames roared to life, engulfing the man. He screamed, dropping his weapon and patting his fur armor, trying to stop the spread of the hungry fire. It ate away everything, including his skin, leaving only his charred remains behind. A couple of his cohorts stared down at his lifeless body before lifting their eyes back up to her.

She could feel their anger, their hatred. They charged her and all she could do was let loose streams of starved flames and currents of chirping electricity. She hit her targets. One suffered the same fate as her first opponent while the other one's muscles locked up tightly, sending him to the ground, where he convulsed violently.

Eleni gave a sigh of relief. When she looked up, Farkas stood covered in the blood of his enemies. He stared at her, his expression unreadable. "It…looks like we won," she said, eyes darting this way and that. Great. She was nervous.

He nodded slowly, his gaze never leaving her face. "Yeah… I didn't see it before," he started, "but now I think that I should have at least figured. No wonder you're so inept with blades; you're real talent lies in…" He fell silent, as if he couldn't say the word.

She bit into her bottom lip mercilessly. "Yes." That was all she could say to that, really. He hesitated briefly before approaching her, holding his hand out for her to take. She did and he helped her to her feet. "Thank you," she murmured. "I don't think I'll be able to sit for a while," she said with a short laugh, rubbing her sore bum.

He grunted and started for the cave entrance. "Let's head back now." He gestured for her to follow. She gathered her sword and scrambled to catch up.

"Farkas," she started, "you didn't seem pleased when you realized what I am – a mage. Is there a reason for that?"

He shrugged his massive shoulders, but didn't answer her. She made a face. They walked silently for a moment. When they were outside again, she sighed. Would she always have to defend herself here in Skyrim? These Nords… "It helped me back there, right? All we had to do was take them out. There were no real rules about how we managed it, right?"

She sounded defensive, he thought. He'd offended her. Well, of course he had! He glanced back at her. She looked dejected, lost…and utterly lonely. He'd never had to worry about such a thing. Vilkas was his twin and they'd always been there for one another. Their bond could never be severed. He'd always taken comfort in that fact, really.

He paused and she did the same. Slowly, she looked up at him. She could hide her emotions well, he thought. He still had the advantage – he could smell them coming off of her in waves. Fear and anger were two very similar emotions and harder to sort out using only his nose, but he could also read her body language.

She had sheathed her blade and her hands were now tight little fists at her sides. Her gaze met his only briefly before skittering away. She was dealing with a mixture of emotions, all new and…uncomfortable.

"I can't be ashamed of who and what I am," she said softly.

"And I do not want you to be," he told her truthfully, turning fully and resting a giant hand on her head. He ruffled her hair. She sighed, a small smile coming to her face.

Reassured, she started keeping pace with him when they started off again. "Still," she began, her smile still in play, "I could use some more practice with my blade. That was more than a little embarrassing! You're…going to help me, right?"

When he looked down, there was no mistaking the hope in those eyes of hers. There seemed to be only goodness in this woman. She had the purest soul, a giving nature, innocence that he sought to protect. Yeah, Kodlak hadn't accepted her into their ranks because she was skilled with swords – that much was obvious. What was it, then? Her vast knowledge? Her desire to serve, to please? Or simply that fire in her eyes whenever she set out to do something? Did she really have the heart of a warrior?

"Yeah," he said. "I'll start now. Never let your enemy disarm you…"

Sahana yawned and tears gathered at the corners of her eyes. She glanced over, noted the look that Vilkas was giving her. "What's that face for?" she asked with a humorless smile. "What could I have done so early in the day to make you look like that?"

His frown deepened and she sighed. Why did it always come back to this? They could share pleasant moments, and she'd proven herself! So why did he always seem displeased with her? She shrugged, thinking to herself: you can't please everyone. Still, it was something when you could please everyone but the one person that you wanted to please…

She couldn't be bothered with this! Aela had allowed her some time to rest, but now it was time to move again. It was funny how she started cramping up when she allowed herself to be lazy. Her nature, not to mention her wolf, simply didn't agree with such a lifestyle.

"Forget I asked," she murmured, standing. With just a soft whistle, her dogs stood at her sides. They looked like a formidable trio, really – a wicked, deadly huntress and her two dark guardians.

Sahana looked down, placed a hand on Meeko's head and stroked back his shaggy fur. Vilkas watched her eyes soften. A gentle – almost nonexistent – smile came to her face. He found himself calming down, with no real reason to be at odds with her. He couldn't deny it: not allowing himself to transform had made him edgy...and maybe even off-putting.

She turned back to him. Her smile was gone now, he noticed. She appeared sullen, staring at him with those eyes – haunted eyes, distant eyes… Eyes so intense that he sometimes had to look away. Eyes so beautiful that he sometimes had a hard time looking away. He hated them.

"Well," she said, distracting him from his thoughts. "I will return soon. You can glare and give me the silent-treatment then, too. I look forward to it!" Another one of those smiles – nothing more than a baring of the teeth, really.

So snarky was she, he always found himself wanting to laugh at her – or with her, he wasn't exactly sure which most of the time. Teasing her was too much like teasing an untamed animal, though. He certainly didn't intend to get his hand bitten off.

He merely stared at her. She scowled and turned on her heel. Chin lifted, she took sure steps as she made her way over to the door. She was gone in the next second.

Vilkas snorted and stood up from his chair. When he turned to head downstairs, he paused. He hadn't noticed Farkas standing behind him. Strange…

Farkas was looking at him, one eyebrow quirked curiously. Vilkas sighed, brushing by his twin. "Brother," the brawnier of the two spoke up. Vilkas stopped at the top of the stairs with yet another sigh. He looked up and Farkas offered him a small smile before saying, "Take the risk…"

Huh?

And people say Farkas is the lack-wit...? Ha. I hope you enjoyed this chapter!