Here you go guys! Just a note; the "8888888"s are page brake. I remember a few of you wanted them. So I hope they stay since '~' doesn't like being there. Anyway, enjoy!

Chapter 17

Kili moaned softly, as her eyes fluttered open as she started to wake up. She stretched out and rolled over on her back, looking up at the ceiling. Turning her head, she looked beside her, seeing that Vilkas wasn't there; a pout formed on her lips as she sat up, quickly realizing that she was naked under the blanket. A squeak fell from her lips, as she quickly covers up her nude body.

"So...that really happened..." she said to herself, not being able to stop the smile, and blush spreading across her face.

With a giggled, she reached down, and slipped on Vilkas' shirt that she had worn before their activities.

"I see you're finally awake,"

Kili gasped and looked toward his door, as Vilkas walked back into the room with a smug look on his face. Kili's blush darkened and she turned her gaze from him. He chuckled and walked over to the bed and sat in front of her.

"I take it, me pleasing you wasn't a bit too much?" he asked, in teasing tone, grabbing her chin to have her face him once more.

"Maybe..."

Vilkas chuckled, and kissed her forehead, "As much as I would love to tease you, my love, Tilma would kill me for wasting hot water, and I suggest you bath before you head out with Farkas."

'Oh yes...the test,' she thought to herself, she kissed his cheek, "Thank you Vilkas,"

He hummed a response, "Yes, yes. Now go, before I decide to keep you longer,"

Kili again giggled as she got out of bed, and grabbed a change of clothes, "Would that really be a bad thing?"

"Kili," he groaned sternly and gave her a look.

"Teasing you," she smiled and head towards the bathing room.

Vilkas sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, "Gods...that woman…"

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Kili hummed to herself as she bathed herself as quickly as she could. She thought about what she had to do after this work with Farkas. She also needed to take the horn back to the grey beards, before this Blade business got out of hand. Maybe Vilkas would go with her, they could use a bit of time together. A quiet knock drew her out of her thoughts.

"Yes?" she asked as she grabbed a nearby towel and covered her chest as she sat up in the tub a little.

"It's Roxanna and Ria!" Roxanna's voice answered from behind the closed door. "We have something for you. Can we come in?"

Kili tilted her head to the side in confusion, "I guess..."

The knob turned and the two women step inside, shutting the door behind them.

"We wanted to make sure you got this before you left," Ria said as she pulled out the upper half a steel armor set, while Roxanna pulled out the bottom half.

"Seeing as how your leather armor was destroyed beyond repair according to Graymane, so we put a bit of our coin together and got you I steal plate set. Seeing as how dragons seem coming at you from all sides these days," Roxanna added on to Ria's explanation.

Kili frowned up at them as she stepped out of the tub, wrapping her towel around her person as she did so. "These betters not have cost too much you two. You know how I feel about people buying me things when I can't pay them back."

Roxanna chuckled, "You don't have to pay us back you silly woman. This is our gift to you for getting to the test."

"But I haven't passed it yet..."

"And you're not going to without any armor. Not stop pouting and put it on," Ria griped as she held the armor out to the Nord woman. "I haven't reached to point of the joining test, but I want to make sure you make it before Njada does, and seeing her face when you come back as a full Companion will make spending the coin worth wild,"

Kili giggled quietly at that, "Well, now that you put it that way...Quickly, help get dressed so I can put it on,"

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"This information just still doesn't sit right with me..." Vilkas muttered as he sat next to his brother as they went over the information for Kili's test again.

"You have that odd feeling too?" Farkas asked as he finished off his mead. "I know I don't usually care to ask questions on this sort of thing...but are you sure you want your woman going on this goose chase for something that may or may not be there?"

"I don't have much of choice in this matter now do I?" he asked. "Besides she's already made her mind up that she wants to do this. Who am I to tell her no?"

"Are you saying she's worse than Roxanna when it comes to these things?" Farkas asked in return, finding it hard to believe that there was a woman out there that was more hard headed than Roxxan.

"Yes..." the older twin uttered as he heard Kili's along with Roxanna and Rai's footsteps coming up the stair way into the mead hall. "Just get in and get out," He muttered to his brother then turned his head to look at the women as they entered.

"You look fit for battle," Farkas remarked as Kili and the others stood before them.

Her blade was strapped snug across her back as she always had it, and her new armor fit perfectly across her body.

"Well, you never can be too careful these days Farkas. Especially with me around," Kili said as a matter-of-factly.

The brother both chuckled and shook their heads.

"I think she will be fine on this little test brother. You have nothing to worry about," Farkas said reassuringly to his brother as he got out of his seat.

"So you're saying I should be more worried about you then, dear brother?" Vilkas teased as he did the same, and walked over to Kili.

"Very funny..." Farkas muttered as he rolled his eyes.

Kili looked up at Vilkas as he stood in front of her and handed her, her bag. "Packed it for me?"

"Making sure you have enough to eat. You haven't seen how Farkas gets when he travels yet," he muttered as she took the bag from him and throw it over her shoulder.

"I think I can handle it," she said softly.

Vilkas smiled at her and pressed his forehead against hers. "Just...just stay safe...For my sake,"

She returned the smile and nuzzled her nose against hers, "I always am,"

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"So, you seem awfully smitten with my brother of late," Farkas mused as the two of them made their way out of the city and out into the open fields of Whiterun.

Kili raised an eyebrow at him, trying to fight the blush she felt crawling up her neck. "What do you mean by that Farkas?"

"You know what I mean," he snorted as they continued down the beaten past side by side. "If continue to act innocent with me, I will bluntly ask you until your face turns so red you pass out from all the blood going to your brain,"

Kili cleared her throat a few times and looked away from him as the blush took over her face, "Yes...I like your brother a lot...and judging from the way you asked I take it you heard us last night,"

The twin laughed, "I wouldn't say I heard Vilkas at all, but Roxanna and I did get an earful of you last night as we headed to bed,"

"By Talos..." Kili groaned as Farkas continued to laugh at her.

"I'm only teasing. I teased Vilkas all morning while you slept in so I have to make it even,"

"Did the others hear me then?" she growled the question through gritted teeth, still refusing to look at him as they walked together.

"No I think it was just me and Rox that heard...Aela and Skjor went hunting last night and the other new bloods turned in earlier. Of course Kodlak might have hear you too, but knowing him, he wouldn't bother you with it...Unlike me," he said the last part with a bit of pride and gave her a cheeky grin. He had smudged up the timeline of events a bit. He only heard them when he and Roxanna went to find Vilkas, but she didn't need to know that. It was fun to tease her a bit, it was his way of say he like her and welcome to family so to speak.

"You are awful..." the Nordic woman muttered, and turned her gaze ahead of them.

"Hey! He teased me and Roxanna for weeks when we finally got together. It's only fair that I return the favor,"

"Two wrongs to make it right Farkas," she muttered again.

"Yes but three rights make a left...At least that's what I've been told. Never tried to figure out if that one is true," he countered.

Kili snorted, "Yes, if you take three rights you'll make a left, or end up back where you started. Aela was right; Vilkas is the brains out of the two of you,"

"Hey now, that's hurtful,"

"Oh! And teasing a woman about what she did with your brother last night isn't?"

"Learn to be quiet then woman," he snapped pretending to be mad at her statement.

"Well obviously he was doing something right... I wonder if you've ever made Roxanna go crazy like that. My guess is...no."

Farkas froze in the middle of the road as Kili continued with a smug look on her face.

"Ouch...who knew you had it in you," Farkas said after gapped like a fish for a few minutes, "Smart, strong, and quick with the tongue...No wonder Vilkas fell head over heels for you. You're him as woman!"

Kili throw her head back with laughter, "I'll be sure to tell him that,"

The pair traveled continued across the plains till the sun started to set behind the mountains and the dark of night fell across the land filling the air and ground with a winter chill. They made a quick make shift camp to rest for the night.

"We should make it to the site by sun set tomorrow," Farkas said as he finished building the fire, not for himself but for Kili. Vilkas would kill him he didn't at least try and take care of her while they were out here, but Farkas had a feeling Kili could take care of herself just fine regardless of what his brother said. "Any questions?"

"Not to sound like a downer or ungrateful for this chance...but what is at this Dustman's Cairn that's so important? Roxanna told me a little but said you would the one to talk to if I had questions," Kili said as she looked up form writing in her journal for more information.

"We got information from a scholar that a piece of Wuuthrad might be in the tombs there. Whether it's true or not I have no clue," he answered as he sat by the fire across from her.

"A piece of Wuuthrad? You're coming with me to find a piece of a broke axe?" she asked a little confused now, "That may or may not be there..?"

"Sounds like a wild goose chase I know...I'm sorry I can't tell you more, but that's all they told me," he lied again, but this time to keep her safe from information she wasn't ready to know about yet.

"Okay...So it's a tomb, and there might be draugers there?"

He chuckled at her tone, "Scared of the undead Kili?"

"A little bit," she muttered and went back to scribbling down words in her journal.

"Why do you keep a journal?" Farkas blurted out after a few minutes of listening to lead scratch across the paper.

"I don't know really..." she answered, her writing stilled as she thought about how to word her the rest of her answer, "I've always kept one, ever since I was little. Papa encouraged all of us to keep one...Though I was the only one to ever really try to keep up with one. My first ones were burned in the house when the Thalmor came...after I figured out what to do after being on my own for a while I started to keep one again, it was mostly little scrap pieces I stole with my food, I always wrote my thought and actions of the day down...It keeps me sane I guess,"

Farkas nodded, "So after you're gone others will know what you've been through, and maybe help them get through their own tough times?"

Kili smiled and nodded, "In a way I guess it could help. Never thought of it that way before,"

"I have my moments...sadly they are few and far between," he joked.

"There is nothing wrong with not having the 'brains' Farkas. We were all made differently for a reason," Kili reasoned, "If we were all the same it would either be very boring or very chaotic,"

"I suppose, I don't think I'm meant to be smart. That's Vilkas' job,"

Kili chuckled as she finished up her writing in her journal before she put the book back into her bag. "I always wondered...which one of you is the oldest?"

"Sadly neither one of us knows. Our mother was killed by necromancers when we were young, this why Vilkas doesn't trust magic users. After being on our own for a while our father found us again and brought us to Jarrvasker, where we have been ever since...it's sad that neither us knows our true ages, but if we had to guess I would say that Vilkas is the oldest and were around our twenty-eighth winter," he said, as he stared into the flames of their fire, as if to look for the answers.

Kili frown a little at the story, "I'm sorry Farkas, I didn't mean to pry,"

"Nah, it's all good. I feels good to talk about with someone different for a change," Farkas said as he waved her hand up to stop her apologize.

"You remind me of Alistair..." she whispered, "He was always the fighter; he didn't really care about other skills as long as he could protect us..."

"He was killed first...after your father wasn't he?" Farkas asked as he looked up at her.

Kili's shoulder's tensed, but she nodded. "And I didn't even have to tell you..." She whispered. "When the elves slit fathers' throat, Alistair ran out of mothers grasp and grappled with the leader, Malcolm did the same…They were quickly over powered with the elves' spells. I remember mother telling me to grab Ciara and run."

Farkas frowned and shifted in spot, "Sorry, I should have stopped you there,"

She gave him a smile regardless, "It's all right, no since living in the past,"

He grunted and returned the smile halfheartedly not wanting to see her upset about the topic anymore. "You go on and get some rest, I'll take first watch and we'll head out at first light. Sound good?"

"Sounds good to me, if you promise to wake me," she teased as she pushed her bag and weapons to the side and set up her sleeping bag up so she could lay down comfortably on the cold ground.

"I make no such promise," he chuckled and shook his head at her.

"I'm serious, Farkas," she muttered and curled up into a ball.

"So was I, sister," he muttered back and turned his attention to the night for a second. When he was sure he was settled in, he looked back at her. He watched her breathing even out, telling him that she had fallen asleep. She must have slept on the ground for years if she could fall asleep that fast."Talos…this going to be a long trip,"