The room grew warm from the fireplace that was lit. Kaiah was sitting in a wooden chair at a table, watching as the man who appeared to be the leader of the Silver-Hand group at Treva's Watch was getting a bottle of wine from his liquor shelf. The room was surprisingly well kept, as opposed to the rest of the fort. They had to have been here for a very long time already, and since they have their faction's plans they seem to be a very important stronghold.

Kaiah knew she had to be smart about this. One slip up and the whole plan would falter. She needed a chance to search his room. Waiting would be her best option since she doesn't know his habits, waiting of course would allow her to study him.

"Would you like a drink?" Kaiah was snapped out of her thoughts by the large man who held a glass of already poured wine. She smiled softly and accepted gingerly, smelling the contents. She got a sudden whiff of canis root and imp stool. Her eyes widened. 'Paralysis potion! Fucker is trying to paralyze me.' She tilted the cup up into her mouth, but did not let the contents touch her lips. She set the glass down on the table and stared at the man innocently.

With a large grin the man leaned in closer to the Redguard, "What is your name, beautiful?" Kaiah swallowed and spoke softly. "Nanika." A name completely made up on the spot, she wouldn't dare share her real name. "A beautiful name for a beautiful woman."

She gave him a flirtatious smirk, "I am embarrassed to admit this, but it has been a long time since I have been in the company of such a generous and kind man…" She nearly cursed herself aloud. The man flashed a toothy grin and went to place a kiss on her hand, "For you, I'll be as generous and kind as you need me to be."

The two were startled when another man barged into the quarters. The leader's previously soft face turned to anger as he stood up, his tone demanding. "What do you want?" The man at the door, seemingly unphased by the leader's harsh demeanor, mollified, "Someone outside is shooting arrows at our men along the wall."

Kaiah grinned. She wasn't sure if it was Aela or some other hunter or bandit, but she was grateful for the opening. "Dammit! Show me," the leader then looked down at the Redguard, "Please excuse me."

As the two men left the room she waved, then immediately got up when she heard the door slam shut. She rushed over to his study and searched the drawers frantically, looking for anything that resembled plans. Coming up empty-handed, she looked over at the wooden chest beside the desk. She knelt down in front of it and tried to unclasp the metal hook to open it, but it was locked up tight. She pulled a lockpick out of her leather boot and grabbed the iron dagger that was on the desk. She attempted to pick the lock open. It took several moments but once she heard the *click*, she opened the chest quickly.

Inside was a small pile of journals and books. She looked through the chest and grabbed about five different journals, skimming the pages. She reached the bottom and saw a red and tattered journal. She opened and her eyes widened when she read the contents. She looked through the pages and each time she couldn't believe what she was seeing. Locations of all of their holdouts. Dates and entries on everyone at Jorrvaskr. It was like a dossier. But the last page had stunned her the most, and she felt her mouth run dry.

"They're going to attack Jorrvaskr?"

She suddenly heard two men talking right outside the door. She shut the journal and put it back in the chest, closing it quickly. She ran back over to the chair she was sitting in and not a second later the door flew open. The leader walked in and dismissed the other man, then closed the door. He walked over to Kaiah and sat back down.

"Apologies, Nanika," he said in a low voice, "It was just some random hunter."

Kaiah smiled softly, looking around the table. She noticed a bottle of spiced wine, uncorked and nearly half full. She then looked towards the man, placing a gentle hand on his armored forearm. "You know," she started moving her hand up his arm, "Why don't you let me thank you for your hospitality…"

The man grinned and grabbed her by the collar of her dress, pulling her closer to him. She could smell the spiced wine on his breath. "How could I refuse a woman with a body like yours?" She stopped him and stood up, "Why don't I help you get your armor off?"

He complied and he stood up from his chair, turning around and facing away from the Redguard. She stroked his fur cloak and the man fiddled with the ties in the front, trying to take it off. He was taking longer than anticipated so Kaiah took this chance to strike. She grabbed the wine bottle off the table and swung the bottle as hard as she could across the man's head. A loud shattering sound was heard and the man dropped on the stone floor, out cold. She looked down to make sure he was knocked out.

"Nothing personal, but I prefer my men to be tall, dark, and handsome. And truthfully, you're barely one of those things." She tossed the broken wine bottle to the side and rushed over to the chest where she had previously found the plans. She rummaged through the chest and pulled out the tattered journal which held the plans she was looking for. She dumped out a nearby knapsack and placed the journal inside before taking off out of the room.

Before she got out however, someone had opened the door. It was a man. "What was that noise?" He looked down at Kaiah and then at the unconscious Silver-Hand leader. Before he could react though, Kaiah stormed past him, taking off in a full sprint down the stairs.

"Hey!" the man yelled, drawing his sword, "Get back here!"

Kaiah didn't look behind her as she continued down the spiral staircase, the knapsack with the plans inside strapped to her back.. She reached the bottom of the stairs before running into two more Silver-Hand. They must have heard the commotion from upstairs. The two warriors drew their weapons but were not fast enough as Kaiah had already slid past them. She now had three Silver-Hand on her hide.

'Gods, this is annoying.' Kaiah cursed as she ran down the stone hall. She reached the end of the hall before making a swift left into the kitchens. More Silver-Hand were inside eating their meals at one of the tables. Without even thinking, Kaiah placed a hand over one of the wooden prep tables, launching her lower body over the food on top of it. The three warriors chasing her had stormed in and yelled at the others to chase her.

Kaiah ran out of the kitchens and into another hallway. She looked behind her briefly and saw a handful of warriors chasing her. She cursed under her breath and continued running for her life. She ran through another common area before storming out of the fort and into the courtyard. She looked around frantically for an exit before seeing the wooden gate that she had originally come through. She took off for the gate.

"Close the gate!" one of the Silver-Hand that was chasing her yelled. Another quickly pulled the lever and the gate started to drop. Kaiah felt a rise of panic set in as she saw the gate slowly drop. She picked up her pace and ran as fast as her legs could let her. As the gate was about to close on the Redguard, she slid against the dirt and threw her underneath the gate feet first. A rush of adrenaline flooded through her veins as she heard the gate close behind her. She picked herself quickly and took off east towards the small river bend.

"Shoot her!"

She saw arrows fly past her as she ran. She covered her head, looking back half-hazardly as she ran. She finally came across the river bend and started jumping across the rocks as quickly as she could.

"Vilkas! Aela!"

The two Nords poked their heads up and looked over to the direction of the noise. They looked out towards the fort and saw Kaiah running for her life, three Silver-Hand following a ways behind her.

"Run!" She yelled, a look of fright and excitement on her face. Aela quickly grabbed the Redguards knapsack and scimitars and gestured for Vilkas to follow her. Kaiah was rushing up the steep hill, trying to catch up to her shield-siblings. However, she lost her footing and slipped just as she was about to reach the top. Vilkas rushed to the edge and grabbed her by her hand, pulling her up with near ease before she could fall. The Redguard and Nord then took off running with Aela.

"We'll find you wench!" The three could hear one of the Silver-Hand shout from a distance. Kaiah's mouth formed into a mischievous grin and Aela chuckled.

The three Companions ran for several moments until they were sure they were no longer being followed. Vilkas and Aela lost their scent so they stopped on the side of the stone road, taking a breather. Kaiah stopped as well, placing her hands on her knees as she gasped for air.

"I'll be damned," Aela admitted, still breathing heavily, "You actually made it out."

Kaiah chuckled as she took her knapsack off and pulled out the tattered journal, and gave it to them. Vilkas grabbed the journal and opened it. His eyes went from a stern look to one of shock. "Ysmir's beard, these are the plans!"

The Redguard huffed, "Of…. of course they are," she spoke between breaths.

"I'm impressed, sister," Aela slapped Kaiah on the back, the sheer force almost knocking the wind out of the poor Redguard, "I don't know how you did it, but you can tell us all about it when we get back home!"

The two women started down the stone road to Ivarstead. Vilkas stood there, still engrossed by the plans he was reading. He looked up and saw that his shield-sisters were leaving without him, so he slipped the plans into the knapsack and slung it over his shoulder, jogging to catch up to the two women.

It would be a long journey back to Whiterun.

"You did what?"

The three warriors stood before their Harbinger, now rested and clean from their journey to Treva's Watch. Aela crossed her arms, staring intently at the old warrior. "Kaiah infiltrated Treva's Watch and obtained their plans," she approached the table he was sitting at and pointed at the plans that were open before him, "Inside is a detailed dossier of every one of us, including plans of a future attack on our hall."

Kodlak read through the plans intently, as if trying to find something that would contradict what the huntress was saying. But everything she was saying was true. Page after page was an incrementally detailed biography of every member, including Kaiah.

"This is not good…" Kodlak spoke quietly under his breath before looking up at the younger Companions, "But I am still angry with you three for sneaking around behind the guild." He turned his chastising glare towards Vilkas, "I expected this from Aela, but from you? I am disappointed."

Vilkas raised his hands in defense, "I explained to them it was a bad idea but they wouldn't listen-"

"Does it even matter now?" Kaiah interrupted, "Here are the Silver-Hand's plans, right in our hands!"

Kodlak looked at the Redguard, "It does matter. Sneaking into Treva's Watch, regardless of whether or not blood was spilled, will anger them even more so. You stole something of theirs, and they are going to want it back."

"And probably with our heads on pikes," Vilkas interjected.

"We'll be fine," Aela insisted, "If they want to try and attack Jorrvaskr, I say let those milk-drinkers try."

Kodlak let out a deep sigh before closing the journal. "We will continue this another time." The three Companions nodded silently and took their leave, leaving Kodlak to stew in his thoughts alone. This turn of events not only angered the old man but also worried him. Aela and Skjor never considered the Silver-Hand to be a real threat and would hunt them like a common game. And while there was some truth to what the huntress said, that the Silver-Hand would never have the courage to attack the mead hall, they would surely never stop harassing them outside the walls every chance they got.

He had already lost a close friend to those werewolf hunters; he didn't want to lose another.

He couldn't even bear the thought.

The mead hall was quiet as everyone had finished their evening meal and retired to their respective chambers. Kaiah was not yet tired so decided to take up some reading in the main hall instead. She sat at one of the small tables on the side of the hall, curled up on a chair with a book in her lap. She was the only other person besides Ria who occupied the space. The Imperial had just finished helping Tilma clean the rest of the long table before approaching her friend.

Ria took a seat across from the small table and leaned forward, trying to keep her voice quiet. "I need to talk to you." Kaiah looked up curiously and closed her book, placing it on the table. "Something on your mind?" She gave a curious grin as Ria adamantly struggled to find the words to explain the unforeseeable predicament that she was currently in. There was a long moment of silence between the two women and Kaiah was growing worried for her friend. She knew it must have been something quite serious if she was delaying.

Ria looked away from the Redguard and felt her eyes grow wet with tears. Kaiah's brow furrowed and she reached out to grab her friend's hand, "Ria, what's wrong?"

The woman hiccuped and she wiped her eyes with the palm of her free hand, though it did little to stop the tears from falling down her cheeks. "Kaiah…" She felt her lip quiver and she wiped her tears again, trying not to break down into a loud sob.

"I'm pregnant."

Silence.

There was silence between the two women for what felt like hours.

An invisible weight was lifted off of Ria's shoulders and was placed onto Kaiah's as she spoke the two words they both never thought she would ever speak. Kaiah tried to keep a calm and collected expression but truthfully was failing miserably. She wasn't angry, disappointed, or even sad; she was just shocked.

"How…?" Was all Kaiah could muster out of her mouth. Ria shot an glare, "The potion failed, obviously."

The Redguard shook her head and disregarded her friend's snappy tone, "No, I mean… What happened?"

Ria swallowed before looking at the table. "It started with the muscle aches after training, and then the morning sickness… I went to Danica for some medicine but then she told me that I was with child. Almost two months now…"

"Gods…" Kaiah whispered, "Who is the father?"

Ria let out a sad chuckle, "Who do you think?"

Of course Kaiah assumed it was Farkas, considering he was the only man Ria had been with recently. But for some reason she still felt she had to ask.

"What are you going to tell him?"

Ria shook her head solemnly, "I haven't even decided if I am going to keep it."

Kaiah's eyes widened. Termination wasn't unheard of. Many women who fell pregnant out of wedlock resorted to such practices, and Kaiah never judged a woman for choosing that option for herself. However, Ria was her friend, and so was Farkas.

"An abortion is a dangerous procedure," Kaiah told her, to which Ria frowned. "I know, but what other choice do I have?"

"Does Farkas know?"

Ria looked away and said nothing, which was more than what Kaiah needed to see. "You need to tell him…"

"I can't!" She retorted loudly, then lowering her tone, "I'll be shamed by the others!"

"Fuck the others," Kaiah shot back, holding her friend's hand with both of her own, "This is about you and your child. And Farkas is your child's father, and he needs to know."

Ria looked away from Kaiah. The Redguard leaned closer, "You both need to discuss this before making any decisions. But whatever you choose to do Ria, I will support you."

The tears fell down Ria's face as Kaiah pulled her in for a hug. "Thank you…"

Regardless of how the events transpired, it happened, and Ria had to accept her new reality. She was pregnant with Farkas' child, and Kaiah is the only soul who knows. She wasn't sure how she was going to tell him, or if she was going to tell him at all. However, Kaiah couldn't stop thinking about the repercussions of the pregnancy. If the two decided to keep the child and raise it, how could they? They were both mercenaries, and Farkas was a member of the Circle. Not only that but she was certain that Ria had no idea that Farkas was a werewolf.

Kaiah knew that Ria's life would never be the same again, and all she could do for her friend now is support her and be there for her.

They were shield-sisters after all…