Rayla spent her days with Lillan, helping around her homestead and finally feeling as though she could enjoy a peaceful life of her own. It was an incredible feeling of freedom and security, something she had not had in ages.

It had been several long weeks since she had written to Farkas, but she wasn't sure what to do if she saw him again. After talking with that old woman in the Temple of Mara, Rayla had finally comes to terms with the fact that she had fallen in love with Farkas. He had protected her, even before she had asked, and he had stood by her through so much. She worried, though, that her feelings were one sided- especially after he left her behind without saying goodbye.

"Rayla? I'm going into town to meet with Brynjolf and some of the others."

Rayla looked up from her work and smiled at Lillan. "OK, have a safe trip."

Lillan returned her smile, wished her a good rest of her day and departed. She was so happy to see her old friend in much better spirits than she had been the last time she had visited. She could finally see how relaxed and free Rayla was feeling, and it was much needed for the poor woman.

As Lillan traveled down the road towards Riften, she was greeted with a familiar face as Farkas came up the road towards Waterview.

"Farkas, we meet again."

"You're Rayla's friend. Lillan right?"

Lillan nodded. "It's good to see you. And in one piece." She gestured back towards her home. "Rayla is in the garden. I'll be in town until morning, most likely, so you will have plenty of privacy to catch up."

She watched as Farkas thanked her and continued on his way, quickening his pace. Chuckling, Lillan turned her attention back to the road before her and smiled.

'He came after her finally. Good, maybe now they can finally work things out.'


Back at Wateriew, Rayla was humming to herself as she picked the ripe fruits from Lillan's trees. She had taken to helping out around the homestead as much as possible to thank Lillan for letting her stay with her. She was grateful to have use of the bunkhouse, enjoying the privacy and comfort of a small home without the distractions or worries she had faced before.

She placed the fruits into the basket one or two at a time, checking each one in the tree before harvesting them to make sure that the were ripe first. She was amazed that Lillan was able to grow such a variety, but it was no surprise with how favorable the climate was in the Rift Hold.

As she worked, Farkas arrived at the homestead not long after Lillan's departure and found Rayla humming in the garden as she moved from the pear tree to the peach tree. She seemed happier, holding herself more confidently than she had before.

'She looks good.'

Rayla reached up to grab one of the ripe peaches, a nice plump one, but it was just out of reach. As she set the basket down and stood up on her toes, though, someone reached for it from behind her and handed it to her. She turned to thank the person and her eyes widened when she saw who it was.

"Farkas?"

Farkas smirked. "Hey, little mouse."

Rayla threw her arms around his neck and hugged him, earning herself a chuckle and a warm embrace as Farkas held her close. "It's so good to see you!" She held onto him for a moment, then pushed back and asked, "What are you doing here?"

"I got your letter."

Rayla looked at him, blushing at how close they were still because of how Farkas was holding her. "And you came to see me?"

Farkas smiled at that. "Of course I did." He set her down and watched her take a step back.

"That's sweet of you," Rayla said, retrieving her basket. "How long are you around for?"

"As long as I need to be."

Rayla smiled at that. "Well, let's make the best of it then." She gestured for him to follow her, then led the way to the bunkhouse.

Farkas followed her to the bunkhouse and stepped inside, noticing that it had been converted into a second house of sorts. All the extra beds and other furniture in the room that they had shared the last time he was there had been pushed to the back wall and stacked behind a temporary wall.

Rayla set the basket of fruits down and started unloading it, placing the fruits on the shelves with the rest of her food.

"How was the trip here?" she asked.

"It was fine, no bad weather or anything."

"That's good. How have you been?"

"Good. Things were a bit slow until just before your brother showed up."

"You saw Jondric?"

"Ya, he got recruited just before I left to come see you. I expect he'll be rather busy as the new Harbinger."

Rayla looked up at that. "Harbinger?"

"A lot happened with the Companions over the past few months."

"Would... you tell me all about it over dinner?"

Farkas looked at her, pleasantly surprised by the confidence in her question coming through brightly even as she hesitated. "Sure, I'd like that."

Rayla beamed at him. "Great, I'll get started then!"

Farkas chuckled and set his things aside before going over to help her prep dinner. 'She's definitely not that timid woman anymore.'


As they prepped and cooked dinner, Farkas told Rayla all about what happened with the Companions.

The Silver Hand, a group of werewolf hunters that used silver weapons to hunt down those with the beast blood like Farkas, had become more active. Shortly after Jondric arrived, Farkas had been named his shield brother and was tasked with over seeing his final mission before he was formally inducted into the Companions.

Rayla listened as Farkas told her what happened on that job, how impressed by her brother he had been, and how grateful he was to have someone like Jondric to watch his back. She couldn't help but smile with pride at those remarks.

Farkas continued to fill her in as they set the table once dinner was ready.

The Circle, the select few amongst the Companions gifted with the beast blood, had seen great promise in Jondric and offered him the beast blood as well, which he had accepted. Shortly after he joined the Circle, things really escalated with the Silver Hand. Skjor was killed and Jondric went with Aela to avenge him, though the Harbinger Kodlak disapproved.

Rayla was concerned for her brother as she learned more about what he had been through, but she was relieved to learn that he had eradicated what remained of the Silver Hand in Skyrim and avenged Kodlak- even setting him free from his beast blood to allow him to pass over to Sovngarde. She listened as Farkas talked about what a great Harbinger Jondric was already proving to be, then her brow furrowed when he mentioned that Vilkas would be overseeing things while Jondric finished dealing with the dragon issues.

"He's strong, Rayla, he'll be just fine."

"That doesn't stop me from worrying about him, though, he is my brother after all. Wouldn't you worry about your own brother if he was in the same position? No matter how good a fighter one may be, these are dragons we're talking about."

"True, but Jondric is the Dragonborn, so he'll have an easier time dealing with them."

"That's true..."

Farkas reached over and gave her hand a squeeze. "He'll be fine, littke mouse, trust me."

Rayla took comfort in that and smiled. "I do."

"Now, enough about me, how have you been?"