As they finised their meal, cleaned up, and sat outside on the porch to watch the stars, Rayla told Farkas about everything that had happened since they last saw each other.

Farkas listened quietly as she told him all about her time in Windhelm, how she had gotten training with a sword and even studied with the court wizard to learn more about magik, and when she got to what happened with Velanus, his chest tightened.

"I'm sorry..."

Rayla looked at him. "It's OK, Farkas. It was bound to happen, I'm just glad that I was in a safe place with people I trust when it did finally happen."

"Not just for what you went through with your husband, I'm sorry I left you to begin with."

Rayla sighed and looked down at her hands. "It's OK, I get it. You thought I'd be safer with my brother and his comrades than just you."

"I did, but even then I feel like I should have stayed..."

Rayla glanced at him, seeing the regret etched in his face. "Farkas..."

They sat silently for a bit until Rayla broke the silence and jumped up from her chair.

"Farkas, look!"

Above them, an array of beautiful blues, greens, purples, and pinks danced across the skies.

"You never see an aurora before?" Farkas asked, standing and coming over to where she had stepped out to.

Rayla shook her head. "In all my years, I've never seen one before. I've heard about them from my brother, but this is so much better than what he described."

Farkas gazed up at the sky as the aurora danced overhead. "It is pretty, that's for sure."

They stood there for several minutes, just watching the sky. At some point, without realizing it, they had moved closer together and their hands grazed one another's. Rayla looked at Farkas as he interlocked his fingers with her own, offering her a gentle smile as he did so. Rayla felt herself blush at the sweet gesture and leaned into him, grasping his hand as she rested her head against his arm.

"Thank you for coming to see me, Farkas."

"Any time, little mouse."


Once the aurora had ended, Rayla and Farkas went back into the bunkhouse and began settling down for the night. One of the extra beds was pulled from storage and set near Rayla's bed for Farkas to use, after agreeing that Farkas should just stay in the bunkhouse with her. It wasn't the first time they had shared a room, but that didn't stop Rayla from getting all flustered over it.

Farkas moved his things from by the door to next to his bed, then turne to Rayla. "What'd you want to do with the rest of the night?"

Rayla shrugged. "I'm not sure, we've never really hung out with just or the fun of it before." She fiddle with the hem of her sleeves for a moment, feeling nervous for some reason. "I'm going to make some tea, would you like some, too?"

"Sure."

While Rayla tried to busy herself with the kettle, Farkas could hear her heartbeat increasing and smirked when he noticed how nervous she was. He took the time to look through the small collection of books on a nearby shelf, noticing that most of them were books about magik.

"You still using magik?"

"Not really, but I do practice from time to time. I only ever use it as needed."

"What about your weapons training?"

"I practice that a bit more frequently."

"What'd you learn to use?"

"Sword and dagger."

"Good weapons for someone your size. You seem nimble enough, too." Farkas cleared his throat when a dirty thought popped into his head about how else she could be nimble. "Not that magik isn't practical or anything, it's just better to learn how to defend yourself with a weapon just in case."

"After what I had to go through before going to Windhelm, I wanted to make sure that I didn't have to constantly rely on others. I wanted to learn both, though, so that I could be helpful in a variety of ways. I focused more on restoration magik and learned a bit of alchemy, as well, so that I could make potions if needed."

"Rayla..."

Rayla offered him a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, I promise I don't gooverboard with training. I just don't want to be useless and helpless anymore."

Farkas stood and went over to her, a serious expression taking over. "You were never useless, Rayla, and you got help when you needed it instead of trying to bear it alone."

"Thank you for saying that." She sighed and turned back to the kettle as it started to whistle.

Farkas waited for her to finish preparing the tea and set the kettle aside, then came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her. "I meant what I said, little mouse. You were never useless; you always found ways to help out, however you could, to pay back the people who supported you for their kindness. No one in their right mind would ever think you're a useless person."

Rayla reached up and grasped his forearms, taking comfort in his embrace. It felt so safe, so warm, unlike any she'd felt before aside from her brother's. But with Farkas, it was different and hard to describe. It wasn't brotherly, it was more of what she had hoped and expected to feel from her husband. When the thought of Farkas as a husband came the mind, she immediately blushed and cleared her throat- breaking free from the embrace.

"Best drink the tea before it gets cold."

Farkas smirked when he noticed how red her cheeks were, even in the dim lighting. He sat down across from her, asking her for more tales from her time in Windhelm as they enjoyed the tea.