U.O.T.W. Chapter 132 Emotions Of The Heart

• Posted by Sotek May 11, 2016 - Filed in TSC: CB Story - 1,018 views

   

   

  Author’s Note: Adult Content

  The very moment Aela opened her eyes, she was instantly wide awake. Excitedly she leapt from the bed, throwing the wolf fur to the side and unintentionally disturbing Sotek as he slept. He laid there quietly listening as Aela shuffled about in his room until the sudden ‘bang’ of his door left him alone in the darkness. Silence reined once more and he slowly counted the beats of his heart alongside the soft barefooted steps of Aela as she headed towards her room.

  Remembering Aela’s task and of his own, Sotek lifted himself off the bed and began following Aela along the corridor.

  The she-wolf had started filling her quiver with arrows and laid it alongside her Ancient Nordic Armor which was strewn across her table. She tipped out some cold water from the jug by her wash bowl and started cleaning her face and upper body with an old tatty linen rag when a gentle tap sounded on her door. Knowing Sotek’s knock compared to everyone else’s as he used the tip of his claw rather than his knuckle, Aela pulled open the door to let him inside despite the fact that she was topless.

  He closed the door behind himself and picked up a towel for her but instead of handing it over, he started dabbing her with it.

  Some might consider such an act as one of sexual intent but Aela knew different. It was one of his ways which he showed how much he cared for her by drying her off. Instead of allowing her to don her armor though, he pulled out from one of her draws a miner’s shirt and offered it to her.

  “Here put this on so you don’t get cold”.

  She stuck her arms through the sleeves then slipped it over her head so she was at least warmer and decent, although she was a bit confused as to why he wanted her dressed in this manner instead of getting herself prepared for the hunt ahead.

  “I need to get ready. Is something wrong?”

  Sotek, who was wearing the same type of clothing; a miner’s shirt and an old pair of brown trousers, sat down on the snow bear rug which he had managed to gather on one of his ‘jaunts’ in the mountains with Vilkas. It was on such trips as these which allowed him to gather more dragon shouts from the word walls scattered amongst Skyrim’s provinces. Vilkas was a mountain of knowledge to locations. One day Sotek discovered his secret; Farengar had a loose tongue and was more than happy to spill his own wisdom to Vilkas over a few flasks of ale in the Bannered Mare.

  The bear fur covered most of Aela’s room floor which proved to be ideal as it was thick and made her feet feel warm as she often walked around Jorrvaskr and especially in her room barefoot. Often, once they retired for the night the two of them would sit on the rug and talk or lie together and simply cuddle. A few times Tilma had knocked on her door to sort out her clothing to find them both asleep on the fur with a few wolf skins draped over them.

  Sotek watched Aela as she wiped her bow over with a damp cloth. She was always one to take care of her weapons, all the Companions were. Even Sotek did; the advice Eorlund gave him when he first made his axe ran through his mind. ‘If they fall then you fall’. He also remembered what his mother had told him. ‘An empty stomach makes for a poor hunter. Eat first, hunt second’.

  Such advice sounded daft to him but he learned the wisdom of her words. If you were fed then you had patience and discipline. When you were hungry your stomach made the decisions. Hunger wasn’t patient, it was rash and foolhardy.

  With this in mind, he enquired about Aela’s trip.

  “What’s the rush? You haven’t even had breakfast yet”.

  She went over to him and sat by his side while he stretched out and rested the back of his head in his hands. Aela crossed her legs and shuffled towards him on her backside so she was a bit closer to him. She rested the palm of her hand on his chest and set out her plans for the day.

  “Nope, no breakfast for me, I’m going straight out. I’m looking forwards to this; it feels good doing something for Omega. Something to remember him by. Does that sound silly?”

  Sotek shook his head at the suggestion and reassured her that the gesture was meaningful and it served a purpose.

  “It’s not silly at all. You will remember Omega for the rest of your life. This will make those memories far more bearable knowing you did this for him. I’ll come with you”.

  Sotek started getting up off the fur but Aela pushed against his chest, forcing him down on his back.

  “No, and you asked me that yesterday. This is something I need to do by myself. It’s my way of saying thank you to him. You can’t come along, I know you’re worried but you can’t. Yes, I will get emotional out there, and Red will; it’s their hunting grounds after all. We’ll be ok. A chance for a good cry and a few screams will help let go of the emotions”.

  Sotek warmly smiled back at her and nodded.

  “A few drawn out howls as well I expect. Do me a favour then; take Vilkas or Farkas with you”.

  Aela frowned at the basic request and she felt her heart sink. ‘Had she not made her feelings clear? Was she out of order cutting her mate out from this? Was she being selfish?’ Such thoughts plagued her and yet. ‘No, it wasn’t selfish of her’. She said it to herself three times. She knew she needed this time to have closure over Omega’s death, Red certainly did. She couldn’t explain it properly, that was certain but this was what she needed, what Red needed.

  “I thought you above all would understand. Please, stop it! This is for me to do by myself. Sotek, I need this, Red needs it”.

  Sotek stayed where he was, on his back but he reached out and held her knee. His hand softly rubbed it affectionately. His tail joined in on the act and slid around her where she sat as if it was trying to hold her.

  Sotek’s voice was soft and full of empathy yet he showed no signs of backing away despite Aela’s pleas.

  “I do understand. I’m not trying to be pushy, but.....”

  Aela was now running out of patience, Sotek could tell she had enough and he hated himself for doing this but she was so bloody stubborn. Hircine was right, she never backed down. Now was no exception.

  “But you are being pushy! I’ve said ‘no’ four times now and you’re still trying to force my hand! Why?”

  Sotek knew she had to give in, it was inevitable. What worried him was the damage to their relationship to get her to. He decided to change tact. ‘Maybe there was a better way’. He thought to himself.

  “I’ll make you a deal. You tell me why you need to do this alone, then I’ll tell you why you can’t; and when I win the argument, you take me with you”.

  Aela nearly screamed at him. She knew they were on the verge of an argument, he had that right but it was one of his own creation.

  “We aren’t having a bloody argument you arrogant bastard! Fine, what bloody ever! I’ll tell you why, but afterwards you’re not coming along”.

  Sotek moved his hand back behind his head and stared up at the ceiling. He had a smug look about him, an almost conceited superiority over her and his words certainly never helped.

  “Ok I won’t come along even after you ask me to”.

  Aela‘s temper was starting to come to the fore, she started to wish that she stayed in her own room the night before. She almost yelled at him and her hands formed fists which seemed to shake from the effort in restraining herself.

  “I’m not asking you to! I’m trying to get you to let me go by myself, which is what I’m going to do”.

  Sotek pulled himself up to a sitting position and pulled her close to him. Her arms fell limply to her side and she leant away from him, forcing him to hold her tightly just so she was close. He knew she resisted his comforting arms, it was plain the whole ‘hug’ was begrudged. Knowing this was all he was going to get in response to his own affection, he gave her a different door to try.

  “Ok you start. Why must you do this alone?”

  Aela’s forehead banged against Sotek’s chest. Such was the force that it nearly sent him backwards. He countered by leaning into her more and to his relief when Aela started talking, he felt her hands slowly move to his sides to hold him. The more she spoke the tighter her grip became.

  “Omega, he saved my life, Reds life. I know that was you but you have to understand. There was no Dragonborn! No warrior with an axe and shield! There was no battlemage with his magic. Even my friend wasn’t anywhere close to me; Omega was. He charged straight in even though he was smaller and weaker than that bastard. He wasn’t afraid, he pulled my ass out of there, well he tried to. He died trying to save me!”

  She felt emotionally drained as all the memories came flooding back like a raging storm, washing away the feeling of peace and tranquillity she had from her dream. She started to despair at Sotek’s attitude.

  “You know from when you first changed; when Red and Omega hunted three wolves. That was their first hunt together. Scarface? Oh wow, he’s incredible! Omega though, he was Reds first... she was... She never hunted with anyone, anyone like she did with him. He’s gone! I need to do this, I need to say goodbye! Red needs to say goodbye. Don’t you get that? She misses him and it hurts. It hurts so, so much!!” As Aela spoke she felt a single tear in her eye. She wiped it away then looked at Sotek pleadingly, her face awash with desperation. “Please, let me do this by myself”.

  Sotek gave out a compassionate sigh and nodded.

  “Ok”.

  Aela misunderstood his meaning. She looked up at his eyes gratefully and smiled.

  “Ok? You don’t mind me doing this?”

  The Argonian quickly backtracked from what he said and corrected his statement, changing its interpretation into something entirely different.

  “What? No, I’m sorry I meant ok as in you’re finished. Now it’s my turn”.

  Aela snapped on the spot. Her frustration boiled over, causing her to shout at him. She didn’t know whether to slap or punch him and her hands switched from being waved in front of his face to fists which drew close to his nose.  

  “Oh for the love of the bloody nines! What is your fucking problem? I’ve explained why I need to do this haven’t I”.

  Sotek brushed Aela’s auburn hair from the side of her face and caressed her head in his hands. A light kiss brought her hands down and he tenderly swung her side to side, gently rocking her.

  “Hey, I don’t want you getting upset. You had a great dream last night; you haven’t dreamt like that for ages”.

  Aela nearly cried in despair. She settled for giving him a shove. She tried to stand up but he grabbed her arm and forced her to sit back down again which she decided was a good job else she would have kicked him.

  “Then let me go alone and stop being so bloody controlling”.

  Sotek let her arm go once she was back on the floor alongside him. He held her hand and lightly stroked it in an attempt to calm her down. Knowing this approach wasn’t working, and in actual fact it was having the opposite effect to what he wanted, he scrapped the whole thing and went straight for the jugular.

  “I was hoping you would just let me tag along rather than me force you to take me along but you’re set on doing this yourself. As such, you give me no choice. Here is my reason for going with you. Now, I know why you want to go alone, and I respect that, but..... How the hell are you going to bring a twenty stone wolf all the way back to Jorrvaskr without some bloody help? You have enough trouble rolling them over to skin them. Don’t tell me you’re after a wolf from the plains because you aren’t. You’re setting out to find an Ice Wolf. You want a wolf to represent Omega, a white one”.

  Aela froze where she was. She looked around the room for inspiration, anything which would fortify her position but there was nothing. The trouble was he was right, even if she had a horse she wouldn’t be able to haul the wolf’s carcass back to Jorrvaskr.

  “Ermm, oh crap!! I didn’t think about that”.

  She sat there dumbfounded as the scenario of that morning played through her head. Sotek’s stubbornness equalled with her own but her temper was unmatched. She slapped him hard in the chest and yelled at him.

  “You could have just said that at the start couldn’t you! ‘Hey, Aela, do you want a hand with the wolf’s body?’ But noooo, I’m Sotek so no, I’ll piss her off instead”. Her rant stopped as quickly as it started. She looked at him sheepishly and backed down as graciously as she could. “Can you come with me just to help with the corpse? Please? I didn’t think about that, I need your help. Friend? Companion? Mate?”

  Sotek rolled his eyes at her comment knowing full well she could see him. He didn’t care; it was something he fully intended her to notice.

  “Aela, stop creeping, it’s unbecoming of a she-wolf”.

  Aela leaned over him and lightly sank her teeth into his chest. A wolfish smile spread across her lips as she noticed the tip of his tail curl.

  “Well, instead of creeping, how about I bite you instead”.

  Sotek started chuckling and softly hissed at her.

  “Hsss. That’ss not going to convince me iss it?”

  Aela flashed her eyes at him and slowly caressed his groin with her hand causing him to groan. She whispered in his ear while she teased him.

  “It dependsss on where I... bite. Mr Wolf seems keen”.

  The sounds of heavy boots trudging along the corridor disrupted their game, bringing it to a rapid stop. Feeling somewhat flustered, Sotek got up, leaving Aela on the floor and made his way to his backpack which he left on her chair when he was in her room earlier. He had already foreseen the problem Aela would face and he had given it some thought. His answer was simplicity in itself. He opened his pack and to Aela’s surprise he pulled out three scrolls. He sat down alongside her and set them out in front of her lap.

  “These are fireball scrolls. We’ll head out to our spot on the plains, the overhang, Greenspring Hollow. I’ll wait for you there; you can hunt the whole of the plains and the northern mountains there. You can take all day to hunt, there is no rush. Once you found what you are looking for, and you have killed it, set these off in five second intervals straight up in the air. I’ll come to your location and help with the body; how does that sound?”

  Aela pushed him over onto his back and slid on top of him. She kissed him on the lips then snuggled tightly against him.

  “That sounds great. I’m sorry; I thought you were trying to…”

  Sotek rubbed her lower back, caressing her body with his hand. He peered down at her and gave her a nudge so she would look at him.

  “Trying to do what? Take over?”

  Aela answered sheepishly and screwed her guilt ridden face up.

  “Yes. Sorry about that”.

  Sotek slightly shook his head at her. He glanced towards the door as his mind set on other things, other members of the Companions.

  “I’m not out to take anything from anyone. You know that! This is your idea; I’m just trying to help”.

  Aela lifted herself up a bit and leaned on her elbow so she could look at Sotek’s face. She lightly kissed him on the cheek and replied.

  “You do, you always help; even when we get into trouble”. She gave him a quick kiss before she lifted herself up off the fur and packed the scrolls in her pack.

  Sotek came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, forcing her backside to press against his groin. She smiled to herself and rolled her head back, a clear sign that she was enjoying his touch. Sotek stopped his affectionate caress and his whole body seemed to go taught. He broke away from her and moved his pack from the chair so he could sit down. Aela turned around, surprised at his reaction and found herself caught in his intense stare. He lightly swallowed to clear his throat.

  “Can I ask you a question?”

  Aela moved over to him and sat on his lap with her legs wrapped around him and the back of the chair. She held onto his shoulders so she couldn’t topple backwards but even sitting on him like this she could feel his hesitance.

  “What is it?”

  He brushed the hair from her face so he could look straight at her. The tone in his voice seemed strange, like he was afraid of the answer.

  “Do you feel threatened by Scarface?”

  Aela screwed her face up at him and started laughing. She wildly shook her head and tried to lay his fears to rest.

  “What? No that’s silly. He’s not going to hurt me, Red or the others. I’m really hoping he scares the crap out of them yes but not hurt them. No, stop this nonsense”.

  Sotek glanced down at the fur where they spent the last half hour. Aela was missing the point and he gave it serious thought to leaving things as they were but the nagging feeling wouldn’t leave him alone. Having little choice he continued with his question.

  “I meant as in him; and I for that matter making you feel... ermm inferior; compared to him! Take Red for example. She was the fastest of all of us. Hell Aela, you say go and whoosh! Red was gone like lightening before the storm. Now though she isn’t the fastest anymore. That can’t be easy to deal with”.

  Aela moved off his lap and walked away from him. She stopped after a few paces and glanced over her shoulder at him in a sort of power play move, forcing him to look at her.

  “Why do you push yourself so hard?”

  Sotek eyed her suspiciously as she walked across the floor. She had a seductive way about her with regards to Sotek and she knew how to use it. Her movements were far from ‘girly’ yet she held that distinctive feminine flow. The way she used her hips, her legs, even the swing in her arms. Every step stirred his wolfish urges and she knew it. His mind was fully aware of it too and treated the whole scenario as some sort of bizarre trap, one his body was all too willing to fall into.

  “Why? The same as you and the other Companions do. So everyone comes home; so no-one gets hurt or left behind; so we all do what we set out to do. I do what I must to get the job done”.

  Aela headed back to him and knelt down so she could rest her arms in his lap. She looked up at him like an expectant puppy waiting for a treat. Sotek caressed the back of her head while she spoke.

  “You keep doing what you do, the way you do it and I promise no one will have a problem. Now, some do go a bit power crazy and Scarface certainly has the power so just go careful; ok?”

  Sotek gazed in her light grey eyes which seemed to mesmerise him. it was only when he heard movement from the corridor that he snapped out of Aela’s ‘control’.

  “I’ll be careful. After all, Red is always there to kick me in the backside if I go loopy. Come on you, let’s make a move”.

  Aela sniggered as her hand slinked along his tail to the tip which flicked upwards from her touch.

  “Kick you in the backside? You go even the slightest sign of going crazy and she’ll bite your bloody tail off. Now, get out my room so I can get ready. I don’t need you staring at me and trying to take advantage while I strip. Out!”