C.O.T.W Chapter 41: Trial of the Newbloods

• Posted by Hasir September 1, 2020 - Filed in TSC: CB Story - #Long Story  #Hasir  #C.O.T.W  - 1,353 views

  

  

  Milsha decided to stay with her brother and told Aela to go with Inigo to Arcadia's to see if she could fix him up. Rakel walked over

  to the cart pulled the khajiit up by the arm andmade her way down the steps by the food stalls to Arcadia's shop. Rakel looked over

  her shoulder and wished Milsha good look. The Argonian returned the kind sentiment and hoisted the unconsious Argonian out of the

  cart and led him to the door of the temple and tapped on the door with her clawed finger. The was a 'click' as the door opened and

  amongst the shadowy temple stood Danica. A sweet aroma waved out from behind her and assaulted Milsha's nostrils.

   

  Milsha sniffed the air, her stomach growled as she temporarily forgot why she was there and was instead focused on how hungry she

  was,

  "Smells lovely in here, if you don't mind my asking, what are you cooking?" She asked, her face screwed up with wonder

   

  Danica folded her arms, turning up her chin,

  "Steak and vegetables, but that is hardly the reason-" She looked down and saw the unconscious argonian she was supporting, "Ah,

  yes, I remember you, the concerned Argonian about her brother. Come in." She said, gesturing the lizard inside. When she

  was inside, Danica rushed behind her to shut the door. She gestured to a stone bed three feet from the door. Danica walked over to

  a basin in the corner and proceeded to rinse her hands.

   

  She glanced behind her at the female Argonian who was positioning her baby brother on the bed,

  "Hasir's steadily become a regular-not in a good way." She turned to a towel rack at the edge of a medical cart. "Tell me, how can I

  help?" She asked as she dried her hands off

   

  Milsha stopped caressing her brother's head and turned to Danica,

  "Well, er, he was assaulted by a mad man while he was, erm, gardening at his home." She hoped the lie would fool Danica

   

  The Imperial sighed, rolling her eyes at the same time,

  "Milsha do you think I was born yesterday? I know that he was wounded by silver."

   

  Milsha gawped at her. How in Oblivion could she know about Hasir's affliction? Milsha cursed to herself. Danica turned around and

  wheeled the medical cart over to Hasir with instruments and potions she hopes can extract the silver implement before it does

  further damage to him. Danica examined her patient while she got the tools needed for the correct medical procedure. Danica

  whipped her head around and asked Milsha why there was no entry or exit wound. She told Danica that they, her and her brother,

  were Argonians and they heal really fast, howver, if an Argonian were to get bit or scratched by a werewolf then she surmized that

  the infected Argonian's wounds would heal instantaneously.

  

  Danica started to nod her head, but then promptly shook it instead. She had no idea what Milsha had said because she had no idea

  how an Argonian's pysiology worked, she was a healer not a scientist. She had no time to think on this because she had a patient

  whose life could quite possibly be in jeopardy. Milsha asked her if she could watch Danica work and even help her if she needed it.

  She said it was because of her desire to someday become a healer and possibly save live. Danica thought this was a great idea and

  she would be glad to teach her craft to a willing student of medicine.

   

  Danica asked Milsha to retrieve a cloth from the cart and wipe the patient's forehead. Milsha's eyebrow raised at the request. Danica

  said that all the work would be wasted if the patients temperature raises or drop below a certain level. Milsha quickly agreed and

  grabbed a cloth from the cart and damped it with some water from the corner basin, wrung it out and dabbed Hasir's head with the

  cloth. Milsha was delighted when she saw some color return to his scales-well at least the ones on his face anyway. Danica began

  making an incision at the bit of flesh where Milsha pointed out to her. When the cut was deep enough, she could see a jagged piece

  of silver dagger-Danica surmized it was part of the blade stuck in the gastrocnemeus muscle of the calf which she guess migrated

  from one of ankle muscles.

   

  She snatched medical grade tweezers from the cart and tried extracting the foriegn object from the muscle in question. This took

  several attempts because of how buried in the muscle the blade was. With some twisting and forceful pulling of the blade pinched

  between the tweezers she was able to extract the blade. While she was in there, she also kept an eye on the veins, if she spotted

  any green she knew she would have had to work faster than she did, luckily, though she did not find anything abnormal.

   

  With the foreign object extracted, a glowing yellow light eminated from her fingers, effectively healing the wound and the green

  scales around it. She expected Hasir to wake up and ask what happened. To both her and Milsha's dismay he did neither, he just lay

  there still unconscious. Milsha frowned and she felt his forehead which felt unusually warm for someone still in a coma. She then

  placed her hand on his neck. She was relieved when she heard a pluse. His heart was beating too fast for someone in a coma.

  Danica came over near Milsha and placed the back of her hand near his nose and mouth, a cooling sensation hit her hand letting her

  know that he was still breathing, though it was still very labored.

   

  She turned to Milsha and told her that Hasir is breathing and that he is resting right now as all vital signs that she and Milsha

  checked were within the normal range. Milsha sighed in relief and decided it was best for her to wait it out. Danica told her there was

  a waiting room around back and that she could wait there if she wished; She did as Danica asked. 

   

  Danica walked around Hasir's bed, flapping her hands nervously, she removed the object, she had no idea why he was not waking

  up. She wondered if the Argonian was indeed rested or if she was missing something? At around four thirthy that afernoon, within

  just thirty minutes to moon rise, Hasir awoke. Milsha walked into the room and thrust her arms around Hasir, who was sitting up.

   

  Hasir recieved a punch in the arm from his big sister,

  "Hasir I am glad you are okay, big brother." She said, her tail wagging happily

   

  Hasir stared groggily in her direction,

  "Hey sis, How've ya been?" His tail fell limp, "I thought that you had to be cure for poison?" He asked, turning his head towards her

   

  Milsha shook her head and said it was not needed because she is a vampire and vampires cannot get poisoned. She smiled at Hasir

  and hugged him again. Hasir stood up slowly and turned his nose skyward, sniffing the air. "What's that delicous scent?" He asked,

  his mouth watering

   

  Milsha told him that Danica had steak and vegetables cooking in the other room, Danica went and got two plates and made some

  for them as per Milsha's request and was about to bring the two plates out when she heard some weird sounds coming from the

  main chamber. She entered the chamber, dropped the plates and gasped in horror as she found Milsha watching in horror as her

  brother changed shape, his skin stretched, his bones filled in the new body cavity, his body gre black and white furand his eyes took

  on more of a bluish color. Milsha ran to the corner and cowered in fear.

  

  Milsha stared wide eyed at the beast on the floor near the bed

  "What in Oblivion is that? Where is my brother?" She screamed aloud

   

  Danica tried to calm her down and explained, but even she did not know that much about it herself. Rakel was laying Inigo down on

  a table while Arcadia helped when she heard the screams from the temple. She apologized to the potions mistress and ran to the

  temple and opened the door. Inside, she found a black and white wolf snarling at Milsha and Danica.

   

  Her hand flew to her mouth as she witnessed her worst fear; Hasir had changed in front of outsiders,

  "Oh Hircine, no, this is bad, this is very bad, if Kodlak finds out, then I will never be allowed in the mead hall again."

   

  A gruff voice sounded behind her, making her jump in fright,

  "If Kodlak finds out about what?" Rakel turned as color left her face, there stood the harbinger. "Now, out of the way, you heard me

  move!" He bellowed. 

   

  Rakel did as he asked. He stepped into the temple and backed against the wall at the sight of the wolf. He ran to the aid of the

  Imperial and Argonian, dodging the wolf's jaws in the process. He bent down next to Milsha and Danica. Rakel decided-whether

  brave or foolish-to approach the wolf. Kodlak ran to her and grabbed her arm as she was about to placate the mad wolf,

   

  Kodlak lunged after her aiming for her arm, caught it and dragged her backwards and flipped her around to face him,

  "Rakel, no,you know better than to approach a frenzied werewolf." He said, scolding her

   

  She ripped her arm out of his vice-like grip and proceeded to scratch the wolf behind the ears,

  "Twilight, calm down, it's me, there is no neeed to bite these innocent bystanders' arms off. What a matter, hmm? Are you hungry?

  Well you're in luck because I smell food cooking in the next room. Twilight blanked her and smelled his food, three feet in front

  of him. He could also smell the wood grain of the floor. He nudged her hand away from him with his head and padded over to the

  free meal and started ripping the pieces of meat meat apart with his massive teeth. With that done he moved on the vegetables and

  wolfed them down as well. 

   

  With his belly full, he curled up on the floor and fell asleep. Rakel walked over to the harbinger and asked him if he was okay,

  "Rakel, I am fine, don't worry about me." She gesture to his right wrist, "Kodlak nodded, almost sensing what she was about to say,

  "Yes, if I hadn't dodged Twilight gaping maw, I would have been wolf meat, quite literally." He shook his head, "That is the way of

  nature, if a wolf sees meat, it matters not to them if it comes from an ungulate or a bipedal creature. The wolf's senses kind of

  home in on it's scent onto it because it's the only think they can think about at that time and place and they lash out, much like you

  or I do if we are enraged by something."

  

  Rakel sighed with relief,

  "So you're not mad at me?"

   

  Kodlak looked at her with an air or wonderment,

  "Mad at you for what? If anything, I am mad at Hasir for transforming in front of this outsider." He gestured to Milsha who recoiled

  as if his finger was a white hot poker.

   

  Rakel interjected by saying that it was not his choice to transform, it was just bad timing on his part. Kodlak patted her on the

  shoulder and said he had to get back to Jorrvaskr to make sure the whelps do not kill each other. He chuckled at his own joke. With

  his hand on the temple door, he turned back and asked Rakel to check up on Inigo. He waved farewell to the Argonian. Imperial and

  Nord as he left the temple.

   

  Rakel got up from where she sat,

  "Well, I'm off to Arcadia's Cauldron to see how the idiot is faring."

   

  Milsha shot daggers at her. Rakel turned and asked what that was for,

  "What? I have to see if he is alright, after all he has the brain of a high schooler."

   

  Milsha requested to go with her; a request which Rakel promptly denied,

  "No, I need someone her to keep an eye on Hasir, ya know, to ensure he does not hurt himself."

   

  Milsha nodded. Feeling satisfied, Rakel left the temple and headed past the mead hall in the direction of the potions shop

  

  Arcadia was pouring over some old books about lycanthropy she had open on the back table next to Inigo when she heard someone

  at the door. She got up and answered the door. She asked Rakel to come in. Rakel strode in like she owned the place; which was

  hardly the case,

  "So doc, what's the prognosis? we have another werrewolf on our hands or what?" 

   

  Danica shrugged and told Rakel she had not started anything yet. She asked Rakel to get her a cure disease potion from one of the

  shelves near the alchemy station in the main room. Rakel ran like a bolt from a crossbow and retrieved the vial. Arcadia thanked her

  and asked her to unstopper the bottle because her hands were full at the moment with Inigo. Rakel pulled the rubber stopper off of

  the bottle, she frowned when she felt some resistance. She tried prying it off of the bottle with her teeth and still it would not budge

  so she resorted to banging it on the table hoping that the vibration of the bottle would assist in the stopper's release. To Rakel's

  annoyance and Arcadia's horror, it shattered causing the potion to spill on the floor. 

   

  Rakel cursed so loud that it echoed around the nearly empty room,

  "Rakel, keep your voice down and please, watch your language." Arcadia shot back as she turned toward her in anger

   

  Rakel apologized to her for startling her and was instructed by the potions mistress to retrieve a leather cloth from the shelf near the

  wash basin in the corner and get the mess cleaned up, she did as she was asked. With the mess cleaned up and the cloth thrown in

  the pile of soiled clothes near near the wash basin, she and Arcadia went into the main room together and she taught Rakel how to

  make a proper cure disease potion.

   

  Arcadia went over to the little table in the corner by the door, pulled out a bit of parchment and a stick of charcoal with which she

  wrote down a very simple recipe for the potion that Rakel was going to try and replicate. She walked over to Rakel with a bounce in

  her step and slipped the parchement into the nord's hands,

  "What's this?" Rakel inquired, looking at her hand

   

  Arcadia said it was a cure disease potion and that she was anxious to see Rakel attempt to make it. She also told Rakel that she will

  find everything she requires in this shop. She smiled knowingly at Rakel and waggled her finger at her,

  "I know what you're thinking 'what's the catch? It can't be this simple.' She jabbed the nord in the chest, "That, my fine brunette, is

  where you are worng. Everything you need is in my shop. No ingredient hunting required." She looked at Rakel whose mouth fell to

  the floor. Arcadia scolded her and told her to stop staring at her like a hooked slaughterfish and get to work. 
  

   

  Arcadia watched as all good mentors do and watched as Rakel went over to Arcadia's desk, picked up one jar, set it down and moved

  on to the next jar, reading the labels as she did this. Arcadia found this approach rather tedious and yawned, feeling her eyelids

  getting heavy. About fifteen minutes passed when Rakel bounded over to the table where the potions mistress slept. She was rudely

  awakened by her arm shaken by the nord. The nord told the imperial that she procured both ingredients. 

   

  Arcadia faining sleepiness, gave her a weak smile,

  "Took you long enough, by the divines girl, you had fifteen freaking minutes to obtain these ingredients, what took you so long?" 

  

  Rakel started to stumble over her words as she tried to tell Arcadia why she took so long. Arcadia put a hand up to silence her,

  "Enough talk." She pushed Rakel toward the Alchemy table, "You have work to do, go on, get to it." 

   

  She did as Arcadia so bluntly asked. She combine the ingredients into a pasty liquid via the mortar and pestle and found a vial on

  the shelf above the alchemical station and poured the mashed contents gingerly into the vial and the colors began to marry together,

  turning the mixture a bright red like blood with oxegenated blood cells. She stoppered it and broke it to Arcadia who looked over her

  work. When she was satisfied, she walked with Rakel back to the table and sat opposite Aela as Inigo lay between them, stiff as a

  door nail.

   

  Arcadia instruced Rakel to tip the contents down Inigo's throat once she got the stopper off while Aela held his mouth open,

  "What if I miss? O-or the contents spill on the floor like last time?" She asked Arcadia. The potions mistress shook her head and

  held Rakel's hand to steady it, "Rakel You know I will not let that happen." She said, smiling at her. She told Rakel to put that awful

  image out of her mmind and trust her on this.

   

  Rakel nodded, though she was still certain something awful was going to happen. With Arcadia's steady hand holding hers, she gave

  herself a calming self talk, "Come on Rakel, you can do this." She said, taking a deep breath. she eased the open vial toward Inigo's

  lips and was in absolute awe that she did not spill anything. She emptied the entire vial down the khajiit's throat. Arcadia looked at

  her with a wide smile on her face,

  "See? I knew you could do it, all it took was for you to believe in yourself." 

   

  Rakel and Aela watched Inigo's face for any sign of the potion's effectiveness, nothing happened. Arcadia got up from her chair and

  started pacing, wondering why the potion was not working. Rakel noticed this and ran to her side with a few words of reassurance,

  "Arcadia, it's ok, calm down, maybe there was an ingredient missing or something."

   

  The Imperial turned to her, tears staining her beautiful eyes,

  "I wrote down every ingredient, every one was correct, I...I couldn't have left anything out." She said frantically

   

  Rakel reassured her, saying that she knows she didn't and that sometimes all they need is time; neither she nor the Imperial can't

  expect the potion to work the way they want to, not only that but the patient's body also needs time to absorb the potion so it can

  do its thing. While they were being frantic abiout whether the potion would work or not a loud lion-like yawn came from a few feet

  behind them. Inigo had woken up.

   

  Aela squealed in happiness and hugged Inigo; she wanted to kiss Inigo but thought against it,

  "Hey furball, how ya feeling? I heard tell Rakel bit you pretty hard." She said as she looked into his orange eyes.

   

  Inigo did not speak for a good while but when he did, his voiced sounded like a motor having trouble starting,

  "Hey, er, if it is not too much trouble, can you get me a, erm, glass of water? My throat feels a bit scratchy and ingesting a potion

  that tasted like horker dung did not help."

   

  Aela smirked back at him and curtsied,

  "Right away...you highness." She turned and walked over to the water basin where Rakel had soaked the rag with water mere

  minutes before.

  

  Seconds later, she returned with a stein full of water. Upon seeing it, Inigo's face scrwed up,

  "What is this? I ask for a 'glass' of water, not a tankard of mead, which I am never touching again, mind you." He said, folding his

  arms across his chest and huffing. 

   

  Aela's face drooped downward,

  "Aw, come on, your highness does not want his drink and after all this time I took geting it?" She mimed dumping the water onto

  the ground.

   

  Inigo groaned and slid his hand down the bridge of his nose,

  "Fine, bring it here." He said, sighing, hating himself. He then fixed the nord with a stare that could soil milk. "You'd best knock off

  that 'your highness' crap, got it?" Aela smiled and nodded.

   

  Aela went to the side of the table to help him up but Ingio pulled away from her grip,

  "I thought we agreed no more 'your highness crap', right? I can manage just fine, thanks"

   

  As he jumped to his feet he faltered and fell to the floor. Aela rushed to his aid; lifting him up. She gave him a sly smile,

  "Smooth, real smooth you blue idiot."

   

  Inigo sighed and raised his hands,

  "Okay, I admit, I still might need a little support because my legs still feel like some cruel smithy replaced them with steel ingots."

  

  Aela knelt down to lift him up onto her lap, 

  "Erm Inigo, did the cure disease potion work or are you still going to turn into a werecreature...a lycanthrope?" Her voice cracked as

  she said this, showing just how much she cared for and loved him.

   

  Inigo simultaneously waved a hand in front of his face and shook his head,

  "What me now, didn't you know yet?" He asked her, cocking his head at her while he rested in her arms, I cannot become a

  lycanbeast." He squinted his eyes, frowning, "Er, whatever you call those things because, well, truth be told, I was already affected

  by lunar activity."

   

  Aela asked why he can't be affected by the bite of a werewolf which, she reminded him, did happen last night. Inigo closed his eyes

  and he visualized the very effect of his birth,

  "My parents were, well, odd to say the least. An Argonian and a Khajiit, who would have thought they would have such great

  chemistry? Well, truth is most people would frown on an interspecies marriage but despite the disagreement on such marriages,

  they still, somehow, made it work."

   

  Inigo sighed as a tear came to his eye, "Their love was like a moment when you see at the core of a deathbell flower that there is

  something beautiful where others would shun the flower as something unclean." He shrugged, "People looked at them and

  whispered horrid nicknames behind their backs, they were just mother and father to me as I did not see it as the rest of the world

  did and unholy union; an abomination of the natural order."

   

  He opened his eyes and continued his tale, "I am sure you did not come to hear me babble on about obtuse abstract thoughts not

  connect to my birth. Anyway, my birth was rather unusual. It happened on a particularly dark night in Elsweyr, at least, that is what

  my mother Leah said. She said I was born during a lunar eclipse when the moon was totally enshrouded by the sun. My brother and

  I may have been born several mminutes apart, but at least he was spared my fate by being born before the eclipse. He gestured to

  himself and shrugged, "Me? By Oblivion," He chuckled as he said this, "I...was not so lucky. In my village, there is a tale known only

  as a bad moon omen. He glanced toward Aela who had confusion in her eyes, 

   

  The indigo Khajiit told the nord the tale of the bad moon omen. The khajiit told her how in Elsweyr the moon god Jone and Jode, the

  great cats of the moon, govern the skies at Kenarthi's request and this is what many khajiits believe govern their birth. Once every

  thousand years, though, there is an event, no one knows what causes it, could be that Jone and Jode have some massive conflict or

  maybe it's a quarrel over some lost love or jealousy of some kind. He cleared his throat with a flem-filled cough. He told her that the

  moon gods got so agitated, for whatever reason, that the great sun cat, Magrus, Jone and Jode's father, forbids Jode to shine bright

  thus causing and eclipse That is what khajiit refer to a bad moon omen.

   

  He said any khajiit unlucky enough to be born during such an unfortunate event will sprout their first purplish-blue hair when the

  reached one year old. His eyes began to burn with the memory of the eclipse's darkness, he then told Aela how when that khajiit

  reached the age of five, they are covered head to toe in purplish-blue fur causing them to receive severe ridicule and be bullied

  rather harshly. He also said when it happened to him, his parents had to smuggle him and his brother out of Elsweyr and to another

  territory.

  

  Aela softly caressed the sweet khajiit's blue fur,

  "Well, I think you are beatiful the way you are, please don't ever change." She said as she kissed him on his forehead, Inigo turned

  crimson.

   

  Inigo giggled and shifted his position on Aela's lap,

  "Hehe, stop it and do not worry my friend, I won't." Inigo said as he started to get up. He turned back to Aela who was also on her

  feet, and flashed her a smile, "Thank you for your kind words. Now, shouldn't we be off to the temple? I hope Hasir is okay. we have

  a service to attend."

   

  Inigo looked at her with a perplexed expression on his face,

  "Why? No one died. Unless they did, and I did not know about it."

   

  Aela's face turned the color of baked beets and beat him senseless with her bag,

  "No one died you blue moron." She then stared angrily at him with her hands on her hips, "Hounds of Hircine Inigo, how can you be

  so stuipd?" 

   

  Inigo thought on this for a good while. Smiling, he blurted his answer,

  "I was just born that way, I guess. That's me, beautiful and stupid." As he walked past her, he smirked

   

  Aela began beating him with her bag again,

  "It was a retorical question, you fucking asshole, Hircine save us." She said as she went into the main room

   

  Aela nodded and she went and told Arcadia and Rakel the plan, they nodded in unison. Arcadia told them she hand to hang back

  while the four creatures exited the potions shop and headed for the temple. When they stepped outside the shop, there could hear

  some commotion over by the bannered mare, they all went over to see what was going on. Carlotta was apparently being berated

  by a throng of gentlemen in front of her stall.

   

  Carlotta look sternly at then, arms crossed,

  "For the last time, I said no, I will not go out with you even if you brought me a dead goat and offered it as a love proposal."

   

  The man, whose name was Skulvar Sable-Hilt, pleaded with her on the matter,

  "Carlotta, please, go out with me on one date, He then shook his head, pointing to himself, I assure you I am not a scumbag, just

  one date will prove it." He begged

   

  The Imperial woman slammed her hand down hard on the stall causing her daughter, Mila, who was training to be a goods seller

  like her mother, jumped in fright,

  "No, I will NEVER go out with any of you! All men in Tamriel, on Nirn, even, are the same, they just want to get under womans

  blouses and then poof! they disappear the next day without so much as a farewell."

   

  She came out from behind her stall and jabbed the stable owner in the chest with her finger,

  "When will you guys get it through your thick heads that a woman may want more than sex? All of you are sex crazed maniacs and

  I will have no part of it, now go crawl back under the rock that you crawled out of." She screamed at him.

   

  As the men retreated to the four winds, she called back over her shoulder,

  "The only thing that matters to me in this world is my daughter as she is all I have since my father, gods rest his soul, got burnt

  alive mucking about with a flame spell." She sniffed, wiping a tear from her eye. "Now go and don't show your sorry face here ever

  again!" She screamed, her eyes ablaze with the fires of Oblivion.

   

  Inigo looked from Carlotta to the temple, gesturing toward it with his thumb,

  "Erm, Ok, that...was akward, can we move on now?"

   

  Everyone involved nodded. nigo said that he had this and knocked three times in quick succession with his fist.

  

   The door opened and Danica stood there, her eyebrow raised,
  

  "Yes, may I help you?

   

  Inigo's mouth fell open as he saw the Argonian laying curled on the floor in the middle of the temple, He was so happy to see his

  friend alive and well, for a werewolf anyway. He dispensed with the formality of explain himself to Danica and pushed passed her

  without saying excuse me. Danica was taken aback with this rather brash rudeness and tapped the khajiit on the shoulder and

  demanded an apology or at the very least for him to explain why he was there in the first place.

   

  Inigo turned with a sheepish grin on his face,

  "The reason why I, er, I mean, we," He said, pointing to his copmanions, "are here is because we need to get to the underforge." He

  then lowered his voice so only she could hear, "for a meeting with Hircine."

   

  Aela heard this and stormed into the temple, gave Inigo another wack on the nose with her bag and picked Hasir up by the arms

  and slung him over her shoulder as if he were a lizard skin purse. She whistled to Inigo, signalling they were leaving and he grabbed

  Milsha who was still cowering in the cormer and followed Aela out of the temple and up to Jorrvaskr. The elf followed suit.

  

  When they got to the mead hall, everyone sat in chairs around the table next to the the more seasoned members of the

  companions, which Aela could proudly say she's one of. She looked across the table and saw Farkas, Vilkas and Kodlak talking about

  something, even thiough she had superb hearing, she could not hear them. Disheartened, she put her head in her hands.

   

  Inigo who was next to her glanced over and put a furry hand on her own and smiled, 

  "Hey, it's okay, you don't need to know everything that goes on, maybe they just want their conversation to be private."

   

  She forced her hand out of his loving grip,

  "No, if they are talking about me, I want to hear it."

   

  Inigo sighed and spoke, more to himself than anyone at the table,

  "Eh, suit yourself, I was just trying to help." He said shrugging his shoulders

   

  She stormed over to where the harbinger was talking to her shield brothers. She forcefully grabbed Vilkas and ripped his out of his

  chair,

  "Alright, I know you jackals are up to something, better tell me what it is and fast." She said, tapping her foot

   

  Vilkas said he had no idea what she was talking about. He said that he, Farkas and Kodlak were just discussing the upcoming mass.

  Aela, as always, did not believe any word that came out of her strong but dumb brother's mouth. Vilkas said may he die and enter

  the hunting grounds that what he said was the honest truth.

   

  Aela raised an eyebrow at him,

  "Lies, all of it! I still don't believe you, tell the truth NOW or I will shove my boot so far up you ass, Hircine himself will hear the

  screams of pain." She hissed at him, bringing her leg back to fulfill on her threat.

   

  Kodlak got up from his chair and grabbed Aela's boot and tried to force it to the ground, in the end it took the combined strength of

  Kodlak holding her boot and Farkas running to her to end the 'threat' once and for all. Farkas shook his head at her,

  "Whatever you think were we doing, we weren't, now sit down." He said, playfully shoving her into a nearby chair

   

  Aela looked at her brother and asked what they were doing, if they were not doing what she thought. Kodlak approached her, pulled

  up a chair and sat down. The harbinger looked at her with the typical owlish stare,

  "Aela, let me set the record straight. Neither Farkas, Vilkas or I would ever do anything in spite of you. We were just, er, curious

  about what Valjira has in store for us at the service tonight that's all."

   

  Aela looked at his like he had corn growing out of his ears,

  "Erm, what shall I believe next? that Rakel and Hasir are dating?"

   

  As she said this, Hasir roared with laughter,

  "I'm sorry but Rakel and I are not dating." He shot back at her

   

  Kodlak stood up and held his hand up as if he were on the witness stand,

  "As Hircine is my witness, I swear it." He said, grinning

   

  Farkas thumped her on the back and told her, grinning ear to ear, that he said it was true but she never make the attempt at

  believing him, always insisting that she is right.

   

  Kodlak stood up, sighing,

  "Well, I'd better see what the whelps are up to."

   

  He turned to Hasir,

  "Hasir, get out to the training yard." He also asked Aela, Farkas and Vilkas to leave as well.

   

  Hasir was about to ask why when Kodlak shot him a stern look telling Hasir that he will see when he gets out there. He got up from

  his seat and walked toward the big double doors leading out to the porch and pushed. The Argonian was wondering why the old man

  sent him out there when he saw the three nords walk past him down the stairs and set up shop at the bottom of the stairs.

   

  Hasir slowly walked down the stone steps, hardly knowing what to expect when Farkas came at him with an iron sword and shield.

  Hasir scrreamed and shielded himself with his hands as the crazed nord hacked and slashed at him. Hasir ran toward the underforge

  for cover, still holding his arms up. 

   

  Vilkas was growing tired of this,

  "Fight back, for Hircine's sake fight back." He yelled

   

  Hasir lowered his hands and looked at Farkas with a big question mark on his face,

  "Farkas, why in Oblivion are we fighting? We should be finding a way to stop my brother, not act like a pack of rabid dogs." He yelled

   

  Vilkas lowered his sword and shield, he thought Kodlak made it quite clear as to why the Argonian was out here; he did not know

  Hasir would be kept in the dark about this. He crossed in front of the two training dummies to the Argonian,

  "Hasir, I thought you knew. This is your initiation, Kodlak said if you can hold your own against three of Jorrvaskr's best warriors,

  you would be considered part of the pack."

   

  He then turned to Aela,

  "Being a whelp means you are part of the pack right?" He eyed her with sheer stupidty

   

  Aela sighed,

  "Of course, Icebrain now give Hasir a weapon, let the trial commense!" She shouted back

   

  Hasir smiled and politely declined Aela's offer of a weapon. He said he already had a weapon and fished for it in his lleather bag. He

  pulled out an Akavira katana and held it gingerly in his hand. 

   

  Vilkas roared with laughter,

  You call that flimsy piece of metal a sword, please."

   

  He called to Viilkas to get him a 'real' weapon from the skyforge, the nord nodded sheathed his weapon and started up the stairs to

  the forge when he heard rushing feet from in the mead hall. Inigo, Aela and Ceralyne emerged, the female nord was holding a long,

  thin black briefcase. She walked down the steps with such swagger that Inigo had to hold his wildly thrashing tail in place lest it fall

  off. He bared his teeth and flung himself at Vilkas, completely uunaware of the harbinger's plan. 

   

  Vilkas tried to throw of the wildly clawing cat,

  "What are you doing crazy cat, we are not attacking him." He gestured toward Hasir, "We are simply testing him to see if he is

  worthy."

   

  Inigo stopped suddenly,

  "Worthy of...what?" He asked, eying the nord with a wary look

   

  Farkas descended the stairs and came up behind Inigo,

  "To see if he is worthy of joining the ranks of the proud warriors of Jorrvaskr: the companions."

   

  Inigo jumped upon hearing his voice,

  "Damn it, please do not do that again. By the gods, Farkas, you gave me a scare." The blue cat shouted back at the nord 

   

  Vilkas just stood there and laughed,

  "Three on three, hounds of Hircine, this is going to be easy." He gestured to the others, "Vilkas, Aela, swing straight and shoot fast

  and true." He tightened his grip on his own weapon while glaring at the opposition, "This is going to be fun."

   

  Aela looked pitifully at Hasir,

  "I forgot to mention if you beat us and our wolves you, Inigo and the elf will be granted full membership."

  

  Hasir held up his hands as if to create a barrier between him and his attackers,

  "Whoa, wait, you three and your wolves?" He looked at Aela in bewilderment

   

  Aela nodded, she said the old man told them as he was briefing them on their duty to test the lizard, cat and elf to see if they had

  what t takes to become companions, Hasir and Inigo growled at the inner circle members, 

  Alright, enough talk, let's do this"
  

   

  Instead of coming at them three on three, the nord thought they would make it interesting by pitting each fighter one and one and

  then the final would be two one one. Hasir unsheathed his amber waraxes given to him by Aela and Inigo unsheathed his trusty

  ebony bow and Ceralyne unseathed her curved elven daggers. The Khajiit, Argonian and elf seperated and faced their respective

  opponents.

   

  Farkas stepped up as Hasir's opponent,

  "You shall recieve no mercy lizard, prepare to be eliminated." He snarled as he moved within five feet of Hasir,

   

  His sword and shield at the ready. Hasir struck hard with his axe, but Farkas' shield was faster, completely blocking the attack and

  following up with his sword cutting an arc through the air. Hasir was propelled backwards by the attack. He hit the underforge door

  with enough force to nearly knock the wind out of him.

   

  Farkas looked down at him and sneered,

  "Had enough or are you still fighting?" He asked, an inch from Hasir's face

   

  Hasir propelled himself upright by arcing his head toward the ground and flipping himself to his feet. He performed a roundhouse

  kick which connected with Farkas's chest, causing him to be blasted backward, slamming in a stony half wall at the opposite end of

  the training yard, cracking it slightly. Farkas stumbled to his feet and brushed off the debris,

  "Damn it lizard, weapons only, no fancy fighting moves!" He shouted back at him

   

  Hasir looked at him slyly and shrugged, 

  "No one laid out concrete rules, so, as far as I'm concerned, anything goes." 

   

  Farkas spat in the dirt glaring at the disrespecting Argonian,

  "Hircine damn you, alright, I shall come at you with my full strength"

   

  Vilkas heard this and scolded his brother, tellling him the harbinger will tan their hides if any combat kills the other and instead told

  his brother to go gentle with Hasir, toy with him like how a puppy plays with a stick instead of ripping him apart like a hungry dog.

  Farkas grumbled under his breath but nonetheless complied.

   

  Hasir took up a defensive stance with his dual axes raised. Farkas ran in with blind rage not expecting Hasir to attack as quickly as

  he did. When Farkas was an inch from the Argonian, he brought the stone edged weapons down to collided with Farkas's raised

  shield. Hasir then pulled back his axe in his right hand and swung it sideways, ripping the sword out of Farkas's hand, sending it

  flying acrss the training yard to land a few inches from the training dummies neart the skyforge. Hasir advanced on the nord who

  was cowering behind his raised nordic shield. Hasir ripped the shield away with the hooked blade of his waraxe.

   

  Farkas conceded to his fate,

  "You win this round, Hasir, but mark my words, round three with be no picnic." 

  

  Hasir withdrew his axe from Farkas and watched as the defeated nord knelt down next to training dummy farthest from the

  skyforge. Hasir held his axe point down on the dirt floor of the yard as he was Aela and Inigo spar. Aela faced Inigo with her

  bow, he saw this and placed his ebony bow on the ground and unsheathed his ebony sword instead. Aela had pinpoint accuracy

  and did not missed as she always found her target.

   

  Inigo snarled and ran toward her with his ebony sword raised for an attack. Aela pulled her bow and loosed an arrow. The arrow flew

  in an parabolic arc and would have hit Inigo in the chest but the smart blue cat blocked her attack with an expertly twist of the

  sword. The arrow fell harmlessly to the floor as if it was a mere stick that a dog would play with. The khajiit ran full force at Aela

  and raised his ebony sword.

   

  Aela had just enough time to roll out of the way when the sword came crashing down at the spot she had just been seconds

  before. Aela glared at Inigo,

  "What the fuck Inigo? you nearly took my head off."

   

  Inigo scratched the back of his neck. He grinned sheepishly at Aela,

  "Whoops, did I do that? Er, sorry about that. sweaty hands...my sword slipped."

   

  Aela moved over to where the blue idiot, as she called him and that was her way of being nice, stood. She grabbed him by the neck

  and slammed him against the rock by the underforge door with the speed only her wolf would give her. She glared into Inigo's golf

  ball sized eyes and laughed, as if she was in on a joke that the khajiit missed out on,

  "Oh, don't fuck with me." She hissed through gritted teeth. She pulled out an arrow and pointed it at Inigo's neck, "I know that was

  a legitimate claim on my life, I want to know why you did it!"

   

  Inigo tried pleaded with her saying that it was an accident. Aela know different. Even Red sensed it, Inigo had dark intentions from

  the moment he had joined their team, he was not there to help them but either to help himself in some way, shape or form or he

  was working for someone. 

   

  Aela slowly pressed the arrow into Inigo's neck,

  "Talk Khajiit or else my arrow will slice clean through your artery, killing you instantly." She hissed through gritted teeth, "My hand

  just might 'slip' just as your sword did, Talk. Now!"

  

  Rakel and Hasir turned toward Inigo and gasped. They had no idea that the fiery hard nord would have an equally fiery temper.

  Farkas and Vilkas just laughed and shook their heads as they know Aela better than these newcomers; after all, they were forced to

  live with her and received threats as bad or even worse than what she was currently doing to Inigo. The brothers knew what they

  had to do. They ran toward Aela and, grabbing each of the female nord's arm in their own burly ones, they dragged her to a rock

  by the training dummies. She kicked and screamed at Inigo while his brothers brought her to heel. 

   

  She could see Inigo massaging his neck and staring at her in shock, He closed his eyes and shook his head. What on Tamriel

  possessed her to act like that? I was only playing my part." Aela's supernatural hearing went into overdrive at that moment as she

  growled and lashed out at Inigo. Farkas and Vilkas had to restrain her with their arms so she did not reignite the flame of confilct.

   

  Farkas stared at her in disgust,

  "Whoa girl, heel. We do not need to chain your wolf up do we?" His voice became softer, "I don't want to do that to my sister."

   

  She glared at his and Vilkas,

  "Shut up icebrain or else Red will come out early. Vilkas, why did you pull me off of him? I was only proving a point."

   

  Vilkas and Farkas roared with laughter,

  "Yeah, no pun intended."

   

  Farkas looked at Vilkas and laughed along with his brother. Vilkas mimicked Inigo's scared face when she almost punctured his

  throat with an aroow. This god Aela so hot under the collar that she took out an arrow from her quiver and stabbed it into Vilkas's

  knee. Vilkas roared with pain and hopped about like some deranged one legged easter bunny.

   

  He cursed so loud that everyone could hear him,

  "Ow, by Hircine, that hurt, you really are a bitch Aela you know that?"

   

  Aela sat there smirking both because watch her brother howl in pain was really funny and also because she knew that she was a

  bitch in both senses of the word. Vilkas and Farkas returned to their positions, the mithful huntress tokk her position opposite Inigo

  and the trial of the newbloods resumed.

   

  Aela and Inigo were back at it, this time, the khajiit swung his sword at Aela and intentionally missed, only to bring the butt end of

  his sword down on Aela's chest, pinning her to the ground with his weapon. Aela dropped her bow which clattered on the

  cobblestone floor of the training area, Inigo smiled and sheathed his weapon. She went over to the dummy by the ramp leading up

  to the skyforge and knelt in the same fashion as Farkas.

   

  Last to spar was Ceralyne and Vilkas, they moved to the center of the yard where they unsheathed their weapons, Vilkas gripped his

  two handed sword and ran at the elf. The elf anticipated this and vaulted herself over to nord. Vilkis gasped as he stared upwards,

  catching a glimpse of her couch  which was concealed under elven greaves, he felt something harden in his pants as she seemed to

  fly in slow motion above him and he thought of what he would do to her later that night. He shook this perverse thought off when

  she landed on the other side of him. He barely had enough time to raised his two handed sword when the elf delivered a series of

   

  rapid strikes to his midsection.

   

  He was blown backwards by the force of the blow and crashed against the underforge door with a thud. The force of the crash did

  nothing to the sturdy stone door. Vilkas staggered to his feet and ran at Ceralyne, yelled in rage with his sword raised.

  "Vilkas, what are you doing? You are supposed to knelt by Farkas and I" Aela yelled. 

   

  She covered her eyes as she anticipated the worst. To her relief, Ceralyne rolled out of the way when Vilkas' sword came down

  where she had been moments before. She thrust the butt of her dagger into Vilkas' back, sending him sprawling toward the wall

  surrounding the training yard.

  

  Vilkas tried to get up, but Ceralyne's boot landed on his back, she flipped him over and pointed a dagger at his throat. He gulped

  nervously as he knew he was beaten,

  "Alright...you win." He said, holding his hands up. He almost had to force the words out as he was not one to admit defeat

   

  The elf smile a sleek smile while Vilkas move between Aela and Farkas and knelt down, they looked like live version of the three

  beaten Gaulderson brothers. The training had taken all day and no one saw the sun set and the moons start to ascend. They may

  have only been in the waxing gibbous phase, one phase short of the full moon, but the moon had their way with those infected with

  the blood of the wolf. Hasir, Rakel, Ceralyne and the three circle members started to change forms.