The sun was climbing past the mountain ridge by the time both Aela and Sotek finally woke up. Heading downstairs Sotek skipped breakfast and just wandered off to the college. He buried his previous fears so not to upset or worry Aela at least until they arrived back at Jorrvaskr where he could talk to the Harbinger about them. Until then though he couldn’t see the point of causing any further distress. Not once did he realize just how close the resemblance was between his dream and Aela’s own nightmare.
Upon entering the college grounds Tolfdir approached him as soon as he noticed Sotek’s arrival.
“Ah there you are, there has been a change to the schedule due to last night’s circumstances. The other students aren’t in any state to do their test, and it’s been decided that you don’t need to as the sequence of events proved far tougher than simply retrieving a key”.
“You have shown a good overall level of spell mastery and, a very good knowledge of a range of different schools. No doubt your restoration saved the Elf, and your destruction spells are impressive for someone of your ability, so you are now considered to be at Adept level. Continue with your training. Next time, there will be a test and it will be tougher than trolls I assure you. Well done. I expect a certain someone will be wanting to hear the news”. Sotek thanked him for his help, and asked him to thank the other trainers on his behalf before making his way back to the Frozen Hearth Inn.
Inside the Inn, taking shelter from the cold icy wind Aela was sitting at a large old rickety table with her back to the door while she ate her breakfast which consisted of a meat filled roll. By the side of her plate sat a large green apple. He walked behind her and covered her eyes with his hands.
“Guess who?”
She laughed as she replied.
“I don’t know, some rich Nord to take me away?”
The very next second she received a playful slap on the back of her head, making her flinch.
“Oi, haven’t you got a test to do?”
“Nope. They passed me due to last night. I’m now Adept level, more spells to learn and more training”. As he spoke he sat at the table opposite Aela.
“We staying here for longer then?” She wasn’t too bothered about being here, but she was starting to miss home.
Sotek cast his telekinesis spell on the apple. Aela smiled as she watched it hover across the table until it moved close enough to Sotek so he could snatch it from the air while he spoke.
“No, I need to practice what I have learned first so we are going back. Well we will be as soon as you cleared the table”. Then he started laughing at her.
The whole table jumped up a few inches as a loud ‘Bang’ resided from underneath the table top.
“Oww” Sotek called out as he rubbed his shin from the kick which Aela had only just given him.
“What’s up? Hurt yourself?” Aela giggled before making her way upstairs to pack for the return journey.
The trip back to Whiterun was uneventful, by early evening the city walls of Whiterun came into sight. When Aela and Sotek entered the hall of Jorrvaskr they found everyone sitting around the table telling their stories of adventures they had that week. Aela, upon seeing the Harbinger gave him a hug then asked if they could talk. He led her to a small table in the corner of the hall where he would sometimes sit with Tilma to escape the antics of everyone else as they all tired to talk at once.
Aela’s face winced as she glanced around the hall.
“Could we talk in private? Downstairs away from everyone?” She asked him quietly almost in a whisper. A part of him felt the worse for it but he willingly left the hall and led her downstairs to his study. The moment they entered his room, Aela shut the door.
“What’s the matter? Is it to do with your nightmare?” Teh Harbinger asked.
“Oh partly, I don’t know what happened there. The librarian led me to a room, asked what happened, so I told him then he got all excited about one point. The next thing I knew was him pushing me out the room”. “Trouble was, there was no room. The Librarian then said I was missing for about four hours. What actually happened I’m not sure. Maybe I fell asleep”. She shook her head at the thought. No matter how she played it in her mind, it all seemed crazy.
“What I want to talk about is a more personal matter about me and Sotek”. She felt embarrassed, but she needed answers feeling the wolf inside would get out of hand. “We had to kill some trolls, afterwards Sotek let me finish the rest off by myself, which I did. Sorry, that’s a lie. Red did. She killed them... The trouble was it wasn’t enough for her. Oh crap, this is embarrassing”.
She started to go red in the face and her stomach tightened up almost stopping her from going through with the conversation.
“I’m ok thanks”. She then started to head outside. After she took a few paces she stopped and just stood there keeping her back to him. “The she wolf in me, Red. She needed him. I felt I was losing control. She was taking over”.
“Did that frighten you?”
“That’s the problem... No, it was great, wild... I bit him, on the neck. I could taste his blood... I wanted more. Who gorges themselves on someone’s blood while their having sex?” Aela turned her head towards him but she lowered her face almost in shame at her actions in the cave from the night before.
Kodlak sighed as he slightly nodded his head as if he somehow understood.
“When did you both last eat?” He asked. It seemed a simple question, but to Aela there was something odd in the way he had said it.
“Eat? Earlier today, we had a meal on the carriage”.
“Aela, your more in touch with your wolf side than most of us will ever be. She has needs as well, you know that. Well you now know of her sexual needs. She won’t stay quiet and be ignored. She needs to feed, she needs the be let out once in a while”.
“But the others don’t feel like this. They don’t have to change. They can just be normal everyday”.
“Is that what you want? To stop being a werewolf?” He knew she wouldn’t give it up, she was part of Red as much as Red was part of her.
Aela’s face turned from ashamed to horrified which she enforced with her outcry.
“No! I don’t want to, I feel so alive when I can feel her in me”.
Kodlak tutted as he shook his head at her. To him the answer was simple.
“Then let her out! I bet you haven’t changed for weeks then she gets out a little and you wonder why you struggle to keep her contained... You silly girl. What do you expect from her? Obedience? Let her run, let her loose. I think it’s best if you went off by yourself for a day, let the wolf out. Do you have somewhere in mind?”
Aela pressed her lips tightly together as a thought entered her head. An idea started forming in her mind.
“Ermm, yes there is somewhere I want to go to, something I’ve been working on. I’ll leave in the morning”.
“How are things with you and Sotek?”
“We are good, things are ok, great even. He set up breakfast in our room one morning, It was really sweet of him”. As she spoke she remembered that morning and the warm glow it gave her.
Kodlak smiled warmly at her but he soon gritted his teeth as he prepared for Aela’s typical explosive reaction from his next words which he spoke in dread.
“At some point Sotek will have to know about us. He will have to decide what he wants. You must be prepared if he chooses not to join us”.
The colour in Aela’s face turned white from fear as her mouth felt dry.
“Not... Join... Us... I never thought about it, but he has to, I need him”.
Kodlak huffed as he dismissed her statement out of hand.
“He doesn’t have to at all”.
Her voice changed from being fearful to sheer desperation which was enforced by her own eyes.
“I don’t want to tell him. I can’t, I’ll lose him” Her eyes started swelling up which caught her unaware. She wiped a single tear from her cheek and stared at it with disdain.
The Harbinger held her in his arms as if to give her reassurance from her fears.
“When you get back, we’ll tell him then. But even if he doesn’t want it, that don’t mean he won’t want you”.
Aela stayed with the Harbinger for nearly half an hour while he tried to assure her that it would work out ok. At that moment Sotek in the main hall had a visitor, an aid from the Jarl. When Aela came back upstairs, she sat next to Sotek and tightly held his hand.
“I’ve got to go off tomorrow. The Harbingers got a job for me to do. I’ll be gone for a few days, to be honest probably like four. Ermm, hell I don’t know”. She suddenly got up and went to her room, nearly knocking into the Harbinger on the stairway.
Sotek bluntly shadowed her to the Undercroft. As he approached her room he heard the door shut. Not a slam as such but harder than what was needed. Standing outside, he knocked on the solid wooden door, then waited. He always wondered why her door was far more solid than anyone else’s. Even the Harbingers door wasn’t as strong as Aela’s one. She opened it slowly like she was expecting him.
“I heard you following me, but I don’t know what to tell you. Oh god’s this is hard”. She started crying but not desperate tears, more from the frustration and the worry of what was going to happen. What could happen.
“Every time I asked you to promise me something you have and you kept it. Every time... Promise me something now. I’m sorry, I know I keep on, I just need to know. Promise me you will always love me, even if we can’t be... Just don’t ever hate me, promise you will never hate me”. Sotek’s face screwed up as his tail slashed out to the sides while he tried to make sense of it all.
“How could I ever hate you Aela?” He held her in his arms and pulled her onto her bed so they could sit there together while he tried to work out what was going on in her mind.
Aela gripped his hands tightly, so tightly that her knuckles started turning white.
“When I come back we’ll talk, we’ll all talk. Just don’t hate me, please” She shut her eyes as she rested her head on his chest while her arms wrapped around him.
None of it was making any sense to Sotek and he felt troubled by her attitude.
“I’ve been asked to help a group near Markarth. I’ll be gone for a few days as well. They have a den of bandits they need help with”. He held her and laid down pulling her down with him. “I don’t want to go with you like this, why don’t we talk now?”
She immediately shook her head in response.
“No, I can’t. I’m not trying to be difficult, I’m just not ready. When we both get back we’ll talk then. Just remember your promise. Please remember it. When are you leaving?”
“Tonight, in half hour. I’ll remember that promise. It don’t make sense, but I’ll remember it”. He kissed her on her forehead, reassured her then headed off to pack.
At the appointed time, Sotek headed to the Carriage where Bjorlam was waiting to take him to Markarth. As he walked through the now desolate market place which hours before was filled with the hustle and bustle of the day’s trading, Aela ran up behind him and grabbed his arm.
“You’re not going without saying goodby I hope”.
He never replied to her directly, instead he gently pulled her towards him to hug her tightly. She escorted him through the main gates but although she was next to him, Sotek couldn’t shake the feeling that there was a vast void between them both.
As they got to the carriage she gave him a sealed letter along with a stern warning.
“Don’t open it until you enter Markarth. Promise me”. As she spoke, Sotek felt her finger poke into his chest forcing him to pay attention to what she was saying.
Sotek took the letter and placed it securely in his pack.
“I won’t open it until I enter Markarth, I promise”.
“All you got to do is remember your promise. I’ll see you when we meet back here”. Then she walked back to the main gate, she didn’t look back once, she just couldn’t. It took all her willpower and strength to stop the tears from streaming down her face.
Comments
That's exactly how it should be (my opinion ofc).
Thanks for pointing them out FlameLord. I hope you don't get fed up with these errors.
1.You’re not going without saying goody I hope”. Goodbye, not goody.
2.Aela stayed with the Harbinger for nearly half an hour while he tied to assure her that it would work out ok. Tried, not tied.