U.O.T.W. Chapter 103 To The Victor Goes The Spoils

  • Having followed their designated ‘ore depleted’ tunnel which was full of various irregular holes in the ground including a multitude of sections in the walls where previous miners had picked out any minuscule traces of iron, the two Companions, Farkas and Vilkas found themselves in a small square room. In the corner was a burning fireplace crackling to itself. The orange flames cast the Companion’s shadows on the walls and they seemed to slowly dance due to the flickering flames while the rest of the room was bathed in a soft orangey glow. Another passageway opened up on the far side of the room so with nothing else to see, they headed forthwith with their weapons drawn in readiness for any oncoming foe.

    The corridor was illuminated by a few torches which rested in old iron holders at intervals bedded into the rock and stone. At one point Vilkas whacked his head on the ceiling which gradually lowered to the point where they had to walk along with their heads tilted to the side. Vilkas’s face was stern, like a rock. A warrior who had seen too much blood spilled and yet inside he knew more would be freed from the confines of someone’s body.

    Farkas however had a large smirk as he was fortunate to be behind his brother when he hit his head. The reason for Vilkas’s hardened face was the fact that he could hear Farkas’s sniggering as he followed behind.

    A wooden slatted door barred their path. At least it would have done if there weren’t gaps in it. Farkas peered through one such hole and saw an array of beds set out along one side of a large rectangular room. On two such beds were two Silverhands who at least on first glance, seemed albeit remarkably, still asleep.

    Farkas gave the door a slight push but it was stuck solid so he tried to turn the handle. It resisted his touch and held fast giving him no choice but to kneel down and try to pick the lock. Vilkas glanced over his shoulder at the lock and huffed as it seemed to be a cheap basic iron one. He then watched the two Silverhands for any signs of movement while he impatiently tried to rush Farkas.

    “Hurry up! Damn, Aela’s faster than you are!”

    Farkas scoffed at him as he moved his eye nearer the lock so he could try to look inside it.

    “That’s a load of bull... She can’t pick locks... she’s too much of a hot head. This feels kinda odd though. I can’t get it”

    “Hot head? You want to bet? That bloody Argonian’s been teaching her!! Hell, she’ll have this open in a jiffy! What do you mean? Feels odd... Oh you stupid bastard!!” He pulled Farkas’s shoulder, effectively removing him from the door then pulled on the handle. Farkas closed his eyes despairingly when the door opened towards them.

    “What is it that she calls you? Oh yes... moron!”

    Without muttering a single word, Farkas started to creep up to his prospective target while Vilkas moved towards his. As they neared the beds, both their swords were raised high in the air with the tips pointing downwards so they could thrust them down into the two Silverhand’s chests. Just as they were getting ready to deliver the killing blows, an almighty howl echoed throughout the complex, causing the two Companions to freeze in bewilderment.

    Unfortunately, the indiscriminate howling also woke up the two occupants who stared upwards in fright. Upon seeing the lethal blades hanging above them, and with blood rich visions of meeting an untimely death at the hands of the cowardly filth that stood over them, they rolled off the beds in an attempt to escape their would be assailants, the Companions. Vilkas groaned loudly as he watched helplessly while his opponent picked up a sword that was leaning against a small cabinet beside his bed. Where moments before lay a hapless prey, now stood a Nord man wielding a silver sword.

    “Bloody terrific!!”

    Farkas smiled as the Silverhand opposite him seemed to fumble about as he tried to pull out a large wooden cross from beneath his bed, until Farkas saw it for what it actually was, a loaded crossbow. He yelled out his warning while he grabbed the side of the bed and wrenched it skywards, spinning it towards the Silverhand whose face changed from smug to petrified as the bed loomed overhead.

    “Crossbow!!”

    The bed landed with a sickening ‘thump’ as it pinned the Silverhand beneath it. His finger tightened on the trigger of the crossbow, sending the bolt flying off.

    Vilkas stumbled sideways and cried out in pain as the bolt punctured his right arm just below the shoulder. It went straight through the pauldron’s protective layer as if it wasn’t even there. His hand released its iron like grip on the great sword, leaving him seemingly defenceless. The stance was now impossible to maintain with just one hand. Despite his strength, all he could do was watch as his left arm failed him and his sword swung to his side.

    The Silverhand who was facing him grinned wickedly and dived across the bed towards him.

    “I’m going to gut you, you bastard. I can smell your stench from here”.

    Vilkas’s sword felt heavy in his hand. He knew the sensation of blood seeping down his other arm was no illusion, it was his blood dripping on the floor.

    Any advantage the Silverhand had, had been lost the moment he cleared the bed. Vilkas singlehandedly swept the tip of his sword at the Nord’s knees. It sliced into them, spraying out blood and sinew crippling him. He fell on his knees, collapsing the joints, causing him to scream out while blood formed around him as he writhed about in agony trying to clutch hold of the wounds. 

    Vilkas yanked out the bolt from his arm while he fought off the pain. His face grimaced as the bolt slid free. Bizarrely, he stood over the man and studied the bolt for a few seconds, examining the flight of it, mentally comparing it to the craftsmanship of Eorlund’s arrows which he would sometimes fletch. Using his injured arm he grabbed hold of the Silverhands hair and yanked his head up. The Nord stared at him in horror as the bolt was shoved into his neck, rupturing veins and his windpipe.

    His screams became gargled as Vilkas shoved him backwards to the floor.

    Farkas pulled the bed off the Silverhand who was trapped underneath it. The man tried to yell but he was too terrified to even beg as Farkas peered down at him.

    “Peek a boo... I found you!!” Moments later his sword finished the strike which he had tried to complete earlier. This time it was far more successful.

    Vilkas unstrapped the pauldron so he could examine the wound. Prodding the area with his finger, he was relieved to find that although the flesh was all torn from where he pulled out the bolt, the bone had luckily escaped any injury. Farkas passed him a healing potion which caused his face to screw up even more but Farkas had some good news.

    “It’s alright, one of Soteks”.

    Vilkas smiled as he pulled out the stopper then took a big swig of the potion. He started choking and spluttering as Farkas burst out laughing.

    “You bloody liar!!”

    Farkas smirked at him as he moved away from Vilkas’s reach.

    “I’ve only got one of his and I might need it myself”.

    Vilkas finished drinking the healing potion then discarded the small vial by throwing it at Farkas. He puffed out his chest and amusingly watched the bottle bounce off him. Before their argument could gain any motion, yet another howl seemed to fill the room.

    “What the hell? Don’t tell me that’s Scarface”. Vilkas cursed as he listened to the bestial cries.

    Farkas shook his head in disagreement. Although the howl had some strength behind it, it was nothing to the howling Scarface had made.

    “Nope, no way near loud enough. Albino?”

    Vilkas grinned at the suggestion which he found to be rather amusing.

    “No way, it’s too loud. Hahaha... It must be Red, but... It’s not her usual howl though, it sounds different. More ermm... Intense?  Come on, we had better find her”.

    As the room they were in was a dead end, they raced back to where they all first separated, both brothers fully committed to finding Red.

    Having fulfilled his overwhelming desires, Albino moved off Red causing her to cry out once more. He froze where he was as a fear seeped inside him that he had hurt her, especially when she collapsed on the floor. She stretched out on her side and sighed while her tongue flopped out of her mouth and lay lazily over her fangs.

    A soft content whine called out to him as she searched around the room for her mate while her head stayed where it was.

    Albino went to her side and fell to the floor behind her. She rolled on her back so she could see him and licked the corner of his mouth. As they lay there together, their eyes met. At that moment, Albino knew...

    Albino, a six foot pure white werewolf who had the speed and strength of a wet fish dropped from a great height on a massive rock. He knew... In his paws he had the one thing he would die for, the one thing he loved, wanted and needed, Red. As he looked in the she-wolf’s eyes he knew... She felt exactly the same.

    Red’s heart was pounding away like a herd of stampeding horses. Gradually her heartbeat slowed down along with her emotions and her grip on Aela. When her pulsating heart found its natural rhythm, she succumbed to Aela’s will and transformed.

    Aela just laid there with her arms still around Albino while her mind tried to comprehend what they had done. Albino cried out in agony due to his change. She held him tight in her arms as tears streamed down her cheeks while she witnessed the torture he went through. Soon enough the ten odd seconds past and Sotek had morphed back to his own form. He just laid there on the floor exhausted as the change took a lot out of him, let alone the last hour’s events.

    The air seemed electrified and full of emotion which added pressure on Sotek to speak. Aela was still holding him and her head rested heavily on his chest. As he peered down at her he could see her eyes were wide open. She wasn’t moving, just staring into space.

    Sotek’s clawed fingers gently combed through her hair. Aela’s only reaction was to blink which seemed to break her out of the trance like state. The silence between them was now unbearable giving Sotek no choice but to talk. His throat felt dry as he hoarsely whispered to her.

    “Are you ok?”

    Aela blinked several times while she listened to his heart beating in his chest. It sounded steady and strong yet it was faster than normal. It always did when they faced various problems.

    “Yep, I’m fine”.

    His hand started caressing the back of her head which snapped her out of her shaken state. She pushed herself off him and threw herself up on her feet.

    “What the hell did you do? We do? Albino? How dare he... her... damn it!”

    She paced around in a circle yelling out in hushed cursed whispers to Sotek and herself.

    “They... bloody hell Sotek! I can’t believe he did that!!”

    Sotek closed his eyes in dread for what he intended to be several seconds but Aela’s next words caused him to sit bolt upright.

    “I can’t believe she let him...”

    She froze on the spot then gradually her head turned around to gaze upon Sotek. Before he could say anything, she walked up to him and straddled his lap so she could look straight at his face. He wondered what she was going to say but she just stared at him before she burst out laughing. Her head rested on his shoulder and she clung onto him tightly as she whispered in his ear.

    “That was incredible! I’ve never felt so bloody alive and in tune with myself, my she-wolf”.

    Sotek cocked an eyebrow at her.

    “I thought you would be angry!”

    Aela’s eyes narrowed as she leaned into him.

    “So why did he do it?”

    Sotek gazed across the room as he shrugged his shoulders.

    “He couldn’t help it”

    Aela grinned almost hysterically back at him.

    “I know, neither could she!! Crap!! Vilkas and that oaf Farkas... I can hear them approaching”.

    Sotek instinctively rolled his eyes at her as he repeated her retort.

    “Oaf?”

    She glanced up at him with a serious expression plastered across her face then smirked as she climbed up to her feet.

    “Yep. Come on you, move”.

    They both scurried about like two skeevers that had been disturbed or at least they would have if Sotek didn’t curse loudly due to his shoulder. Aela’s juvenile antics came to a stop and she carefully loosened the straps. His head lowered to her chest while she caressed the old wound which had been the cause of so much pain. Even now, weeks after Red bit him, Aela could still see the fang marks in his scaly skin.

    Just then Vilkas gave a sigh of relief as he found them alive and well. He called out from the other side of the portcullis to gain their attention.

    “No wonder you two were howling like demented dogs. Ha, ha, ha more like rats in a trap.  We’ll have this up in a sec”.

    Aela refastened the leather shoulder harness while Sotek replied to Vilkas’s jesting.

    “About time you two showed up. We’ve been stuck here for ages. Red tried howling out for you guys, what kept you?”

    Farkas walked up to Sotek from behind startling both himself and Aela.

    “There’s a clear route here!! Why didn’t you go that way instead of howling for us?”

    Sotek looked at Aela who was bright red and in the process of desperately trying to hide her face from the others. Guessing that she was going to be of no help, he came up with the first excuse he could think of.

    “Ermm, it was blocked earlier! They must have raised the portcullis by the cells”.

    Aela smirked and nudged him in the side with her elbow as she whispered to him.

    “You little liar!”

    He quietly laughed along with her and threw her a knowing wink.

    “Ok, we’ll tell them the truth”.

    “NO!!!” She yelled out in response far louder than what she had intended, making Sotek jump in fright. The two brothers stared at her in confusion.

    Farkas glanced around the room for the answer while he left it to his brother to ask the actual question.

    “No what?”

    Aela looked back to Sotek then at Vilkas with a sense of panic but her mind was a complete blank. All she could see was the visual image of Albino and Red mating. Knowing she was completely stumped, Sotek jumped in a second time.

    “Ermm, she’s not happy losing the bet”.

    Aela’s fortitude came back with the power and energy of a thunderstorm. She grabbed Sotek by the collar and pulled him to her face.

    “I didn’t lose it! You did!!”

    Sotek lent into her, kissed her on the lips and then he looked at her in the eyes as he slowly shook his head.

    “Sorry, but you lost”.

    Vilkas came quickly over to them both and pulled Aela to the side in desperation.

    “Aela, tell me you won. For the love of the Nines, tell him he lost. There’s no way that snowball has beaten you”.

    Farkas stared at Sotek, his confidence unsettled him, leaving him no choice but to call out to Aela.

    “Red... She did win didn’t she? She killed this lot... You came in here and killed them all... Aela?”

    Sotek glanced at Aela, then turned to the others and briefly studied them. He gave a big sigh as he realised that she was revered by all of them. Everyone looked up to her. For Red to lose, especially to a werewolf like Albino was unthinkable.

    Aela looked around at the bodies while she played through the fight, counting Red’s kills.

    “How many were there in all?”

    Vilkas called out to her praying that she won.

    “Seven here”.

    Aela felt some relief. She knew Albino had killed three. She smiled to herself knowing she beat him as Red had killed the remaining four.

    Farkas pointed down the side corridor and asked the one question which shattered Aela’s victory.

    “Who killed the three by the cells?”

    Aela shot a look at Sotek to see him looking back at her. She closed her eyes then lowered her head in defeat, at that moment she knew he had beaten her. Albino had actually killed two more than Red did.

    Sotek however had already made his decision and he fully intended to stick with it. He took a deep breath then laid out the foundation for his lie.

    “Aela killed these. They were all dead by the time I got here. Hell, I had my hands full with those three in the other room”.

    He smiled at Aela and threw his purse across to her.

    “Well done!! You’re one tough she wolf, you know that”. He chuckled to himself then gave her a little wink as he started going through the bodies gathering whatever loot he could find.

    Aela glanced towards Sotek as a sick feeling filled her stomach.

    “Wait!”

    Sotek glared at her hard and slightly shook his head so the others wouldn’t see him as he mimed to her.

    “No, don’t”.

    Aela turned towards Vilkas and Farkas as she knelt down to one of the bodies. Her voice seemed weak but fortunately they failed to notice.

    “Can you both grab some gear for Sotek to sell on?”

    Farkas laughed as he slapped Sotek in the back.

    “Sure, but he wouldn’t need it all if his betting wasn’t so wild and crazy. Sorry Sotek, but it was a sure thing. You‘re a brave one alright, pitching that half pint troll against her. No one, but no one can beat our girl”.

    Aela couldn’t help herself, the reaction even surprised her. She felt Red’s anger inside which merely added fuel to her own. Without even thinking she punched Farkas in the chest.

    “Don’t call him that, you basta..... Farkas, you how hard his changes are. Just don’t ok?”

    Knowing Aela’s emotions were up in the air, Sotek relieved some of the tension and grinned across to Farkas.

    ”Easy come, easy go. Besides, there’s plenty more bandit caves out there”.

    Both brothers approached their ‘sister’ and picked her up above their heads. They sat her between them on their shoulders as they chanted and cheered over her victory. She looked down behind her at Sotek with a sorrowful face but he just cast a friendly smile as he studied her.

    Once they had gathered up a selection of weapons, rings and various other miscellaneous items which seemed to be of reasonable value, their thoughts turned towards Whiterun and home. The last task Sotek done was to tie on the other horses as he had no intentions on leaving them behind. Once they were secure, the pack slowly made their way back to Whiterun.

    At the Stables Sotek made a deal with the Stable hand regarding the horses. He sold the two stallions for five hundred septims and he even got his 50 gold back for the return of his previous horse that was stolen.

    In Jorrvaskr that evening, Farkas told the story about Aela’s victory. She felt hollow inside as she sat there and listened to it. Every word seemed to tear into her. As the story was told, she watched Sotek who played his part perfectly. He even owned up to the Whelps over his overzealous assessment of his abilities. Of course there was no mention of werewolves, no Red or Albino.

    Aela couldn’t stand listening to the lies any more. She approached the Harbinger who instinctively knew something wasn’t right. He held her hand and led her quietly away.

    “Come on. Down stairs, then you can tell me what really happened”.

    Once they entered the Harbinger’s study, Aela pulled out a chair and slumped down in it. Without even waiting for Kodlak to sit down, she blurted out her feelings.

    “A few things happened. Damn it Harbinger, this is wrong! He beat me. I didn’t beat him... All I did was get into trouble. The next second he was there in his werewolf form. He’s white, pure white. We call him Albino”.

    Kodlak smiled at her and nodded reassuringly as he sat in his favourite chair.

    “Omega, the white wolf is called Omega. He’s the lowest ranking of Hircine’s pack. Now as he has this ‘Omega’ as a werewolf form, then he will no doubt go charging through the ranks as he does with everything”.

    Aela’s eyes fixed on Kodlak as her troubles seemed to distance themselves from her.

    “That’s his name? Omega”.

    He nodded then let her continue with her version of events.

    “Omega, he killed three by himself. I got into trouble, big trouble. Then he was there, he killed three that were fighting me. I took out the other four, Red did... Then he dragged a corpse over to her to feed. He beat me, completely. And he saved me!!! Upstairs... That’s not right!!! It’s not fair!!! The Companions are supposed to be honourable, honor in what we do and our ‘glorious victories’. What honor is there is this? It’s all lies!!!”  She felt angry and ashamed for letting them believe in the lie.

    Kodlak gave a slight laugh, then reached across the table and held her hand.

    “Sotek. He’s not after honour, or battle titles. He swore an oath to protect you, you’re his, ermm how does he put it? Ahh yes. You’re his mate. His alone, to protect and to defend. You see, that’s why he scarred himself that evening you were hit by the Shadowscales. Every time he looks in a mirror or sees his reflection, he knows what he has to do”.

    As he spoke, his grip tightened slightly on Aela’s hand. She precipitated in a likewise manner, conveying her need for his words of comfort.

    “Today he defended you from the Silverhands. Tonight, it would seem that he protected you from your shield brothers. They have digs at you, do they not? To them you’re their younger sister. I’m afraid that’s why they have fun at your expense, it’s their right, so to speak. So, he spared you their wrath. Ask yourself a question”. Kodlak sat there for a few seconds, giving Aela a chance to think on what he said.

    “If he beat you, and they knew it, would they ever let you forget it?”

    Aela shook her head as realism flooded her emotions, washing away all her shame and hatred she held for herself.

    “No, every time I changed they would bring that up”. She got up then thanked the Harbinger for listening and then she headed back upstairs.

    As soon as she arrived at the hall, both Vilkas and Farkas chanted to her, while they ridiculed Sotek.

    “Aela… Aela… Aela…” Even the Whelps stamped their feet and banged on the table as they raised their flagons to her honor. She couldn’t help but sigh as she looked at Sotek who just sat there smiling back at her as he quietly munched on an apple. After half an hour or so she dismissed herself then went downstairs to the Undercroft. Farkas and Vilkas cheered as she went down the stairway. Sotek just laughed at them, even she had to admit he was thick skinned. They gave it their best but he didn’t bite once.

    An hour later, Sotek headed down to his room where various furs were piled up in a makeshift bed. Up to a few nights ago he stayed in Aela’s room but she was beginning to feel her own space was getting too cramped and infringed upon. Their relationship was based upon one rule. He left her alone unless she told him differently. He knew that from weeks ago, and he didn’t expect it to change anytime soon.

    He opened his door, to find his ‘bed’ occupied by a red haired, semi naked young woman who was fast asleep. In the corner stood the wardrobe which he was fortunate enough to win in the ‘Jorrvaskr Lottery’ which was held in his absence. He lay behind Aela and wrapped his arms around her. She stirred from her slumber and rolled over towards him. While she was still half asleep she kissed him on the chest before snuggling up tightly against him.

    “Thank you. That’s twice you saved me today. Tomorrow, can we go hunting, just you and me”.

    “Yess. We’ll go to the far Western side of the plains. Jusst uss”. As he caressed her head, he pulled a large wolf fur over them so it was covering her back then he watched over her until she drifted back to sleep. Before he settled down himself, he kissed the top of her head and whispered to her.

    “Tomorrow we’ll go hunting. Just the four of uss”.

     

     

Comments

10 Comments
  • Aela The Huntress
    Aela The Huntress   ·  January 23, 2016
    It is cool the way you went about this.
  • Sotek
    Sotek   ·  January 23, 2016
    I fully agree Exuro. This could have been a difficult chapter to get right. One of the key points I think was establishing Red's needs in chapter 43. That set the foundations like chapter 25 so now I can easily set the stage.
    No doubt there will be ...  more
  • Exuro
    Exuro   ·  January 23, 2016
    That was some quick thinking on Sotek's part when the brothers found them. So that's why Red was howling, lol.
    'Advancement in relationship' is that what the kids call it these days? I was worried with how you handle it too, it could of easily turne...  more
  • Sotek
    Sotek   ·  January 19, 2016
    I’m pleased to see so many favorable comments as I was a bit apprehensive to how well Red and Albino (Omega henceforth) would be accepted due to the advancement in their relationship.
    Fixed the error Meli, thanks for that and I’m glad you all had a ...  more
  • Meli
    Meli   ·  January 19, 2016
    'Farkas however had a large smirk as he was fortunate to be behind his brother when he hit his head. The reason for Vilkas’s hardened face was the fact that he could hear Farkas’s sniggering as he followed behind." - favourite part for sniggering along wi...  more
  • Lyall
    Lyall   ·  January 19, 2016
    I had a stupid grin on my face the entire time Farkas and Vilkas were moving towards Red and Albino.
  • Ebonslayer
    Ebonslayer   ·  January 19, 2016
    It's good on Sotek to take the bullet (or rather, arrow) for Aela. I could only imagine what the twins would do if they figured out that Red lost.
  • Sotek
    Sotek   ·  January 19, 2016
    Hahaha
    Sotek's and Aela's relationship now moves to a whole new level. Things do get complex with them now thatred and 'Omega' have feelings towards each other.
    I'm glad sotek's coming across in a good light as I know there are those who feel ...  more
  • The Long-Chapper
    The Long-Chapper   ·  January 19, 2016
    I liked this chapter a lot. Sotek gets my vote for bestest boyfriend.  And Kodlak gets the "kindly Harbinger" award. 
  • ShyGuyWolf
    ShyGuyWolf   ·  January 19, 2016
    this my friend is a great read, glad  both Werewolves mated.