U.O.T.W. Chapter 107 Omega

• Posted by Sotek February 27, 2016 - Filed in TSC: CB Story - 1,193 views

  

  

   

  Sotek looked back over his shoulder and called out to Aela who had inadvertently come to a stop. Her eyes were misty and the features on her face seemed to be expressionless, like a blank slate.

  “Hey! You ok?”

  Realizing she had slowed down to a standstill, Aela quickened her pace and rapidly caught up with her fellow Companion. She dismissed his question with a cheerful grin and replied with a question of her own.

  “Those white flowers… they any good for your alchemy?”

  Taken aback by her odd question, he fell silent and traced along her finger to the patch of flowers which she was pointing to. He struggled to remember the plants name let alone anything else as his mind was set on Aela’s emotional state and not alchemy. He tried to sound professional but he couldn’t focus on the subject.

  “That’s ermm… Tun… Tundra Cotton. At least I think that’s the name of it”.

  Aela bent down and picked two of the plants. She held them close to her face and sniffed the redolence of the fragrance.                                                         

  “Any good?”

  Sotek dismissively shook his head and rejected the plants from one which he would find useful.

  “Not really… fortify barter, stuff like that”.

  Aela screwed her face up and scrutinized a flower head.

  “Kinda pretty I suppose. Is it poisonous?”

  Sotek chuckled at her line of questioning. He couldn’t help but notice she was more interested in the flora that could be used to make poisons.

  “No! Have you tried your poisons out yet?”

  “Nope, I haven’t come across anything worth using them on. No worthy prey…” As she glanced at the plants in her hand, Sotek thought back to the Imperial Whelp. She would collect flowers and stick them in a vase. He pondered on whether Aela would keep the flowers but the illusion was soon shattered when she bit off the top of one.

  While she chewed on the head of the first flower, she offered the other one out to her mate.

  “Eat… and see... what it does!”  A slight green hue seemed to resonate from her torso and quickly faded away again. “What was that?” She asked.

  Sotek tossed the other plant aside, chuckled and lightly slapped her on the backside.

  “Resist magic. You’re not one for flowers are you?”

  “I am if they’re poisonous”. She sniggered before proceeding towards the tower where she noticed the few guards on duty were closely watching them on their approach. “Hey, let’s go say hi”.

  She knew the tower had been damaged, all of Whiterun knew but to see the stone fortress first hand was something she hadn’t prepared for. Large grey blocks were strewn across the ground and one side of the tower itself had broken away, leaving large cracks in the stonework.

  Aela couldn’t believe the amount of damage that had been inflicted upon the outpost. She stared at it with bewilderment at the strength of the creature that assaulted the tower all those weeks ago. Even now she could make out the smoldered ground where the dragon had blasted guards with its fire breath. She felt a shudder tingle down her back and vividly remembered the heat she had felt when Sotek shielded her from such flames.

  “What in all of Skyrim did this?”

  “A dragon… You remember the dragon I told you and Farkas about? After we killed the giant, I helped the guards here fight it when it was attacking the tower. They lost three men in the initial attack. It was only when Irileth arrived with reinforcements that the battle was turned. We killed the dragon, but I feel the cost was too high”. Sotek’s tone turned solemn. He gazed at one of the burnt patches where a body’s outline could still be seen. At least to him…

  Aela picked up on the sudden change of tone. She decided to lift his spirits before they affected him too much. They were out on the plains for a few days and she was determined to make sure they both enjoyed it. The best way she knew was through laughter. She started chuckling to herself when she thought back to the giant and the wheat which Sotek had inadvertently burned.

  “We killed the giant, thank you! All you did was set fire to the crops”.

  Sotek’s reptilian laughter was interrupted by an abrupt loud voice.

  “What do you want, lizard?”

  Aela shot round to see three guards walking towards them. She was angry, she couldn’t help but take it personally when someone insulted Sotek, her mate.

  “Watch your tongue!! Do you know who the hell we are? You’re guards of Whiterun so you bloody well should do”. She then turned to Sotek who seemed to find the whole situation amusing which was obvious due to the big smile on his face. “And what the hell are you grinning at?”

  He responded by calling back to the guards.

  “Guards of Whiterun? The only things they can guard are their flasks of mead”.

  One guard, a Nord with a big bushy beard, walked up to him extending his arm with an open hand like he was greeting an old comrade.

  “Well it isn’t like we got much of a tower to guard is it? Mead’s warm, towers cold, what’s left of it at any rate. Meh! What can you do?”

  Sotek introduced Aela, who was as usual, confused.

  “Aela, these are the guards I helped when the dragon attacked. No doubt you all know of Aela”.

  She walked up to the tower and examined the structure more closely.

  “I can’t believe a single dragon did all this damage”.

  The guard who welcomed them, moved alongside her and gazed up the side of the tower. He slowly nodded while he fell deep in thought.

  “I can’t believe we killed it, let alone survived its attack. Come! We’ve a fire burning inside…”

  Aela turned to him and chuckled as he led the way through the arched entrance.

  “And warm mead…”

  The two Companions sat together on the floor and leaned against the side of the stairwell, leaving the wooden chairs free for two of the guards. A third guard, the only female guard of Whiterun, sat on a barrel and lightly drummed the back of her heels against it. In the centre of the circular floor, fresh wood crackled from the boiling sap as it burned in an old iron brazier.

  The bedrolls were already rolled up and piled to the side, along with various crates which contained supplies and a motley collection of cookware such as pots and pans. Three wooden bowls floated in a half barrel which served as a sink. It was full of water which had been collected from a nearby stream, probably using the two buckets which were hanging up by their rope handles on a large iron hook nearby.

  Knowing the guards supplies were constantly running short of mead, Sotek reached into his pack and handed over six bottles.

  “To keep the cold night away”, he explained as they were gratefully taken from him.

  Just outside was a barrel which three of the bottles were placed in. It was packed with snow from the mountains.

  “Nothing worse than warm mead...” The female guard stated as she pulled off the stopper from one of the bottles. After she took a big swig from it, she resumed her place back on the barrel then she informed the two Companions of a possible bandit lair. “It’s to the west, just passed the fringe of the plains”.

  Aela took a keen interest in its location and talked with the female guard for several minutes while Sotek was content to sit back and listen in. Aela was fully aware of her name although they never really spoke before now.

  “Lydia isn’t it?” Aela asked as she peered over Sotek’s map.

  “Uh huh. That’s me alright… the one and only”.

  The bearded guard chortled as he joined in with a brash attempt at winding Lydia up.

  “Not much of a guard but she’s great at fetch and carry!”

  Lydia scowled at him and thumped her fist down on to the barrel.

  “I’m not sworn to carry your burdens, ‘Billy’”.

  Aela snorted and looked back at the bearded guard in jest.

  “Billy? What sort of name is that? Billy?”

  Lydia chuckled and tapped Aela’s arm.

  “We all call him ‘Billy’ as in a Billy goat ‘cause of his beard”.

  They stayed at the tower for an hour more and talked about the dragon attack. Aela told the tales of the dragons they killed, all the while the five sat around the fire, a fellowship of warriors sharing mead and a basic meal of bread and cheese.

  When it was time for Sotek and Aela to depart, Sotek pulled out from his pack the last of the apples he had bought that morning and tossed it at Lydia. She caught it in between the palms of her hands and softly smiled back at him before biting into it. The sound of a ‘crunch’ caused Aela to cast a quick look behind her at the guard. She just managed to see the final residual traces of the smile disappear and quietly growled, knowing full well the smile was for Sotek as Lydia was still looking straight at him.

  Leaving the tower behind and feeling somewhat disgruntled, Aela drew her bow and held it tightly in her hand, clenching her fingers around it until her knuckles were white.

  In the distance towards the west, she saw two deer and a stag grazing on the grassy tundra. Blotting out Lydia’s image, Aela immediately broke into a run, leaving Sotek behind.

  “Keep up slow coach!!” Her blood was up and she wasn’t about to make it easy for him to follow, nor give the deer a chance to flee.

  Sotek tried to match her speed but he found it impossible due to the pain in his shoulder. Having no other choice, he stopped then watched her in awe as she carried on with the pursuit.

  Between strides, she notched the first of three arrows and fired at the furthest stag. The arrow struck it in the side, throwing it off its hoofs from the force of the impact. A lone desolate ‘bark’ warned the two deer, further alerting them of their impending doom. Aela only stopped long enough to shove the tip of her dagger into the stag’s neck, finishing it quickly so it wouldn’t needlessly suffer then she was on her feet again, relentlessly pursuing her prey.

  The two deer that had bolted in fright opened up a massive gap between them and their pursuer. Aela was soon running at full speed but instead of choosing to follow the deer directly, she deviated and headed up the side of a small hill. Without slowing down, she cleared the crest of the mound and fired off a second shot.

  The furthest deer disappeared from sight as an arrow shattered its shoulder. Two arrows, two kills. The third arrow silently slid out from the quiver hanging on Aela’s back.

  She stopped running and just watched the final deer head off in the distance. Taking careful aim, the Huntress drew a deep breath then released the drawstring. The arrow arced through the sky and dropped down, slamming into the back of the deer, sending it crashing to the ground.

  Sotek held his shoulder as he wearily approached her. He had a bizarre feeling of wonder and fear at the same time which, when mixed together, made him feel somewhat sick yet jubilant as well.

  “That was bloody amazing! I’ve never seen anyone manage to shoot while running that fast let alone hit their target”.

  She chuckled and flashed her eyes at his remark concerning her archery skill. The calf of her leg slipped around him, forcing him to move closer to her. After she tucked her head in his chest, she looked up at his face and smiled.

  “That’s because not everyone is Aela the huntress! How’s your shoulder? Are Arcadia’s potions actually working? I was hoping there would be some improvement by now”. Her hand slowly slid across the Wolf armor and down his left arm to finally rest in the crevice of his elbow.

  He stepped back away from her so he could flex it a little.

  “It’s looser, but I can’t see myself using a bow any time soon. Mind you, with you around I won’t have to. I’m thankful Eorlund remembered my shoulder harness as well. He’s skimmed the inside of the left pauldron so it isn’t too tight”.

  Leaving him trailing behind, she briskly approached the stag and knelt down by its side so she could skin and gut it. While she worked, she thought back on their Shadowscale problem.

  “Have you given any thought to the assassins yet?”

  Sotek walked up behind her and slapped the back of her head, causing her to cry out in surprise.

  “No! Bad dog!! We aren’t here to talk about them, they can wait. We’ve got a few days to ourselves. Don’t taint it with problems…”

  Aela’s dagger was flung to the ground and embedded itself in the earth. She was on her feet in seconds and quickly rebuked Sotek for his comment.

  “You bastard!! You dare call me a dog? Just wait till Red turns up. Don’t moan at me if she bites your arse”.

  “Oh she’ll have to catch me first”. Sotek laughed while he rolled the skin up and tied it to the top of his pack.

  He looked over his shoulder when he felt a finger tapping against him and was ensnared by Aela’s glare.

  “She’ll catch you and she’ll catch Omega. You can’t run from me”. She then carried on walking towards the other deer.

  Sotek followed behind her until he stopped where he was and tilted his head to the side. Aela instantly heard the change in his footsteps and looked back at him. She could see he was confused. He held his hands out to his sides as he shrugged his shoulders.

  “Omega? Who the hell’s Omega?”

  Her mouth fell open as she stared back at him. Realism that she hadn’t informed him about her talk with the Harbinger regarding their relationship left her feeling stunned and her mind fell blank. Before she could gather any coherent thoughts, she burst out laughing as a means to deal with her embarrassment at being caught out.

  “Ermm Albino is. I’m sorry… I talked to the Harbinger about you… us. He said the white werewolf is known as Omega, the lowest ranking wolf in the pack. He thinks, now you got your form, you’ll pass through the ranks quickly”.

  It didn’t occur to her until that exact moment on his preferences to his werewolf’s name. She noticed he was now on edge, a misguided thought that he felt she had broken his trust.

  “I never asked you, do you prefer Albino?”

  Sotek looked at her closely and with obvious concern although it was about an entirely different matter.

  “You told him about Omega? Or Omega and Red?”

  Her face went white at the thought of Kodlak sitting in his chair while she blabbed about Red’s and Omega’s attraction to one another. She felt sick and light headed. It was hard enough when they admitted to the Harbinger about their own relationship let alone the fact that their werewolf’s were in one as well.

  “Oh Hircine no!! It’s their secret!! Even we don’t know about them, if that’s… ok with you?”

  She was pulled closer to him in a strong loving embrace; the energy between them caused her hands to tremble slightly. She took hold of the hand which was now holding her backside in a firm grip and moved it to her lower back.

  “My back, thank you. Not my haunches!”

  A clawed thumb hooked itself between two of her armor straps so he could relax his aching shoulder, effectively relying on her armor for support.

  “You call the shots, you know that. Red and Omega? It’s their secret!”

  Her nose twitched when she felt the tip of his finger flick it. Narrowing her eyes, she looked up at him and was greeted by a large smirk.

  “What?”

  Sotek chuckled and his tail snaked out playfully.

  “Mind you, both you and Red tried to catch me when I was just a wolf. What chance would you have chasing Omega?”

  A lowly growl preceded Aela’s tongue which stuck out insultingly. Taking it as a warning, he stepped to the side, effectively dodging Aela’s fist.

  “Misssed!” He hissed back at her and was fully prepared to retaliate until the sun lowering in the sky caught his eye.

  Calling a cease of hostilities between them, he egged her on towards the camp site, knowing full well the evening was rapidly approaching. “Come on, times getting on”.

  Aela’s bow glided back and forth as she swung her arm while she walked. Looking down at her favourite weapon, she felt compelled to glance at Sotek’s shoulder. The more she watched him, the more the need to ask him picked at her. It was like an itch which wouldn’t stop and the more you scratched, the worse it became.

  “Do you miss not being able to use your bow?”

  “How can I put this so you would understand? Ah yes… I feel like a wolf that has lost his tail. He doesn’t need it, but as sure as oblivion, he wishes it was still there”.

  Aela nervously chuckled. It wasn’t a nervousness from fear or being afraid but one of a more sympathetic nature. The sort of laugh you make when you try to protect someone from their emotions, a sympathetic laugh.

  “That makes sense; I’d hate not having my bow. I couldn’t survive without it”.

  Sotek looked up at the sky and studied a single hawk as it flew above them in a lazy circle. Taking aim, he fired off a fireball from his left hand at a boulder. The destructive spell exploded on impact sending a wave of heat in all directions. He watched the hawk for a few more seconds before slightly nodding at it in respect.

  “I can get around it, but yes, I really miss having it”.

  Once Sotek was ready, they carried on making their way across the plains. Aela picked out a suitable spot near a stream for the campsite. She would have preferred the overhang but that was to the north.

  “This will do, you set the tents up and I’ll rate your progress. Good luck”.

  Sotek’s jaw dropped and he just looked at her blankly.

  “Oh come on, how am I supposed to do that?”

  Aela laughed at the tone in his voice. He sounded helpless, like a baby.

  “Having a ‘no can do’ attitude… minus one point! Wasting time, minus one point… You’re down two points already”.

  Sotek snapped back at her mockingly while he dropped his pack by his feet.

  “Being a pain in the tail, minus five points”.

  Aela huffed in response and rested her hands on her hips.

  “Insubordination to his superiors! Minus ten points”.

  Sotek chuckled as he waved his finger just in front of Aela’s face.

  “Wrong! I’m an equal now remember? Being a bitch, minus fifteen points”. He knelt down on one knee and opened his backpack while he sniggered back at her dumbfounded face.

  Aela tried to think of something but she couldn’t counter his statement. Knowing actions speak louder than words, she kicked his pack out of his hands before changing into Red.

  Sotek looked up at Red who was standing over him and groaned.

  “Oh that’s childish… ok being a complete bitch minus fifty”.

  She mockingly tried to swipe at him but he dodged her paw then he too transformed. He fell to the ground in agony until the pain mercifully passed allowing Omega to stand up. He turned to face her then he howled out using the bestial strength coursing through him. She howled in response, showing him what strength really was. The intensity of her howl forced him to take a step back away from her.

  The two werewolves lifted their heads up and sniffed the taint of the early evening’s air, reveling in the sights and smells of the plains.

  On the wind, Omega could smell a pack of wolves. He could tell they were close by. Turning to Red, he noticed she had already picked up the pack’s scent. A ravenous growl signaled to him the hunt had begun. Red was hungry, she wanted to feed. As one, they ran across the plains, side by side, hunting together in a small but elite pack.

  Red launched at the closest wolf, tearing into it like a crazed wild animal while Omega ran past and swiped at the second wolf’s side, throwing it to the ground. Without stopping, he lunged at the third wolf, pinning it down under his weight. White razor sharp fangs bit down at the wolf’s neck, punching through the thick fur coat and ripped into soft bloody flesh.

  Instead of feeding off the body, he turned to the second wolf that was now desperately fighting Red. Omega brought both paws down on the wolf’s back, breaking its spine under his weight. It slumped on the ground and a single swipe of Red’s claws tore the chest open, flaying an arc of blood across Omega’s face.

  The three wolf carcasses were torn apart as Red and Omega fed, happily feeding together off one corpse at a time. Only when Red had her fill did she stand up to her full height and let out a deafening howl, prompting Omega to join in. The two werewolves’ cries melted into one as traces of blood dripped from their fangs and paws.

  Aela changed back; she stood there reveling in the hunt, the chase. She held the side of Omega’s cheek in her hand and rested her own cheek against him. Smiling, she whispered in his ear.

  “Being there when Red needs him, 50 points. Running by her side so she’s never alone, 100 points. You win….”

  Omega growled softly as his paw gently touched her hip in an attempt to hold her as if he understood what she had said. He fell to the floor and flailed about, crying out in pain due to the transformation back to his Argonian form, Sotek’s form. Aela ran up to him, holding him while he transformed. Once he changed, he just laid there for a few seconds on his back. Being totally helpless, all Aela could do was watch him go through the torture and stroke his temple while his head rested in her lap.

  “Damn it!! Why do you change? Don’t!! I can’t keep seeing you go through this….. Just stay as you”.

  Sotek staggered weakly to his knees before he finally managed to raise himself up on his feet. He held onto Aela for support, nearly causing her to buckle under his weight. When he felt steadier, he broke away from her grasp and proceeded to answer her emotional outburst.

  “If that’s what I got to endure so Omega can hunt for one minute with Red the way you want to, then it’s worth it. I will pay the price every day if that is what Hircine asks of me”. He held her once more in his arms. “Trust me, Omega running with Red? I’d happily suffer twice as much pain for that privilege, so would Omega. Come on, we are losing daylight, we’ll set camp up together”.

  She kissed him on the cheek and whispered back to him.

  “I know you both would, you both do….. Do you think Red and Omega will want to play with some bandits tomorrow?”

  Sotek weakly laughed at the suggestion. He knew the change would hurt just as much as it did moments ago but he meant what he said. The thrill of running alongside Red, the taste of warm bloody flesh, his dominance over her when she was willing to succumb to his desires… it was all worth it, every ounce of pain that Hircine could muster.

  “Oh I expect they wouldn’t miss it for anything”.

  After Aela salvaged a few parts of wolf skin, they headed back to the site she had picked out half an hour before. However, when she started sorting out the tents, Sotek stopped her with a comment about the layout.

  “You know, it’s a shame we have to have individual tents and not a bigger one for us both to share”.

  She stepped back and gave the camp a quick glance. She knew where she wanted to set the two basic shelters up and didn’t give his statement much thought or consideration.

  “There are bigger tents but they are hard to come by. We generally don’t use ‘em”.

  Sotek walked up to her and held her hand, forcing her to bestow upon him more attention than what she was willing to give at that point in time.

  “Why not?”

  She shrugged her shoulders as a means to retrieve her hand from his grasp so she could carry on with her appointed task.

  “I suppose the weight of them. Then, of course, there’s the amount of furs and supports they require”.

  Sotek dropped his pack at her feet, causing her eyes to follow it. As he spoke, he glanced across the rocky tundra to where a copse of trees grew.

  “We should have enough skins for it. After all, we have the three stags along with the wolfs we killed. You want to give it a go?”

  She opened his pack and started pulling out the parts needed for the large tent. Feeling genuinely surprised, she couldn’t refrain from asking him about it.

  “Where the hell did you get this from?”

  “Oh, special order, from Belethor”. Sotek grinned as he watched the expression of bewilderment on her face. He knew she was all for it. Her body language gave it away all too easily. “Right! You start sorting it out while I’ll get some supports from those saplings”. He then went off towards the group of trees, leaving Aela the task of sorting out the remaining parts of the tent.

  Darkness descended upon them by the time they had fully erected the tent. The campfire had also been built up and was blazing away, throwing out plenty of heat and light. Not that they needed it due to their heightened senses. They had also gathered up a good supply of wood for the fire which would easily last throughout the night as well. Using splits, Sotek prepared some thick slices of venison to cook over the hot glowing embers.

  Once the meat started cooking, he picked up a fur and wrapped it around Aela, giving her yet another cause to smile at him.

  “Thanks. This is what I like… The outdoors, the freedom it gives. You remember the first time we stayed out for the night? Just the two of us?”

  Sotek smiled, thinking back to that night and the archery training she gave him the day afterwards. Simpler times and not so many problems as to what they faced now. One thing he kicked himself over was the first month of knowing Aela, he should have known she was a werewolf. He blatantly ignored the signs.

  “Hunting those blasted hawks”.

  She opened up the fur then cuddled into Sotek, wrapping the pair of them up in the fur. They just sat there watching the flames until eventually he noticed her breathing change. He gave her a slight squeeze, then kissed her on the forehead as she fell asleep, wrapped up warm, in front of the fire.

  Sotek glanced over his good shoulder at the tent and whispered to himself.

  “We spent two hours putting it up, and you fall asleep in front of the fire… Yup he’s right”.

  Sleepily, Aela slightly lifted her head from his chest and questioned him about his comment.

  “Who is?” She shuffled alongside him and rested her head in his lap while at the same time she pulled his tail over her back so it would start to wrap around her waist like a third arm, holding her securely in its grasp.

  He looked down at her and lightly ran the tips of his clawed fingers through her knotted, dirty hair. She didn’t stay clean for long, not out in the wilds. Neither of them did.

  “The Harbinger… You’re a pain in the backside”. The next second he yelled out and his tail recoiled for its own protection as she bit him on the leg. “Aiiieee!!!... You’re one bad dog you know that”. He stated as he slapped her on the backside.

  She gave herself a chuckle and smirked back at him while her hand seductively slid along his leg to rest just short of his groin.

  “And I thought Omega liked it when Red’s a bad girl”.

  Sotek gulped as the atmosphere turned far seedier than what it was moments ago.

  “You know damn well he does”.

  She laughed, having won the whole debate and shifted her head ever so slightly but just enough to aggravate his situation. Where her head lay, she was fully aware of his rapidly growing state of arousal. If he thought she was going to stop then he was in for a shock because she was just getting started.

  “Oh and as for you, mister!! I remember when I told you to come to my room. ‘No Aela, you said we can’t’. But you couldn’t take your eyes off me for a second”.

  Sotek almost yelled back at her defensively but he knew she was right.

  “You were standing there in your loin cloth… topless!!! You must remember that part? After all you were there too, I clearly remember you being there!!! Yes, I admit it!! Red does the same to Omega as well. Now can we please change the subject so I’m not up all night unable to sleep?” He was frustrated and she knew it.

  Aela sat up then rested her hand on his lap and gave ‘Mr. Wolf’ a tight squeeze. As she did so she watched Sotek’s eyes which shut automatically on her touch.

  “Well I’m tired so I’m off to bed. Night, night, see you in the morning”. She reached up and kissed him before disappearing in the tent.

  Sotek opened his eyes and sat there trying to control his own desires. He stared blankly at the fire.

  ‘Oh Hircine!! What a pain in the backside’.