U.O.T.W. Chapter 130 Tears Of Guilt

• Posted by Sotek May 7, 2016 - Filed in TSC: CB Story - 1,295 views

   

  

   

  It was late evening by the time the two Companions walked into the hall of Jorrvaskr. Aela’s first task was to quietly reassure the Harbinger and Tilma that they were ok but she made it clear that she needed a word with the other members of the Inner Circle before everyone retired for the night.

  Sotek spent his time on the step listening to the other Companions and Whelps as they all told their tales of adventure and of various incidents during their training sessions. One of the Whelps, the Imperial girl handed him a bowl of sliced meat and two apples but the bowl ended up being abandoned on the step untouched.

  Aela sat at the table and just picked at a light meal. In reality she picked apart her food, leaving the pieces on the plate while she hardly ate anything. Slowly she counted the seconds by while Sotek sat in silence and watched her. Every so often they would make eye contact but neither one had any idea what to say, let alone what they were going to tell everyone else.

  Once all the stories were told and the meal drew to a close, the Harbinger asked for the Inner Circle to have the hall. The Whelps instantly obeyed and headed outside where they quickly gathered in the Bannered Mare for the rest of the evening, leaving the Harbinger, Tilma, Farkas, and Vilkas, with Sotek and Aela.

  Aela drew a deep breath then moved across the hall to Sotek and sat between his knees on the lower step. She closed her eyes and leaned back into him. When she felt his arms move around her in a loving hold she seemed to relax. Her head fell to the side against his chest and she almost forgot what they were supposed to be doing.

  She pulled herself up a bit and faced the Harbinger but every word seemed lost to her. All she could do was stare blankly around the hall at all the expectant faces.

  Sotek’s hands moved to Aela’s waist and pulled her right back tight against him. His whole demeanour seemed to swallow her up. Despite the fact that she was sitting in front of him, he was the shield.

  Sotek watched the faces of everyone looking back at them before he turned to the Harbinger and spoke in a clear assertive voice. Regardless as to how he seemed, Aela could feel his hands tremble despite his attempts to suppress all of the emotions.

  “I don’t know if the Harbinger told you all about where Aela and I went last night in the early hours so I will tell you all now. The reason I was so itchy and irritable is because there was a Bloodmoon last night. It must have triggered my wolf spirit and aggravated it. Last night Aela and I went on a great hunt. Ironically the one we hunted down was Greymane”.

  All the Companions looked on in shock. Even Tilma, who was at that moment clearing off a table, had to sit down where she was. Kodlak took a gullet full of mead to wet his throat before he could even think of a response.

  “What? What happened?”

  Aela looked up and stared straight at him. Her eyes seemed to glass over as she relived the nightmarish battle and of its terrible outcome.

  “We killed the son of a bitch!”

  Tilma breathed a sigh of relief and blurted out a single word which snapped Aela’s attention directly upon her almost as if she had swore at the young Companion.

  “Really?”

  Aela’s intense gaze broke into pieces as her own voice shattered along with her will. Tears started welling up inside which she desperately tried to fight off.

  “No..... We couldn’t... He was too strong, too... Omega, Sotek. He... He killed Omega. He smashed him to a bloody pulp... Tilma!!”

  Tilma moved towards her and knelt by her side. Aela shot forwards and wrapped her arms around the old maid as tears poured from her face. Tilma tucked Aela’s arms into her and held her tightly. She could feel Aela’s whole body shake as the girl tried to fight off all the emotions and the vivid images of the one sided battle; of Omega’s death.

  “Hush, hush... come over here, with me and Kodlak. Look! Your paint marks have run all over your face”.

  Aela chuckled despite her present upset state. She knew Tilma as lying as the marks had long since washed off from earlier in the day.

  “I’m... I’m ok. I’m ok, honest”. She half turned over her shoulder and asked Sotek if he could carry on. He held her shoulder tightly and nodded back at her.

  “What Aela said is true. Aela, Red, Omega and myself. He beat the crap out of us. We couldn’t touch him. Red, he swatted her aside like she was a cub. One blow and she was down. I’ve seen her destroy sabre cats with ease. He... Harbinger, he killed me!! I was in my werewolf form, Omega. He slammed me... Omega into the rock face. Aela screamed, at least I think she did; I don’t know. He kept hitting Omega; he just rained down blow after blow after blow. I was there, in my wolf spirit form. Aela, she was... Omega, there was nothing left of him, he was nothing but a bloodied fur”.

  Kodlak, Farkas and even Vilkas all sat there staring back at one another. They all knew Sotek wasn’t one to tell tales of fantasy yet they found his words hard to believe. Kodlak put it down to some sort of shock and he was quick to express his views.

  “You’ve had a scare, you both have”.

  Sotek rested his elbows on his knees and cupped his hands together so he could rest his chin on them. He stared long into the fire and played through the events as he tried to make sense of it all.

  “I was dead. I was standing as a wolf spirit staring back at Aela. I was standing next to Hircine for crying out loud”.

  Kodlak raised an eyebrow and slowly nodded to himself. He watched Sotek’s reaction as he asked a question.

  “Then how come you are not dead?”

  All Sotek could do was shrug his shoulders and gaze into the fire. The fact was he had no idea what so ever. Everything from that point was a blur, misty images which meant little. The next thing he could clearly remember was having to put his back to the sun when they stepped outside the cave.

  “Omega’s gone, he’s gone for good. He gone and he isn’t coming back. Don’t ask me about the how’s and why’s, I don’t know!”

  Vilkas looked a bit shocked and gutted. They could all see Sotek was being genuine with his answers but what he said just didn’t make any sense.

  “What? How? Are you still a werewolf?”

  Surprisingly Sotek laughed. He eagerly nodded while he explained about his ‘new’ werewolf form.

  “Oh yes. Omega was just a temporary form. The reason my transformations hurt so much was because I was forced into the ‘Omega’ form. Omega wasn’t my werewolf form; he was just a shape I had to take. I’ve been given my actual werewolf form but I can’t show you all until tomorrow as I used it today already. It was he who managed to kill Greymane... Sorry, defeat Greymane”.

  The Harbinger turned to Aela and quietly examined her. She seemed somewhat shaken but in her eyes was the sparkle of resolve and spirit that the Harbinger was used to seeing. She had a hard time, that was clear but at least she started fighting back just like she always did.

  “So Sotek has a new werewolf form? How does Red feel about this? Omega’s loss? Before you answer that, bear in mind I’m fully aware they used to hunt together, despite my warnings to the contrary”.

  Aela’s eyes closed tightly and her stomach felt like it was tied up in knots. If she could have, she would have screamed. She drew a deep breath then fixed her gaze upon Kodlak.

  “Please Harbinger, not today”.

  Kodlak held his index finger up to her, silencing the young Companion.

  “Aela, I'm not saying it to have a go at you. I’m saying it because I know Red was close to Omega and if he is truly gone then Red will feel his loss. As Harbinger my duty is to the welfare of all the Companions and Whelps. Whether I agree to your beliefs in Hircine or not, I include Red and Omega in that duty. It’s a shame Omega’s ‘dead’ but I still have to think of Red. Now, tell me! Red, how is she? Hmm?”

  Aela lowered her head shamefully. She knew she was quick to judge and what the Harbinger said had struck her to be true. She looked up to see him smiling; she couldn’t help but smile back despite how she felt.

  “She’s hurting. She tried to help him, she really did but all she could do was watch as that bastard took him away from her. That bastard, he tore Omega to pieces and all she could do, all I could do was watch…”

  Sotek rested his hand on her shoulder and tried to reassure her but he forgot the golden rule of Aela and tears. She didn’t cry often and it wouldn’t be for long. When she stopped crying, you stayed away. Aela had enough with tears, now it was time to stand up, now it was time her emotions remembered their place. As she felt Sotek’s hand touch her, she turned to him and pulled his hand off her shoulder. Instead of just casting it away though, she held on to it.

  “I’m ok. I need to do this, tell everyone how Red’s feeling. Harbinger, she’s hurting. They were... close. Sotek, I’m sorry but just because Red and Omega did.... went hunting together doesn’t mean she will with... ermm.....”

  Sotek shuffled closer and pulled her into him. As he held her, he whispered in her ear so only the two of them could hear what he had to say.

  “I know; we both do; just don’t shut either of us out. If you want him there with Red then he’ll be there for her. She’s not alone”.

  All Aela could think about was Red’s involvement with Omega and the guilt when she stood next to Scarface. Sotek never acted as if he was aware of any of it but she saw the guilt she felt reflected in Sotek’s eyes. She pushed Scarface out of her mind and concentrated on Red and Omega. Red was hurting, she needed some form of closure. Red needed to say goodbye and know Omega wasn’t going to disappear into nothingness, be lost to the void.

  Aela pulled herself up, wiped her face on the sleeve of her arm, much to Tilma’s annoyance, and addressed everyone in the hall.

  “Harbinger, fellow members of the Inner Circle, I have a ermm request I would like to make. I want to give... I need to give Omega a funeral; on the Skyforge. Omega saved my life, even though he wasn’t an actual person, form, whatever! I don’t care; he fought for me and he died trying to save me. I’ll be damned if I let him fade into Oblivion!”

  She examined the faces of every Companion around the hall but all she saw were blank vacant expressions. She felt it was as if they didn’t understand her needs. She felt an anger inside, one which was mixed with the fear that Red would hate her if she let Omega pass. She would hate herself just as much. She rose to her feet, leaving Sotek sitting on the floor and hollered out.

  “Oh to hell with you all; I’ll do it myself.....”

  Kodlak stood up and signalled to everyone to do the same. Every member of the Inner Circle stood to attention as Kodlak, their Harbinger spoke.

  “We can’t tell the Whelps we’re having a funeral for a fallen werewolf; for Omega. We’ll say it’s a tradition to honour all the past Companions. They will accept that quick enough”.

  The Harbinger looked at Aela’s face; he could see she needed some closure. It was up to him as her Harbinger to see that she got it.

  “We will arrange it for tomorrow evening. Although I’ve no clue as to what we can use to represent him; has anyone any ideas?”

  Aela drew her bow and held onto it tightly. Her snarl left everyone under no illusion that she meant every word of her threat.

  “One of you says ‘troll’ and I swear we’ll use your bloody corpse”.

  Sotek grabbed her arm and pulled her back down to the steps so she couldn’t carry out her threat. He sat alongside her but he made a point of holding onto her arm.

  “Why don’t we just use a dead wolf from the plains? We can... we can tell the whelps it represents the Companions! The members of our pack and the traits we all depend upon; ferocity, brave, resourcefulness and cunning. You know? All the traits we use to fight and survive”.

  Aela was taken aback with Sotek’s suggestion. She couldn’t think of anything which she would rather use to represent Omega.

  “Oh by Hircine Sotek; that’s perfect. I’ll go hunting tomorrow morning and get one”.

  Sotek blushed slightly and his tail curled around between his feet when Aela kissed him noisily on the cheek. He held her hand, gently squeezing it while he enquired about her hunting trip.

  “Do you want me to help?”

  Aela shook her head dismissively. This was something she needed to do alone and she knew Red needed it just as much. Her emotions and Red’s were all over the place. Both felt confused with Scarface and Omega. She couldn’t help but feel regret and remorse for the feelings they both had with Scarface. Betrayal hung heavily in their hearts despite Scarface ending up as Sotek.

  “No, it’s something I want to do by myself. Is that ok?”

  Sotek gave her a slight hug, reassuring her.

  “Of course it is. Head out tomorrow and take all the time you need”.

  Farkas piped up his suggestion despite Aela’s earlier threat of violence.

  “Try to find a short ass one that’s white!”

  Aela glared across the hall at him. When she reached for her bow however, Sotek had already moved it to the other side of him leaving her with nothing to lash out with. She gave Sotek a light shove and demanded her bow but he just held it out further away from her.

  “Damn it I got nothing to throw! Teach me to throw fire balls”.

  Sotek chuckled and mercifully shook his head.

  “No, you don’t have any magical ability and even if you did, I wouldn’t teach you”.

  She huffed in response and darted her head around in the search for anything which would serve as ammo.

  “Fine!! Give me something to throw then”.

  Sotek breathed on his palm and clamped his fingers around in a fist, trapping the small amount of air inside it. As a gesture, he offered this to Aela by dropping his ‘breath’ in her hand.

  “Throw that”.

  Aela scrutinized the palm of her hand and her eyelids slowly narrowed. Sotek picked up on her demeanour and slid along the polished wooden step to try and break away from her. Aela was faster though, her fingernails dug into Sotek’s tail, causing it to swish about defensively, forcing Sotek to stop where he was. He turned around to be greeted by a fist which was just a few inches away from his face.

  Aela’s threat was sharp and clear, leaving Sotek with no doubt that she wasn’t amused.

  “Do you want a punch on the nose?”

  He desperately pointed to Farkas in an attempt to divert Aela’s wrath.

  “Go punch him on the nose”.

  She cast a fearful look at Kodlak, knowing full well he was watching her; waiting for her response.

  “No! The Harbinger will tell me off”.

  Sotek felt some confusion in what Aela had said. He saw a flaw in her logic which didn’t make any sense to him.

  “Hang on; if you’re so worried about the Harbinger tell you off for hitting Farkas, then why aren’t you worried about him telling you off for hitting me?”

  Aela smiled cheekily as she egged Kodlak to answer.

  Kodlak grinned mischievously at Sotek, binding him to his fate.

  “I don’t get involved with domestics”.

  Sotek groaned as he looked back at Aela who was broadly grinning at him as she flexed her claw like fingers.

  “Aww crap”.

  Aela heard his pathetic cry and felt a wave of empathy. A much better solution popped in her head.

  “No, I’ll tell you what! I’ll get Sotek’s werewolf form to have a discreet word”.

  Sotek shook his head at the very suggestion which Vilkas was quick to pick up on. Unfortunately for him, he misread the entire situation. He grinned at his brother and pointed to the Argonian.

  “Oh cool! Look Farkas, he’s embarrassed by his form. We’ll have some fun with him tomorrow”.

  Sotek buried his emotions so he wouldn’t give anything away. Almost goadingly her replied.

  “You two just can’t wait to take the micky out of him, can you?”

  They both shook their heads in unison. Farkas was wary of Aela’s emotions over Omega so he picked his words carefully.

  “We are sorry about Omega Aela; but yes, we can’t wait to see Sotek’s werewolf form”.

  Aela saw the sly wink Sotek gave her. She pretended to be angry, closing the trap perfectly.

  “I dare you to take the piss out of him”.

  The fact that they never knew was irrelevant. Both Farkas and Vilkas were well and truly caught in Aela’s and Sotek’s web. Vilkas grinned at his brother as he spoke.

  “Oh don’t worry Aela. We’ll go easy on him; I swear it”.