Just as dawn was breaking, the two Companions, Sotek and Aela stirred from their quiet slumber. Aela was the first to sit up. She looked down at Sotek who was lying on his back and elbowed him in the stomach.
“I should have made you sleep in your room last night for squealing on me. My ear still hurts”.
Sotek lurched forwards and groaned from the blow he had just received. He hissed back at her and gave her a shove in her side for good measure.
“Oh poor Aela got told off, boo hoo. Hsss”.
Aela fell sideways but she just managed to grab hold of Sotek’s arm and prevent herself from falling out of the bed. With a screwed up lip she slowly turned to him and promptly stuck her fist against his nose.
“I can hit you again. Go on, hiss”.
Sotek slowly moved his face away from her so he wouldn’t initiate any further acts of violence. With a tender touch, he stroked the she-wolf’s head and lowered her temple down so he could kiss it, thereby dissipating her temper. Now that Aela was calmer and less hostile, Sotek swung his legs off the bed and rose to his feet.
“No. Come on, we got a lot to do today”. Sotek climbed out of the bed and started to get ready, adorning his armor. Aela quickly followed suit and tightened the straps of her Ancient Nordic armor before equipping her quiver which she had filled with iron arrows the night before.
As they made their way along the short corridor which joined the main Undercroft passageway, Aela saw a bowl of fruit and berries on the end table. Sometimes the Whelps would sit there and talk about their training and the Companions on a whole while they waited for her or the two brothers whose rooms were based on the other side of the adjoining short corridor. The conversations were usually about the differences in the way each member of the Inner Circle trained them. Once she came across three of the Whelps discussing her and Sotek’s relationship. A conversation her dagger was quick to bring to a close. As she walked past the bowl, she picked out a Snowberry and popped it in her mouth.
“We are having breakfast first aren’t we? You know I get snappy when I’m hungry”.
Sotek laughed at Aela’s light hearted description of her temper which at times equalled that of a pissed off Daedra Lord.
“Yes, we are all aware of your temper tantrums. You will get breakfast but not straight away”.
She threw a spiteful glare, raising her eye brows at the same time.
“Temper tantrums? I’ll bite your bloody tail off; it won’t be a temper tantrum”.
Sotek sniggered in response although he was sure to keep his tail away from her feet. When they reached the main corridor though, instead of turning right to head towards the stairway, Sotek spun left and approached the Harbinger’s study.
Aela looked on with a mixture of curiosity and wonder as she watched the Argonian walk up to the Harbinger’s room. She expected him to knock on the door as she guessed he had forgot that Kodlak was actually upstairs in the infirmary but her features soon changes to amazement and anger when Sotek brazenly opened the door and went to step inside the study uninvited. She quickly sped up to catch him as she called out in alarm.
“Hey! You can’t go in there”.
She grabbed him by the arm, stopping him proceed any further, at least she had hoped on preventing him. He turned back to her and raised his eyebrows in a sly, sneaky underhanded manner then lightly brushed her hand away and proceeded to head inside the room.
“Of course I can. I’m the Harbinger”.
She spoke with more authority than what she actually felt but his blatant attitude infuriated her. She nearly shouted at him as he turned his back on her.
“I don’t care! Hey! You’re not going in there!”
Sotek pushed the door wide open and crossed the threshold. To Aela’s horror, he then proceeded to head directly to the Harbinger’s bedroom. Once he took a few steps he stopped where he was as if a moment of clarity struck him. Aela smiled to herself, thinking he was just playing her bluff until he walked behind her, peered down the corridor and shut the door, shutting them both in the room.
Moments later he was once again at the bedroom door and began turning the handle. Aela nearly died on the spot when she watched him open the door to the second room. He waved her forwards and entered the bedroom, ignorant to her pleas and cries.
“Get out! What the hell are you doing in here? Sotek, you’re not allowed in here”.
Sotek leaned towards her and lifted the edge of her chin up so he could look right in her eyes. He had a shifty glint about him while his tail snaked along the floor. Acting like a low down dirty scoundrel, Sotek smirked back at her and pointed to the door.
“Technically sweetheart, I’ve got more right to be here than you have as I’m Harbinger and you’re not. Anyway, if I’m not supposed to be in here then why are you following me?”
Aela nervously watched the door, fully expecting Kodlak to open it within the next second.
“Like I told them yesterday, I have a bad influence in my life. If they don’t get rid of you then I can’t be to blame can I”.
Sotek ginned back, adding to her maddening expression before he began systematically snooping around the bedroom. He opened the wardrobe where he found various robes and pieces of clothing all of which were hung on rails before he turned his attention towards the bed itself. Leaning on it, he lifted up the furs which draped on the floor and peered under the bed.
Aela’s face cringed as her ears twitched to the dreadful sound of a wooden chest being dragged across the floor. Sotek pulled the box from under the bed and sat it in the middle of the straw mattress.
“Lucky little hatchling... look what I found!” He sat the old wooden chest on the bed then proceeded to examine the lock.
Aela covered her mouth with her hands to stifle a scream. She whispered back at him through clenched fingers lest any word would yell out alerting the others and bringing hell down upon them.
“Put that back! What the hell is wrong with you today? Leave it alone, please! Put it back; now!” Aela was beyond worried and well outside her comfort zone. She had before sneaked into the Harbinger’s quarters much to his displeasure but then she would just gather a few furs and sleep in the corner of his study. The last time she had done it was when her father left Jorrvaskr and headed off to Solstheim; leaving her behind to fend for herself.
Sotek began examining the lock to the box, causing Aela to nearly shriek in shock. She dreaded to think what would happen if they got caught; let alone going through boxes and chests. In desperation, she started undoing the straps to her armor, trying to draw Sotek away with her feminine ‘charms’ and wild beauty.
“What the hell! No, please don’t do it! Come with me, come back to bed; I need some attention! Sotek? Are you listening to me? Please come back to bed with me. You can do what you like with me just put it back... come on, come and get some tail”. Aela was desperate to get him to leave the chest alone, all she could think of was him getting thrown out from Jorrvaskr and arrested for theft by the guards. She couldn’t get the vision of the Jarl finding out he was a werewolf once he was in the cells. She grabbed his hand and tried to forcefully pull him away.
Sotek paused and watched her as she rubbed her hip against his groin. He seemed to teeter on the edge of withdrawing and for one split second Aela thought he would follow the temptress back to her room until he shook his head and refused to buckle.
“No, I want to see what’s inside it. Besides; I can have your tail later. Now, shush”. Sotek motioned her to be quiet then he pulled out a lock pick.
Her mouth fell wide open as she gawped back at him in complete disbelief at his response. With an infuriated snarl, she punched him in the arm, temporarily distracting him from the task at hand.
“My ass is off limits forever to you, you bastard. Get out, now! I’ll scream and wake everyone up”.
Sotek tutted at the empty threat and proceeded to examine the box once more. He relayed a simple fact which showed Aela just how useless her intimidation tactic was.
“Yes, and we’ll both get caught, so no you won’t. Besides you’re not the screaming type. Howling maybe but no, you won’t scream”.
She savagely pulled him around so he faced her, but whereas he expected her to land a second blow, she caught him off guard and kissed him instead. She pulled his hand under her chest armor and cupped his fingers around her left breast, squeezing his hand around it.
“Take me to bed, I promise I’ll do whatever you want. Let’s go to bed; I’ll stay the whole day with you there. I will, I’ll be your whore for the whole day. Just leave the box alone and take me to bed”. Aela could hear the other Companions starting to move about in their rooms. Her senses were razor sharp and the fear in her gut was rising fast.
With a loud gulp, Sotek withdrew his hand and held out the lockpick then began to probe the lock in an attempt to open it so he could get inside the box; however his mind had now turned towards Aela’s body just as much as his desire to get inside the chest.
“Damn you Aela”. He cursed in a hushed whisper as he screwed his lip up. “I’m shaking too much now you got me thinking of bloody sex. Damn your tail. Nope, it’s no good. I’ll have to break it open”.
Aela couldn’t believe what she just heard. She yanked his hand away from the box and stared back at him like he was frothing at the mouth.
“Are you bloody insane? You can’t break it open you moron; get the fuck out of here!”
Sotek flicked his wrist around, easily freeing it from Aela’s grasp and slid the chest towards him. He unexpectedly picked it up and raised it above his head, lifting it beyond Aela’s reach.
“Quiet, I’m going to smash the box”.
Aela gave out a shrilling cry and jumped up on the bed so she could rescue the chest. Snatching it out of his hands, she kneed him in the chest, forcing him to back away.
“I hate you so much right now. I’ll open it, ok! I’m never forgiving you for this!”
Sotek folded his arms across his chest and smiled evilly back at her.
“So why open it then?”
Aela sneered back her reply which was laced with betrayal and hatred.
“So we don’t get caught. I hate you; damn you for making me do this!”
Aela turned the chest around and snatched the lockpick from the bed. Every sense was telling her this was wrong but she just couldn’t let him break it. Fighting back a saddening tear, she proceeded to manipulate the tumblers.
Within seconds the lock clicked and popped open. Sotek pulled at one corner of the chest, turning it around so he could lift up the lid. When he peered inside he gave a short gasp of surprise. To the two Companion’s amazement, the box contained several large bags brim full of golden septims.
Sotek weighed one of the cloth bags in his hands. With his eyes full of wonder, he offered it to Aela.
“There must be a good few thousand here. Feel the weight of this, there’s about a thousand gold in each bag”.
Without thinking, Aela accepted the bag and held it in her hands and mentally tried to work out how much gold the bag actually held. Looking up at Sotek, she whispered back.
“Bloody hell, there must be”. In a moment of clarity, she put it back in the box and went to close the lid but to her utmost horror, Sotek picked up two such bags and stuffed them in his shirt.
Aela gasped for breath while her heart hammered in her chest. Initially she was lost for words and all she could muster was a stutter.
“So... Sot... Sotek!”
She darted forwards and tried to grab him but he lent backwards, causing her to miss and fall on the bed. She looked up at him where she lay and pleaded with him.
“What the hell are you doing? Put them back, right now! Stop bloody playing you stupid fucking bastard!”
Sotek blankly looked at her and shrugged his shoulders. His entire demeanour made him seem so ignorant of his crimes. With a ‘so what attitude’, he whispered back at Aela.
“What?”
“Don’t you what me you stupid fucking moron! Stop playing games and put them back!” Aela nearly screamed at him, she was furious and he didn’t seem to care one little bit.
Sotek had an answer to Aela’s dilemma. He brushed off her reluctance on the grounds that she was being left out of their ‘bounty’.
“Oh you’re just being like that because you haven’t got any for yourself. Here, take these”. His remedy was simple; Sotek threw over to her three bags of gold. Her arms shot out in reflex and caught the bags which were now held tightly pressed against her chest.
Aela was terrified. This was completely out of her experience. She tried to put them back but Sotek thrust two more bags of gold into her arms.
He then surprised her totally by talking loudly at her while at the same time he sounded angry.
“Aela! Put them back right this instant”. He stood up and shot a glance over his shoulder.
Aela growled in anger and was about to swear at him when she saw a glimpse of something behind him. She risked a quick peek around his torso and saw Tilma with her arms folded across her chest. All Aela’s fears were realised when she saw Tilma staring straight back at her.
Sotek’s hands were empty but Aela could see the two bulges in his shirt. She however still held on to the bags of gold in her arms. She threw the bags on the bed and screamed.
Comments
He's gonna need them to climb out of that hole he just dug, haha
Haha maybe
Makes me laugh every time this one.