The early morning mist which crept across the plains from the river had already begun to dissipate when the sun broke over the eastern mountains. Just as Sotek started to stir, the smell of burning venison filled his nostrils, causing him to lightly cough, drawing Aela’s attention away from the campfire. Upon seeing him rouse from his slumber, she called out to him.
“Ah, you’re awake! Come on sleepy head”.
As he tried to sit up, he groaned from the pain in his shoulder. His hand felt numb and tingly where he laid on his bad arm the night before and now he was paying the price.
“Mm that smells nice”. He stated, trying to mask his feelings from Aela. She seemed happy and he didn’t want to dampen her high spirits with his considerably darker mood.
“Eat up then we’ll try to find this bandit lair. If we don’t overload ourselves with gear then we should, Hircine willing, be able to bring back a fair bit of plunder. Make us some gold hmm?” She looked across the plains in anticipation for the thrill of the hunt. Deep inside her core, Aela could feel Red stir, she was just as restless and eager to join in.
The two Companions sat down opposite each other to eat their breakfast. Upon noticing his pack had been moved, Sotek pointed across to it, drawing Aela’s attention away from him.
“I presume you’ve packed?”
Aela chuckled in response.
“Yes, I was up early. All I need you to do is grab my bow. I left it in the tent”. As he had finished eating, he headed back to the tent to gather the remnants of their equipment which they would need for the trip.
Breakfast was over almost as soon as it had begun. Knowing this location was safe from unwanted visitors, and the fact they would be returning later that day, they mutually agreed to leave the campsite set up as they would be needing it that night. The campfire was left smoldering; it was surrounded by boulders, preventing the fire from spreading out.
As Aela had already prepared their equipment, they set off searching for the bandits.
Not long after leaving the camp, Sotek noticed three wolves in the distance. They had been picking at the other wolf carcasses which Red and Omega had killed the night before. He signaled Aela to follow him and they crept closer to their prey.
Aela notched an arrow and had already begun to draw on the bowstring but Sotek shook his head at her, stopping her from carrying out her attack.
“No, wait! See how their closely bunched up?” He stood up and double cast a fireball at the wolf in the centre of the dense pack. His shoulder hurt from the pull of the spell, causing him to grit his teeth and his whole arm ached.
Aela watched the fireball shoot across the ground. She could see there was something different with the fireball, but she didn’t quite know what. The flames seemed to burn intently and radiated far more heat than the destructive spells Sotek had used before.
The writhing ball of red hot plasma struck the wolf, hitting it dead centre and exploded on contact, smothering the area in a massive ball of flames. One wolf was thrown sideways, while the other two were hurled backwards from the blast. Each one was killed instantly from the fiery explosion.
Triumphantly, Sotek smirked directly at Aela and unbecomingly added salt to her wound by gloating at his victory.
“Oh yess!! Three for one, beat that. Who’s the Alpha?”
Aela glared at him and snarled. Pulling out an arrow from her quiver, she shot one of the wolves with all the aggression she could muster.
“It’s still alive!!” She growled before drawing another arrow and launching it towards a second wolf’s body which lay further ahead. “And that one too!!”
Now Sotek glared back and openly argued with the temperamental she-wolf of Jorrvaskr.
“No they weren’t… they were dead”.
She shook her head, dismissing his ‘opinion’ as one of a ludicrous fantasy.
“Don’t be so bloody stupid!! They weren’t but they are now… So you only got one”.
Sotek playfully poked her in the chest and kept up the pressure in an attempt to force her to back down.
“I got the three, they were dead. Hssss”.
Aela flicked him on the nose then rested her hands on her waist and stuck her hip out, tantalizingly.
“Prove it… Oh you can’t!!! So you only got one”. She rubbed her hip against his groin and laughed at his reaction to her advances.
He shook his head at her then gave up the fight. Knowing he wouldn’t win as Aela had started using his attraction and needs against him, he changed tact.
“Ok, you got two. Well done… As you killed them you can skin them, get on with it”. It was now his turn to smirk.
Aela’s whole demeanor changed in an instant. Her eyes popped wide open and she blankly stared at the corpse by her feet. Realising she had been outsmarted, she called out to him but it was too late.
“No… hang on! Wait a minute!!!”
Sotek ignored her and started to slowly walk off, laughing to himself. Leaving her behind, he climbed a small hill on the outskirts of the plains where he could see the bandits’ camp. It consisted of a basic wooden fort built around the entrance of an old mine. It was partially hidden from view due to being tucked in a natural dip in the rolling hillside.
Although the mine was in an ideal position, the defenses were minimalistic and didn’t give Sotek any undue worries or concerns.
He positioned himself where he was hidden from the bandits view while he could study the layout of the camp. Aela, who was further back, had finished off the skinning and only now began to approach him. Upon hearing her footsteps, he signaled a warning to her. She crouched down and silently moved in on his position.
Aela lifted her head up and sniffed at the wind a few times, giving herself an opportunity to pick out the scents of any bandits in the area.
“There’s a good few of them. We’ll take these morons out then let Red and Omega have some fun inside. Damn I’m hungry”.
Sotek mockingly tutted at her.
“You just had breakfast! How can you be hungry?”
Aela frowned slightly, then looked at him straight in the eyes.
“I wouldn’t be if you cooked it… But no, you left it to me to do. I’ll be honest; I threw mine on the fire when I sent you to retrieve my bow. It was awful”
Sotek held her in his good arm then nodded.
“Left you to do it? I was asleep… I threw mine on as well, when your back was turned. You do realize some innocent deer died so you could desecrate the poor bastard’s body?”
She gave him her usual cold hard stare, and fought the urge to slap him.
“Oh shut up. Haven’t you got bandits to kill?”
Sotek slinked off towards the main gate while Aela picked out her first target. She then waited with the patience of a huntress as she watched her mate with a curious fascination. He cast the blue hue portal, opening the doorway so his familiar could join him then he drew his axe before signaling to Aela, telling her to start the attack. She shot an arrow to the far left side, where a bandit was on lookout. Seconds after an arrow was released, he collapsed as he burst into flames.
The burning body hit the ground below the tower where the man was stationed, disturbing the whole camp. Various cries and warnings were yelled out while a few of the rouges tried to restore order.
Two of the bandits came running out of the gate in a brave but foolhardy move to reach Aela. In a near perfect ambush, Sotek and his familiar attacked them the moment they were clear of the main defenses.
A roar of flames shot out from Sotek’s left hand, smothering the first bandit. He cried out in terror as Sotek’s axe swooshed down at the side of his neck, spraying out blood. The bandit, still covered in flames fell to the side and was killed in seconds.
The other bandit, who was fighting Sotek’s familiar, fell to his knees, dropping his sword by his side as blood gushed from his arm. Sotek ignored him and simply walked past and entered the camp. He looked over his shoulder at the bandit who stared back helplessly.
The familiar rejoined the alpha of his pack, and stood by Sotek’s side like a faithful hound. Sotek patted him on the head then whispered a single command.
“Kill”
With a loud howl the familiar resumed his attack and pounced at the bandit’s throat. Gripping it’s fangs around the rouges neck, the familiar flailed his head side to side while the man’s hands desperately tried to hold him off. Blood spread out in a rapidly growing pool marking the bandit’s rapid demise.
Meanwhile, two bandits broke cover of the mine entrance and foolishly tried to sprint across the open ground in an attempt to reach the only attacker they could see, Sotek. Upon seeing them, Aela fired off two arrows, one after the other. Both missiles struck down their perspective targets with ease, throwing the rouges backwards from the force of the impact.
Aela shifted position and joined Sotek and the familiar, confirming what Sotek had already knew. The two Companions had secured the camp.
The pair of them split up and started to loot the bodies, collecting any armor and weapons along with anything else they could sell for a good profit while the familiar prowled around the entrance should anyone else unwittingly decide to poke their heads out and see what was going on.
Aela found a small chest and knelt beside it. When she lock picked it, she managed to secure a bag of gold for her troubles and added it to the pile of loot they gathered. Once they were ready, they left all the gear they collected behind and Aela started to head inside the mine. Sotek just stood there staring at the dead bodies.
“You know, it does seem a waste leaving them like that”, he stated.
Aela turned back to him and coyly replied.
“What happened to ‘You just had breakfast’?”
Sotek laughed and kicked a leg of one of the bandits.
“I’ve worked up an appetite”. Without waiting for any response, he began his transformation but as usual he dropped to the floor in agony while his body went through the slow painful transition from Argonian to werewolf.
Aela held onto him, trying to give him support. She pulled his head on her lap just like before but as he changed, Omega’s weight increased crushing her legs. Yelling out, Aela shoved his head to the side and cursed loudly. Omega reacted to the unprovoked attack by throwing himself on all fours and growling at her due to his senses still being messed up and feeling confused.
When the pain ceased, so too did the fogginess. With each passing second he became more and more aware of his surroundings. Now he was feeling far more balanced, Omega pulled himself up on his hind legs and stretched upwards as far as he could. A long drawn out howl cried out, scattering deer and rabbits. Above the camp, in the tips of the treetops, a lone hawk took to wing and soared in a large circle, waiting on the airstreams for the blood and carnage to lay still so it could partake in the remains.
Within seconds he was feasting on a corpse while his two ever watchful eyes set upon Aela. She slowly shook her head as she approached him, reprimanding them both for their equally rash tempers.
“Tsk, tsk. That wasn’t nice of you, or me. I’m sorry but you’re heavy, you know?”
He stopped eating and lifted his head up to listen to his mistress. Blood oozed between his teeth and dripped on the floor as his ears homed in on her voice. Aela caught a few red drops in her palm while she ruffled the side of his head with her other hand. She licked the blood off her fingers, but it only took a single taste of the life giving liquid to light a fire inside her. A raging heat in her core.
“Yea… to hell with it!”
She dropped down to her hands and feet and her head lifted upwards and howled out in a bloody frenzy. Red fur smothered her skin as her body shifted its weight and shape from a young Nordic woman to a female werewolf. Even before the transformation was fully completed, Red tore into one of the bodies, joining Omega in the feast until each corpse was defiled.
Red sniffed at the ground a few times as if she was tracking something, then her attention shifted to the mine ahead. Pushing the door aside with her shoulder, she disappeared into the darkness with her mate, Omega following behind.
Due to the low ceiling, Red was forced to drop down to all four paws and Omega quickly followed suit. Red was just in front of him, her musky scent seemed to entice his senses. He tried to fight it, there were bandits here, he could smell them yet all he seemed to want to smell was the scent of his mate. Blocking out such raw desires and needs became impossible, bandit or no bandits; he had a hunger for something else.
The first Red knew of his amorous advancements was when she felt a paw grip hold of her right hip. The claws dug in slightly tightening his hold and fortifying his control over her.
Red stopped in her tracks. She felt somewhat confused and yet curious at the same time. She glanced over her shoulder at him and felt a second paw grip her other hip tightly. Half of her wanted to succumb to his will, his attempt dominating Red did excite her, however there were protocols between them regarding Red being submissive.
Protocols which were being ignored…..
Red threw herself to her side slamming his hind leg and hip into the tunnel’s wall. He fell on his side, groggy and stunned from where his head bashed into the low ceiling. Before he could turn around, he felt the hot breath of Red breathing over him. He looked up to see fangs brandished in a threatening display of dominance, her dominance.
Omega picked himself up from the rock bedded floor and shook his head vigorously to snap himself out of his groggy state. Red stood in front of him defiantly and refused to move aside. He pushed her hind leg out of his way then proceeded to head down the tunnel as if that was his attention all along. A clawed paw lightly dug into his lower back. He lowered his head in defeat of the inevitable; Red was far from done and wanted a fight.
He turned around to face her but instead of her carrying on with the argument relating to his ‘act of indiscretion’, she shoulder barged him out of her way, effectively taking point once more.
Ahead of them, in a wider section of the burrow, Red picked out the trace movements of someone lurking about. The werewolf softly growled in anticipation of fresh meat, killed by her own claws and fangs instead of the Huntress. She didn’t mind Aela laying out a free meal but the sensation of a prey’s life force being torn from a body as she clawed it to shreds was deeply satisfying, as was the blood and gore.
The beast moved silently, one paw at a time, through the shadows where the torches light had failed to penetrate. The darkness willingly allowed her to creep closer to her unsuspecting prey, a bandit lazily patrolling the area.
From the darkest corners of the tunnel, a red haired monstrosity came leaping out brandishing fangs dripping with saliva. Her claws lashed out at the air itself as if it was a barrier blocking her way, one she had to tear through. Tore she did, with a vengeance.
The bandit gave out a silent scream, hardly a whimper as the terror wrenched his voice away. Red’s front paws lunged outwards and grabbed his shoulders, pushing him backwards with all her weight behind her. Fangs tore into his neck as razor sharp claws flailed wildly across his chest, tearing into him with ease. All this time Red’s rear paws franticly clawed their way through the bandit’s greaves, shredding his legs to the bone, then to the flesh beyond them.
Three shouts came from within the tunnel, drawing Red’s attention away from her meal. Omega ran past her, a flurry of white limbs charging down the contrasting tunnel of darkness and shadows. He launched himself at the closest bandit with no concern over his own well being. He was smaller than Red, weaker than Red but the drive to kill and feast lay beyond Red’s reach, he had a hunger even Hircine’s own blood hunts couldn’t satisfy.
He slashed out with both paws, hitting the Nord full in the chest, sending him to the ground. Omega instantly ripped open his chest then fed as Red ran past him into another Bandit.
The Bandit leader came around the corner wielding a two-handed silver broadsword and slashed at Red. It bit into her side causing her to howl out in pain. Upon hearing his mate’s cries, Omega abandoned the corpse and followed the sounds of battle. He ran straight towards Red’s tail and leaped on her back and used her as a platform to launch himself as a self appointed missile of claws, fangs and fur. He twisted sideways and slammed into the leader, sending him sprawling into the cave wall.
Red fell back and started to feed on a corpse to try to counter the wound while Omega and the leader faced each other. Before either of them could land a blow upon the other, Red rejoined the fray. Omega couldn’t help but notice her wound was healing fast but hadn’t healed completely.
Red took control of the situation and growled at her mate, her plan was simple. Both of them leaped at the leader simultaneously, Omega tore into his main sword arm while Red went straight for his throat, tearing out flesh as her fangs bit deeply into his neck, bursting blood vessels and spilling the life from her victim.
Seconds afterwards and with no hesitation, Red fed on the corpse. Omega stood back as he watched Red’s previous wound heal over as she fed. She only left the mangled body when she had her fill.
Within moments, Aela changed back. She stumbled sideways and grabbed hold of the wall, cutting her hand on the sharp edges of rock. Slumping on the ground, she leant against the side of the passageway and used it to prop herself up. Her hands held her side tightly, traces of blood seeped from her palm and trickled down her stomach leaving a tell tale stream of red where it followed the contours of her body. Except for her palm though, there was no sign of any wound.
Omega slowly moved towards her, staring at her waist. Although the air was thick with the stink of prey, the smell of her blood was sweet to his senses. Sweet, yet disturbing all the same. Sotek changed form and fell to the floor in agony. This time however, no mate came to his aid and held him lovingly; he was left to face the agony alone. No feint gentle touch wiped his brow, instead, he screamed…..
Once again the process took a whole ten seconds for him to transform. When it was over, Sotek slowly opened his eyes which were initially misty but it soon passed. He tiled his head to the side and saw Aela crouched over where she had tried to reach him but her own pains had held her back just as effectively as chains made of iron. Pulling himself up, he moved towards her and pulled her close.
“What the hell you looking at?” Aela snapped while she melted in his arms like jelly. She was weak, her arms lacked strength and her head flopped to the side at least it would have had Sotek not held her so tightly.
With growing concern, he wiped her hair away from her face and brushed it behind her ears with his clawed fingers.
“Ermm you got hit….. Are you ok?”
“Do I look ok?” Aela half shouted at him. As she did though, she lifted her head up but it was too heavy for her and it banged against his chest.
“Yes, you look fine….. Fine enough to curse at me. That’s something I suppose”. He helped her to her feet and slowly helped her to an old seat which probably belonged to the miners who had long since abandoned the mine.
Aela cursed out once more, although this time it was directed to herself and her she-wolf counterpart.
“Damn that bloody hurt. Red you stupid cow… I’m ok, it’s… There’s something we neglected to tell you… Silver”. As she spoke she pointed to the two-handed silver sword that the leader struck her with. “Weapons made from silver hurts us far more than other weapons. For me it’s a problem, as Vilkas puts it I’m more wolf than girl. The silver affects me far greater than them; it just knocks more out of me. You’re getting tuned with your wolf; you need to be aware… Silver weapons will have the same effect on you. The more you or rather Omega feeds, then the more in tune you will get”.
She gave him a hug then apologized for her actions.
“I’m sorry I snapped at you, even though I changed back it still hurt… I’m alright, honestly”. She gave him a slight smile then stood up. She just stayed there for a few seconds then after she decided she was ok, she looted the bandit leader, although she deliberately left the sword behind. “Hircine will be pleased with you. Omega hunts and fights well. I was worried about him”.
He held her tight in his arms and turned his back on the deeper unexplored section of the mine.
“To be honest, I’m more worried about you. Come on, enough fun for one day; let’s get back to our home”.
She chuckled at the thought of returning to their camp instead of walking through Whiterun and sitting on their step in the familiar hall of Jorrvaskr.
“Oh, you mean our tent? It’s a cool tent but it isn’t my home”.
Sotek weakly smiled and jestingly corrected her.
“I’m afraid it is for the moment”.
Aela looked down at the floor and groaned.
“Oh yea… because of the damage you did we got kicked out!!”
He just shook his head and lightly slapped her on the back of her head.
“The damage I caused… Bitch!!” Aela’s reply was a weak sarcastic laugh.
Once they loaded up the loot from outside, they headed off back towards the camp. On their way across the tundra, Sotek thought about what she said about Vilkas.
“Thinking about it though, is it true?”
Aela stopped and looked somewhat confused.
“Is what true? Silver weapons?”
Sotek slyly smiled at her and shook his head mischievously.
“No. What Vilkas said about you being more wolf than girl?”
Aela looked at him to see if he was being serious, but he had a big grin on his face. He knew she had taken the bait when she lurched forwards and threw a fist at him.
“No I’m bloody not, I’ll bloody…”
He just laughed as his chest absorbed the impact.
“You’re going to what? Bite him on the backside?”
She pushed him in front and ordered him to move. Once he started walking again, she followed suit although her pacing was somewhat slower. After he had taken a few steps, he received a shove in the back.
“I’ll bite you on the backside you bastard”.
He just laughed at her and waved his finger in front of her face.
“Now, now! You be a nice little wolf girl and behave else you won’t get a bone for supper”.
She snapped her teeth at him, nearly catching his finger in her maw.
“Wolf girl?” She grabbed one of her arrows and yanked it out of her quiver. A second later she stabbed him in the leg with it.
“Oww, what the hell!!” He turned around to face her but instead he found the arrow head an inch from the tip of his nose.
She lightly jabbed him on the snout with it.
“Call me that again, go on I dare you”.
He gently placed a finger on the end of the arrow and slowly pointed it away from his face.
“Ermm hi Aela, how’s it going?”
She just pointed to the tent in the distance, as she started tapping her foot while giving him her usual glare. Sotek decided it was far safer to remain silent, so he went off in front without saying anything else to antagonize her. Every so often he turned around a bit to check she wasn’t directly behind him while his tail flailed about nervously with every step he took.
Comments
It was just a scratch... Wuss
Thanks for pointing that out NoOne fixed it.
... then he drew his Axe before signaling to Aela, telling her to start the attack.