U.O.T.W. Chapter 110 Fus Ro Arrghh!!!

• Posted by Sotek March 12, 2016 - Filed in TSC: CB Story - 1,183 views

  Aela gradually woke from a deep sleep. Once she lifted her head up from the rolled up fur which she used as a pillow, she had a look around the camp. Sotek was still asleep beside her. She had gotten used to his breathing by now so she could tell if he was properly asleep or just lying there with his eyes closed. She initially thought he did it to catch her out but over time she noticed he would sometimes lay there with his eyes shut, placing all the different sounds from around his current environment. There were a few times when he would close his eyes whilst they sat on their step in the hall of Jorrvaskr, especially if someone was telling a story. Except then of course his head would lift up, like he was meditating on every word, his mind forming pictures around the story, almost like he could see what they were describing as if he was actually there.

  But no, he was dead to the world. She listened to his heart’s gentle rhythmic beat as she counted the seconds away. Dawn was just breaking and so with it grew Aela’s plot for revenge.

  She gently moved his arm from around her then crept into the tent. Farkas was the closest to the entrance so she moved towards him first. Her hand tightly covered his mouth so he couldn’t call out or inadvertently alert Sotek. His eyes shot wide open to see Aela crouched over him. He started to murmur and tried to pull her hand away but she held her finger to her lips, making him be quiet before she even considered moving back to allow him to get up.

  She only offered Farkas one simple explanation. She pointed towards Sotek lying on the two bedrolls near the fire. It didn’t matter to her whether one explanation was enough, one was all Farkas was going to get.

  Not being satisfied with having only Farkas as an unwilling ally, Aela proceeded to rouse Vilkas. He woke up as Farkas had done, to the sight of Aela leaning over him and her hand stifling any sound he might make. The moment his eyes laid upon Sotek, he groaned. A sick feeling grew deep within his gut.

  Aela saw his expression and lightly slapped his arm. Before he could even consider retaliating, Aela threw him a glare then outlined her plan of revenge.

  “Right! We go quietly outside, grab him then throw him in the stream. Perfect payback for the mud pits, don’t you think? Shut up!! I’ll get the bastard yet”. Aela was blindsided by her intent for revenge, she took point and boldly headed outside.

  A few minutes earlier, Sotek awoke from his slumber. He was fascinated with Aela’s actions and watched with great interest as she quietly woke up Farkas. With his suspicions running to the fore, Sotek sneaked away from his bed roll after quietly filling it with a few furs and made his way to the side of the tents entrance so he was out of sight. He watched Aela and the other two Companions creep outside and deftly make their way to his bedroll. Only when Aela had moved close to it did she realise he wasn’t there.

  She instantly felt sick in her stomach, but she was way too late to react. They all were.

  Sotek stepped behind them and drew a deep breath. With all the force he could muster, he shouted.

  “FUS RO!!!”

  The force shout sounded like a thunder clap, almost shattering the air as the wave of energy sent the three Nords sliding across the ground. They were hurled into the nearby stream with a large ‘splash’ signifying Sotek’s successful ‘assault’.

  The Harbinger, Kodlak woke up with a start. Expecting the worst, and upon hearing the cries and yells, he came bursting out of the tent with his two handed sword drawn and a fur wrapped around himself to promptly see Sotek standing there with a massive grin on his face while the other three sat on their backsides in the water.

  Aela growled at Sotek with contempt. Her teeth were clasped together and two fists slammed down in the water, slashing Farkas and Vilkas a second time as well as spraying herself.

  “You bloody bastard, I’m soaked”. She yelled angrily across the water at Sotek who simply chuckled in response.

  Vilkas’s reply was far more forthcoming. He yelled at Aela despite the fact he was sitting next to her.

  “You’re soaked??? Why the hell do we listen to you??”

  Aela turned to Farkas who was also looking angrily at her. She couldn’t help but snap at him for the look he had given her.

  “Hey, don’t look at me like that!! He did it!!” As she yelled at Farkas she pointed to Sotek who was busy laughing at the three of them. Aela turned back at Vilkas and saw pure contempt in his eyes.

  Realising both brothers were actually glaring at her and not at Sotek, Aela desperately tried to scramble to her feet and run but they both grabbed her before she could get away. Farkas took a firm hold of both of her wrists, while Vilkas grabbed her feet. She violently tried to kick out but he was too strong for her.

  Aela screamed out at the top of her voice but the two brothers blanked her pleas and threats.

  “Let me go you bloody cowards!!! Harbinger, get them off!! Harbinger? Sotek? Please get them off of me. Let me go you bloody apes, I swear I’ll bloody turn and bite every bloody one of you on your goddamn backsides!!!”

  Sotek boldly walked up to them and held his hand out to stop them both. Aela mistakenly thought for a second as did her two brothers that Sotek was actually going to come to her aid. Instead, he pulled out an old cloth and shoved it in Aela’s mouth while they held her tight. She struggled even more but now her threats were reduced to mere muffled screams.

  Feeling somewhat pleased with himself and ignoring the Harbinger completely, Sotek pointed upstream, towards a large body of water.

  “The lake’s just over there. It’s about two hundred feet away”. Both Farkas and Vilkas nodded evilly to each other then proceeded to walk alongside the bank of the stream and headed off towards the lake, all the while Aela desperately tried kicking and thrashing about while Sotek happily followed them from behind.

  Once they reached the edge of the lake, the two brothers started swinging Aela back and forth, forming a wide arc as she swung like a piece of rope for children to skip over. She was desperately trying to scream at her two ‘brothers’ but her gag held tight, preventing her from yelling out. Vilkas took it upon himself to cease any further delay and started the countdown for launching Aela into the air.

  “One!”

  Aela was swung backwards as the two Companions tied to get more height to the swing so she would be flung further.

  “Two!!” As soon as Aela heard the ‘two’ she tried once more to fight them off but it was to no avail. They gripped her too tightly. She was committed to whatever fate they decided upon. As one, both Farkas and Vilkas swung her right back then Vilkas shouted out once more.

  “Three!!!” Aela screamed out as loud as she could, despite the gag in her mouth, but just as they were going to let go Sotek joined in with a shout of his own.

  “FUS RO!!” Once again the three Companions felt the unstoppable force of the dragon shout but it was both Vilkas and Farkas who caught the worst of it. With their arms stretched outwards and with Aela in full swing, they could do nothing to prevent the shout push them both off their feet and fling them, heads first into the lake with Aela still in their hands. A big splash threw spray in all directions and a wave of water forced Sotek to step back away from the edge of the lake so his boots wouldn’t get wet. In a big mangled heap, the three Companions broke the water’s surface coughing and spluttering as they turned towards the bank.

  Sotek, who was watching Aela curse, was joined by Kodlak. The Harbinger laughed at the scene before him.

  “See! This is what I was trying to tell you all. The three of you can’t even throw him in a lake let alone beat him”.

  Farkas shouted at Sotek as he waded through the lake. He stepped onto the bank and water poured off his tunic and formed a large puddle around him.

  “Why the hell did you do that? We were throwing Aela in, not you. Bloody lizards!!” He accusingly yelled while he pulled out a small fish which got unwittingly trapped in his clothing.

  Sotek just smiled at him and laughed.

  “Well yes, she deserved it but she is my mate. I felt I had to do something. Honor demanded it!”

  Aela swam to the edge then climbed out. She was soaked and her hair draped over her face like one of Tilma’s old mops after she cleaned the floor. Even the three painted lines on Aela’s face were washed away although the skin where the lines had been drawn was now permanently pigmented from the years of being buried under the dark olive war paint.

  “Your mate? Hmph..... Not any more I’m not, you..... You’re not coming anywhere near me you bastard”. She started shivering from the near freezing water.

  Sotek wrapped a fur around her and led her back to the camp. Once he built up the campfire, he reignited it with his ‘flame spurt’ spell. The flames threw out a torrent of heat, warming up everyone around it. Within a few minutes a misty cloud of steam started to form around the Companions clothes which were hanging on a rack of lengthy sticks while their three owners were covered in furs.

  Aela still felt somewhat bitter despite being the victim to her own act of treachery. Although Sotek was cuddling her to help her stay warm, she openly growled at him.

  “I still hate you, you bastard”.

  Sotek just smiled and held her tighter.

  “Now where would the fun be if I made it easy for you? Where would your sense of victory be?”

  She fought against the temptation to bite into Sotek’s chest which would have brought the Harbingers wrath down upon her so she glared at her two siblings instead.

  “I told you morons we should have crushed him when we had the chance”.

  Sotek turned to the Harbinger and changed the flow of the conversation. Aela was just winding herself up and he knew he had been lucky so far as to escape any injury from her lack of control and excessive aggression. Aggravating her any more would be foolhardy, let alone painful.

  “I’m sorry but I can’t see us hitting that forsworn camp today. We’ll head off later to it then attack it tomorrow”.

  Aela lightly bashed her head against Sotek’s chest as a way of pointing at him and ranted at the Harbinger over the situation.

  “That’s his fault. He delayed the attack, kick him out of the camp!!”

  The Harbinger slyly smiled to himself and nodded in agreement.

  “Sorry Sotek, she does have a point. I’m afraid I’ve no choice but to have you forcefully removed from camp due to your disruption to the Companions and their duty”.

  The Harbinger stretched his legs out and signalled to Farkas.

  “Farkas, Vilkas, Aela, throw Sotek out of the camp. Now if you don’t mind”. Sotek burst out laughing while Farkas and Vilkas held onto the furs even tighter to ensure they were ‘modestly’ covered. They both mumbled at Aela, clearly blaming her for their situation.

  Aela ignored them both and verbally laid into Sotek.

  “I’m going to get you so bloody bad you’ll wish we did beat your ass in your trial. You’ll go crying all the way to the hell you came from”. She turned towards the Harbinger and started ranting at him again. “Even bloody Daedra are easier to deal with than that bloody reptile”.

  Sotek laughed at the tone in her voice. Even Kodlak tried to keep a straight face as Sotek mockingly hissed back at her.

  “Reptile!! Lasst night it wass ‘I need you’ now it’ss bloody Reptile”.

  A single ‘huff’ was Aela’s only response and she chose to sit quietly although she still tapped into his body’s warmth. After she had calmed down, Sotek approached the subject of the Harbinger’s own plans.

  “What are you going to do? Head back to Jorrvaskr?”

  The Harbinger studied Aela while he pondered on his options. Things had been rather quiet of late so there was no pressing need for his return to the hall.

  “I think I’ll stay here a while longer with you all. It’s been so long since I’ve been out like this. Besides, while I’m around Aela won’t be tempted to try to get Red to extract her revenge”.

  Aela shot her head around fiercely.

  “You know I wouldn’t do that!! Not since what happened last time”.

  Sotek threw Aela’s armor at her feet and pointed to the tent.

  “Your armor’s dry, go get changed. The Harbinger... he’s just messing with you”.

  Aela rose up to her feet and scurried inside the shelter with her armor held tightly in her arms against her chest so the fur wouldn’t unwrap. She answered Sotek while she put back on her armor.

  “I know! What’s the plan today if we’re not hitting the camp?”

  Sotek looked around their campsite and weighed up their supplies. There was still a pile of firewood and ample meat.

  “Well, we got plenty of supplies, so we rest easy today then leave early tomorrow morning. We can hit the camp in the middle of the daytime. You’ll have plenty of targets to take out before we get close and engage them directly”.

  Realising he had blatantly once again took leadership in the Harbinger’s presence; Sotek quickly addressed them all in an attempt to level the field.

  “Unless someone has a different idea... maybe?”

  Ignorant to his reasons for asking about their opinions, Vilkas and Farkas just shook their heads while the Harbinger lifted his feet up and rested them on a stool.

  “It’s been far too long since I’ve come away from all the troubles at Jorrvaskr. I’m happy to rest here in the quiet”.

  Aela however, emerged from the tent and lightly shoved Sotek in the side. She yanked him away from the fire and snapped out her command like he was her pet.

  “Come, we’re going for a walk!”

  Sotek lightly pulled his arm away from her grasp but he still followed her away from the camp site.

  “Ok, anywhere in mind?”

  She shook her head as she walked off, only slowing down so Sotek could catch up with her.

  “Nope, just a walk”. She led him through a copse of trees with no other reason than to see what they would come across.

  Vilkas called out to them both as they disappeared.

  “Hey, don’t forget what the Harbinger said about Red and Albino”.

  Aela groaned and rolled her eyes despite the fact no one could see her. She glanced over her shoulder and yelled her reply.

  “We won’t!! And his names Omega!!”

  Farkas smirked and joined in the conversation regardless that Aela was by now over a hundred yards away.

  “What? Albino has a proper name? Aela, he may be small but he isn’t your pet. You know you just can’t choose a name for him. Honestly, I know you think he’s all cute and everything but you’ll have a dog lead for him next”.

  “Shut up you moron, I’ll explain when we get back!!” She yelled angrily at him for his leg pulling. She knew they were laughing at her and the whole episode was starting to wear thin.

  Once they got out of sight, Aela tackled the real reason for their ‘walk’. She chose a large rock and offered it to Sotek to sit on.

  “Sit here a minute, I want to talk to you”.

  Once Sotek parked himself on it, Aela rested alongside him and stared blankly at the grass.

  Sotek looked at her; her face was all serious and hardened. Having no idea what was going on, he waited for her to speak but she fell into a trance like stare. Finally he gave up and forced the issue with her.

  “Ok, what’s on your mind?”

  “I should have told you that we can’t change outside... it’s forbidden. We, that is the Companion’s secret has to stay a secret!! I’ve... I never intended to fall for anyone, all these feelings I have, for you..... Look, it’s this bloody simple; I got caught up with the moment with you. I shouldn’t have but I did. There I said it... I vowed never to say this to any man without...... You get right under my skin, you know that?”

  Sotek felt a wave of bewilderment and blankly stared back at her while she ranted to both him and herself with equal amounts of anger, love and confusion.

  “I’m sorry, I think...”

  Aela had an icy stare about her. She turned to him and clenched her teeth together for a fraction of a second before composing herself.

  “What? What you sorry about? Oh, yea... I never said it. I thought I did... I want to but I can’t. Not yet...... We cannot go changing and running around the plains. Kodlak’s right, we’d blow our cover, we’d be hunted down. I should have stopped this, but damn it I love running around with you, Red and Omega...”

  Sotek smiled reassuringly and tried to lay her fears to rest.

  “It’s ok to be honest it’s quite understandable”. The fact was though it wasn’t ok. Not by a long way off. Despite the pain his transformations caused him, both he and Omega loved running with Aela and Red. He pondered upon the possibility of unadulterated freedom... and the price which it would cost. They would have to run, never settle in one place. On the run until death found them, until they died and joined the wolves on the Hunting Grounds.

  Aela noticed Sotek had fallen in deep thought and tugged his collar to get his attention.

  “Tomorrow, we haven’t faced that many before. Hey? You listening? You got to go careful. I’m worried about you... your shoulder. Just stay close to me”.

  Sotek snapped out of his trance and sighed when he finally took notice of her. He went to give her a hug but she stood up and held him at bay. The most she would let him do was to hold a single hand, the other one stayed by her side out of his reach.

  “You’re worried about tomorrow? The great ‘Aela the Huntress’ is worried about a few forsworn?”

  She turned on him angrily; the tone in her voice was enough to wipe the smile from his face.

  “It’s not a few!! There’s going to be over thirty of those bastards. We’re out manned eight to one. Weren’t you listening? Why won’t you pay attention?”

  He shuffled about nervously from the shock of her rebuke and his tail slowly slid between his feet.

  “He... He is listening now. He understands what we face; he understands they have greater numbers...”

  Sotek gave her a reassuring smile and pulled her close to him. He quickly changes from a cub to a wily fox.

  “We don’t though, do we. We haven’t seen the camp or the terrain or the exact numbers. Let’s wait until we know what we’re looking at. I’ll stay close to you, ok? There’s something about this that has got to you isn’t there”.

  She nodded but she refused to face him. Her voice seemed fragile and delicate.

  “Yes but I’m not talking about it, just go easy and stay close to me. Don’t go in reckless like you do with everything”.

  He nodded reassuringly at her.

  “Ok, I’ll go extra careful, I promise”.

  She looked up at his eyes and stared into them before she stepped back a foot. A second later a loud ‘slap’ rang out as she struck the side of his face with the palm of her hand.

  “That’s so you don’t forget it”.

  Sotek hissed back and was about to retaliate when he stopped in his tracks. He couldn’t help but notice her eyes were fighting back a tear. He realised she had meant it. She meant every word.

  “Ok, I won’t forget”.

  She turned back towards the camp then started heading off, leaving Sotek behind. He held his cheek which still stung from the slap she had given him. He knew she was worried; he couldn’t help but wonder why the job held so much fear for her. He knew she wasn’t afraid for herself; her fear was for his safety.

  He couldn’t help but ask himself a question.

  Why did the Forsworn upset her and cause her to fear over his life?