U.O.T.W. Chapter 140 Maelstrom Of The Heart

• Posted by Sotek June 11, 2016 - Filed in TSC: CB Story - 1,291 views

   

  Whiterun’s streets were desolate and quiet as the moons cast long silvery shadows over the town. The hall of Jorrvaskr though was still active with the occasional banter and conversation, although it too had started to empty. As to the normal proceedings of the night, the Whelps settled downstairs, leaving the Companions in the hall alone and free to openly discuss training sessions, the day’s events and any Companion business such as contracts.

  By this time, Farkas and Vilkas were drinking more heavily than their normal amount. Both found talking to be thirsty work and this particular day there had been a lot of talking. They decided there had to be a lot of drinking as well to keep everything in equilibrium. The truth was that it was just an excuse not that anyone asked them about it. It’s what they usually did in Jorrvaskr during the night so everyone was used to it.

  For some reason though, the more he drank the more Vilkas started staring at Sotek. Such actions didn’t go unnoticed for long as Aela felt his eyes upon them despite it was actually Sotek who Vilkas was scrutinising. The more Aela felt the eyes upon her, the more it grated against her nerves until she literally exploded and yelled out across the hall at him.

  “Vilkas! What’s you damn problem?”

  The Nord jumped in his chair, momentarily startled by Aela’s outburst.

  “Whats? Oh shorry, I was jusht thinking about, you know, ‘im”.

  The Huntresses anger was quickly forgotten and washed away by a wave of confusion. She looked around the hall at the other Companions in the vain hope of working out who Vilkas was talking about. Feeling no better off for her actions, she chose to ask him directly. Her abrupt voice snapped at him like closing jaws.

  “Him who?”

  “You sound like a demented owl”. Sotek stated as he started sniggering at her.

  Aela huffed and turned towards him with raised eyebrows which caused him to fall remarkably silent.

  “Owls don’t go ‘him who’. Do they?”

  With a floppy arm flailing in the air and mead sloshing around in his tankard, Farkas drunkenly called out to them.

  “Acc-ordinsh to the Imperialish Whelp, they goes ‘Hoooty hoot!” He then leaned back in his chair and giggled.

  Both Aela and Sotek shared glances and smirked at Farkas’s inebriated state. By the look of the redness in Vilkas’s cheeks, he was fairing little better. Turning to the Harbinger, Sotek pointed at Aela and said with a mischievous grin.

  “Aela does a great owl impression”

  Vilkas started sniggering and nodded to him.

  “Yesh, we all heard her howls”.

  Aela quietly seethed and hissed back at him.

  “Owl not howl... Stupid basstard”.

  Kodlak decided to ignore both Vilkas and Aela as one was drunk and the other was being her typical moody self. He was somewhat curious to what Sotek had said and so he raised a bristly eye brow and enquired about it.

  “Does she?”

  Sotek just nodded back at him then promptly pinched Aela’s leg making her cry out.

  “Owww! You bastard! That hurt”. She quickly retaliated by slapping him on the back of the head, sending him forwards in surprise before she started rubbing her leg where he pinched her.

  Sotek chuckled at her then smugly answered the Harbinger who was smirking at them both.

  “See?”

  Aela, feeling somewhat disgruntled, leaned towards Sotek as if she intended to kiss him but as she drew near to his lips, the she wolf snapped her teeth together giving Sotek cause to abruptly pull away from her so he was out of her range. Such a retreat allowed her to regain the ‘alpha’ position between them. Knowing she was back in the driving seat, Aela triumphantly wiggled her head at the Argonian in a ‘victory display’ before she set her sights back on the perpetrator to the whole situation.

  “Now he’s back in his place, Vilkas, who are you on about?”

  The tone in Vilkas’s face changed from a relaxed passive Nord to one of a brooding man who had inadvertently been bumped into.

  “Scarface”.

  “What about him?” Sotek asked. He had expected some questions on the subject and he was actually somewhat surprised it took the two brothers this long to ask them.

  Vilkas gave a light hearted sigh and shrugged his shoulders, giving the impression that he wasn’t sure about his question let alone any answer.

  “Hell I don’t know. Well... damn it. He’s bloody massive! How come he’s so tall?”

  “As I said before, one of my forefathers had three boons. These same boons are in my blood. That’s why Hircine didn’t want me and Aela being together. I guess he knew what would happen when my blood was mixed with a pureblood werewolf; ‘Aela’. The result formed a ermm, ‘hybrid’, Scarface”.

  Farkas’s face screwed up as he grumbled at the Argonian for his transgression when he and Aela showed them his werewolf form.

  “Yes, but that doesn’t give you the right to scare the crap out of us like you did!”

  The mood of the hall quickly degenerated into hysterics which was quickly joined in by Tilma and the Harbinger. In fits of laughter, Aela pointed to Farkas and tore into him jestingly.

  “Your face when he picked you up. Oh Hircine that was so funny. And Vilkas running away on all fours! ‘Harbinger, Harbinger save me!”

  Vilkas, who also found the whole thing to be way past the line, was just about to say something when Kodlak joined in.

  “Be angry all you want. You two taking the micky gave them the right, nothing else”.

   Farkas downed a flask of mead then he spoke again, by this time his voice carried with it a definite slur.

  “When did you realish you were him? I can’t shee you keeping it from Aela and ushh”.

  Sotek gave a nod in response and nudged Aela at the same time.

  “I didn’t until the Bloodmoon. Yes you, we really have to work on our communication”.

  Kodlak readily agreed which wasn’t something Sotek was surprised about when he considered what he and Aela had put the Harbinger through that particular night.

  “That would be wonderful if you did. Make sure you do!”

  Aela couldn’t help but smirk when the Harbinger caught her eye. She covered her mouth to try to hide the fact that she was grinning but her emotions soon changed from one extreme state of happiness to another far more sorrowful one when she thought back to that particular night in question.

  “We went on the hunt that night. Hircine sent the pair of us to track and kill someone; Greymane. He... he was too strong; he killed Omega... he obliterated him. He just kept lashing out and wouldn’t stop...”

  Sotek forcibly pulled her into him and covered her mouth with two of his fingers, preventing her from speaking. Although he forced his will upon her, making her cuddle him, the empathy in his voice was unmistakable.

  “Hey! That’s over. We got him and he isn’t coming back. Greymane’s gone. There’s no need to fret anymore is there. Hmm?”

  She gave the slightest of nods but her eyelids were tightly closed in an attempt to blot out the image of Omega’s bloodied body lying on the ground.

  “I... I just can’t get that out of my head. He didn’t deserve that, not to die like that...”

  Sotek lightly kissed her on the forehead and comforted her for a few moments then solemnly spoke to the two brothers.

  “That’s how we lost Omega”.

  Aela’s face screwed up and she lashed out, thumping Sotek twice in the chest while she yelled at him.

  “He wasn’t lost you son of a bitch, he was killed. He should have ran. Why the hell didn’t he run?”

  Sotek fell silent lest he choked on his words. The Argonian’s tail snaked out behind him and he glanced over towards Kodlak, almost begging the Harbinger to step in and take over.

  Kodlak called out to Aela assertively drawing her attention to him.

  “Aela, tell me something. Why do you think he never run? What made him stand and fight when he had no chance to win?”

  Aela drew a few deep breaths and pulled herself away from Sotek. Her hand rested on her bosom, helping her to regain control of her breathing and pull in her emotions reins so she could think things through more clearly.

  “Me. He was trying to protect me. That’s why he held his ground, because he was trying to protect me”.

  Kodlak nodded back at her and gave a few words of wisdom.

  “Yes, and we will lay him to rest soon enough. Life and death are two parts of the wheel of life; you know this more than most Aela. I’m sure Sotek feels his loss just as much as you do, but in his stead now stands one, who I think, will be just as dedicated to you and Red as Omega was. I’m not saying anyone can replace Omega, but, maybe if you let him, Scarface could make the pain more bearable”.

  Aela slowly nodded and timidly glanced deep into Sotek’s eyes. She held his cheek and kissed him on the lips. Nothing more than a quick peck but she could tell it meant a lot to him. She leaned against his chest and whispered.

  “I don’t want Red to hunt alone”.

  Sotek held her tightly in his arm and replied.

  “She won’t have to. Scarface will be there for her, you know that”.

  Aela suddenly sat up and gasped.

  “What if they don’t get on? Just ‘cause we do doesn’t mean they will. They have minds of their own”.

  Farkas laughed as he watched his shield sister’s near petrified face gawp in fear. To him, the whole problem was academic as he, Vilkas and even Aela already knew of Red’s feelings towards Scarface.

  “There’s no need to worry about this Aela. We know Red had the ‘hots’ for him”.

  Aela felt the cold touch of fear from visions of Farkas letting out her secret about how Red felt towards Scarface when Omega was still alive; how she felt despite not knowing at the time who Scarface was. She quickly butted in and tried to kill the conversation before anything else was said lest her shame be known.

  “You’re drunk! Get some sleep, now hop it”.

  Vilkas slumped onto the table then prised himself up on his elbows and rested his chin in his hands. He tapped Farkas’s leg with his boot and mumbled to his brother.

  “You drunken fool! Sotek knew Red had the hots for Omega”.

  Aela raised her voice even louder as desperation set in. She even called out to the Harbinger to aid her although he had no idea what was bothering her so.

  “Can you both go and sleep it off? Harbinger, they’re slobbering on the table! Send them to bed, now!”

  Kodlak was taken aback by Aela’s words and her actions but he was still none the wiser. He shrugged back at Sotek who indicated to him that he had no idea what was going on in Aela’s mind either. They both looked at Aela who was by now literally tearing her hair out.

  Farkas and Vilkas were still talking about Red to the point where Aela finally cracked. She grabbed Sotek’s hand and yanked him off the steps and onto his feet then she proceeded to drag him across the hall.

  “Come on, let’s go”.

  Farkas pointed to Sotek, singling him out as he starts explaining to Vilkas about what he meant. Aela shook her head at him silently pleading for him to stop but Farkas was either too drunk to notice or just too drunk to care.

  Had Farkas been less intoxicated then he might have been more aware of Aela’s emotions, as it was, such feelings were lost to him. Aela had hardly taken five paces when she heard the words she was dreading to hear.

  “Yes Vilkas but... if he wasn’t ermm didn’t know he was Scarface until the hunt, then he didn’t know that Red had the hots for Scarface as well as Omega, would he?” The words weren’t just said, they were almost shouted. Tilma just managed to prevent herself from dropping a stack of plates while Kodlak’s eyes nearly popped out of his head. He turned to Aela questioningly but he never needed to ask, the truth was written all over her face for the world to see, and judge.

  Everyone saw the change in her. Gone was the she wolf who was a powerhouse of confidence and strength. In its wake stood a girl who was in shock and one who was terrified of her own feelings. Aela was transformed into nothing but a scared rabbit. One beset by wolves that threatened to tear it apart. She dropped Sotek’s hand like it was a red hot iron bar and ran out of the hall into the courtyard, banging the doors behind her.

  Sotek was stunned. He stood where he was, completely unable to move as Farkas’s voice rang in his ears. He could still hear the words which seemed to echo through time itself. He looked around the hall at the Harbinger then at Tilma as his head overloaded with information which he struggled to process. As his mind closed up, his body reacted, taking over from the events which sent him reeling and Aela fleeing the hall. He ran to the doorway and pulled the door open then stepped outside, closing the heavy wooden door behind him.

  Although he was only several seconds behind her, by the time Sotek entered the courtyard Aela was already gone. The Argonian noticed some large wolfish claw marks on Whiterun’s perimeter wall telling Sotek of the story which he had inadvertently missed.

  Aela had transformed in the yard and ran off into the night. He ran to the wall and scanned the area beyond the border but he could see nothing. He even used his dragon shout, Aura Whisper.

  “LAAS YAH”

  His voice would have carried across the farmsteads and thundered through the mountains like a storm but this particular shout broke into a hushed whisper. Nothing out on the plains or along the road towards Riverwood lit up. Even the trail heading to Valtheim Towers was clear of all animal life. The only creatures he could make out were two deer towards the south who were currently huddled together in the long undergrowth by the fur trees towards the southern mountains.

  Sotek concluded that Aela, or rather Red had jumped the wall then ran as hard a she could. By this time she could have been anywhere. With nothing else to do and having no means to track her, Sotek turned around and headed back inside.

  The stomachs of the two brothers tightened, creating a nauseating feeling. Drink had no doubt played a part in their condition but worry and concern over going too far took the blunt of the burden. Knowing he was standing on the edge of an abyss, Vilkas nervously asked what happened in the yard.

  “Where’s Aela? She coming back inside?”

  Sotek tapped a single claw on the railings which served as a barrier for the platform which ran the length of the hall. He ignored Vilkas and instead chose to speak directly to the Harbinger.

  “Aela’s gone! She changed into Red and ran. My aura shout isn’t picking her up; she’s gone. Why would Aela change in the yard within Whiterun’s walls? What the hell just happened?”

  Without waiting for a reply, Sotek snatched Tilma’s mop pail from the side of the hall where she was cleaning earlier and made his way to the main doors where he shoved them open before disappearing beyond the threshold.

  Kodlak was still trying to piece together what Farkas and Vilkas had said while Tilma made a passing comment about Sotek’s actions.

  “Where is he going with my bucket?”

  Her question was answered rather spectacularly when Sotek returned to the hall around a minute after he had left Jorrvaskr. The Harbinger sat in his chair, totally unsure as to what to say so he watched in silence as Sotek made his way across the hall but he was totally unprepared for Sotek’s next action. The Harbinger’s jaw fell open as he watched Sotek calmly approach Vilkas and Farkas with the pail in his hand then the Companion promptly threw the whole bucket of water straight at them.

  Soaking wet black hair hung over their faces as they both shuddered from the shock of the icy cold water which Sotek had collected from the pond by Dragonsreach. Vilkas jumped up on his feet and cried out as he stood in a puddle which seemed to get larger with every passing second.

  “What the? Why did you do that damn it? He said it not me”.

  Farkas tried standing up but he was still unsteady on his feet so he had to cling onto the table to help support himself. He angrily raised a fist then pointed a finger straight at Sotek.

  “Now you wait one god damn minute. Yes I opened my moth, ermm mouth but she should have told him, ermm you; yea you”.

  Sotek grabbed him and forced him back into the chair, pinning him down on the seat.

  “Don’t you threaten me Farkas. What the hell are you on about? Scarface and Red?”

  Sotek’s rage was clearly on show but then so was his confusion. The more Farkas looked up at Sotek’s eyes the more he came to realize that Sotek was clueless to what they had inadvertently spoke of.

  “You really don’t know? Oh crap”.

  Finding they had little choice, the two brothers told Sotek and the Harbinger everything they knew and could remember about the instances when Red, Aela and Scarface had met. They mentioned when Scarface walked behind Red and she lowered her tail whilst she growled at him; about her trying to force him away when he moved close to her. They also spoke of the darker side of the times when the werewolves paths had crossed. They both knew this was one of those times when staying quiet wouldn’t help.

  Throughout all this time, Sotek sat on his step with his head in his hands while he fretted over Aela’s disappearance. Half forgotten memories seemingly belonging to someone else flashed through his mind but nothing stayed long enough for him to cling on to and nothing that he was told by either Farkas or Vilkas made any sense.

  Feeling at a complete loss, Sotek walked over to the table and rested against it. He groaned loudly and cried out as he slumped over the table resting his head on his folded arms.

  “None of this means a bloody thing. Start again. That place you were in. Vilkas, you and Red... Aela... Aela and Red!”

  Vilkas huffed to himself but when she saw the state Sotek was getting in, he couldn’t help but feel some empathy for the Argonian. He rose to his feet and approached Sotek then held him by the shoulder for moral support.

  “Farkas, next time that bitch tries to drag us in we’re staying clear. We should have come clean at the start”.

  Sotek lifted his head up and stared at the doorway so he wouldn’t have to look at anyone else. His tail started flapping around as he snapped back at Vilkas’s words.

  “She isn’t a bitch. Well yes she is a bitch but! Come clean with what?”

  Vilkas watched his brother for any sign as to what his next move should be. Farkas seemed to understand and gave a simplistic nod, giving him the go ahead.

  “I didn’t want to have to say this but there’s no point in hiding it. She resisted him, they both did; Aela and Red. There was a connection though, even with Aela”.

  Kodlak looked up at them with an air of surprise in his voice.

  “Aela and Red?”

  Farkas timidly turned towards the Harbinger and nodded.

  “Yea. Scarface advanced onto Red, she tried to push him away but she couldn’t. She ended up resting her forehead on his chest; like Aela does with Sotek when she’s being submissive. Aela changed back then Scarface stepped closer to her. Aela tried to push him away but she ended up holding him. They were both hugging each other! That’s when she noticed the blade. She then pulled out the dagger from his leg; he gave a low growl then howled out. The next second he was gone. That’s it, she tried to hold him back, Red even tried, they just couldn’t”.

  The Harbinger slapped his lap with his palms and jumped up out of his chair. He seemed far happier than what he was a few moments ago as if something had changed. Some fact came to light which gave him reasons not to worry.

  “Sotek, you really don’t remember any of this at all?”

  He just shook his head as he watched the Harbinger grin back at him.

  “Not a goddamn thing”.

  Farkas looked up and attempted to give Sotek a bit of support while at the same time he tried to make Aela’s actions seem less than what they appeared to be.

  “They both tried to resist him, you have to remember that”.

  Sotek stared at Farkas as an image of Red and Omega clouded his mind, blocking further thoughts on the matter.

  “I’m struggling with all this. I need to know something. If Scarface persisted, and you weren’t there, would it have gone further? I need to know”.

  Feeling puzzled by Sotek’s line of questioning, Vilkas answered with a question of his own.

  “Go further? What go further? It’s not like your werewolf forms do anything is it! They don’t mate or anything, you just run around and kill stuff don’t you?”

  Sotek just stood there, he tried to turn away but he couldn’t. The other three picked up on it immediately despite the state Farkas and Vilkas were in.

  Farkas stared at him and shook his head at the hapless specimen who was in front of him.

  “Ermm Omega and Red! They didn’t did they? Oh crap, oh crap, no wonder she needed closure from him dying”.

  Sotek glanced up at the Harbinger and immediately jumped on the defensive.

  “What? It’s not like we planned it, it just happened”.

  Vilkas stared at him in shock. Both he and Farkas had hunted together years before and had a few hunts with Red in the past but neither of the brothers even considered their werewolf forms having any such needs for a mate.

  “I don’t believe you two! Red and Omega? How? He’s too bloody short for one thing”

  Sotek nearly shouted at him from embarrassment.

  “Vilkas shut the hell up”.

  The Harbinger turned to Farkas and Vilkas who were just staring at Sotek and dismissed them so he could regain control of the situation.

  “You both better go to bed and sleep it off; we have a hard day ahead of us. As far as this love triangle goes, there isn’t one. You Sotek, are worrying over nothing and you two idiots should have come to me at the start. Katria, Aela’s mother had a bit of a thing for Aela’s father way before she even met his werewolf form. I was with him when she first came across him; his werewolf. She had an attraction to him despite not knowing who he was. Aela and Red probably could sense Sotek when he was Scarface. It matters not that you weren’t aware of it, I bet they were, whether they realise it or not”.

  The Harbinger beckoned Sotek to follow him outside to the training yard where they both talked in hushed whispers.

  “Vilkas and Farkas are somewhat shocked about what you said with Red and Omega. Oh cut out the embarrassed face. We’re both men of the world. I myself am a bit surprised, but I will tell you something you keep to yourself. Her mother was the same; her and Aela’s father. Their werewolf forms were ermm ‘close’. Consider this! As you know, in your werewolf form it’s your wolf spirit who is in control but they are much more basic, more animalistic than what you are now. For instance werewolves can’t open boxes or open doors. They can just hunt, track and kill; in some rare cases, it would seem mate. It’s more than likely that Red and Aela could sense you, neither would have known but they would have sensed you were him. He was still you, even though you don’t remember it”.

  Kodlak paused for a moment to let his words sink into a troubled mind. When he saw Sotek’s tail relax, he gave Sotek something else to ponder on.

  “Think on this, Farkas said that Scarface protected her when they first met. He pushed her out the way then chased off the Silverhand Skinner. That in itself shows that Scarface knew who she was, her importance to you and to him. He just acted on it. Red and Aela subconsciously knew who Scarface was; Scarface certainly knew who they were. Aela said once that Omega tried to climb a fortress wall. According to Aela, Farkas and Vilkas, there’s only one werewolf who does that. Who is it?”

  Sotek nodded to the Harbinger while he scanned the horizon beyond the courtyard walls.

  “Scarface does. He was angry over Omega’s death, I could feel it. Omega and Scarface are the same? Just different forms?”

  Kodlak nodded and joined in with the search in the vain hope of seeing any kind of movement but he knew Red was long gone.

  “Same spirit. So no, there’s no betrayal on Aela or Red’s part. The problem you face is that she doesn’t know it. You need to talk to her and to do that...”

  Sotek sighed at the momentous task which lay ahead of him. He knew where the Harbinger was going but such a feat seemed beyond him.

  “I need to find her!”

  Kodlak gripped him tightly on the shoulder and pushed him towards the wall for emphasis.

  “Exactly! Go find her, bring her back home”.

  Sotek turned around to face him and threw his hands up despairingly. He knew what he had to do but he was fully aware how hard it would be to track Red.

  “How the hell do I do that by myself? I can’t tell the difference between a dead wolf and a live deer”.

  Kodlak nodded to him then slapped him on the back of the head. The Harbinger’s finger waved in front of Sotek giving him cause to back away slightly.

  “Start thinking as a werewolf and use that brain of yours. You can’t but Scarface can. Let him track her. Matters not if it’s Red or Aela, Scarface will find her”.

  Sotek kept his voice low despite feeling the unprecedented need to shout.

  “Yes maybe he could but I changed already so that won’t work”.

  Kodlak gave a slight chuckle then headed back towards the doors of Jorrvaskr.

  “No, you changed last night. It’s the early hours now. You can change again after midnight. Go find her, bring her back”.

  Sotek gave a slight nod in acknowledgement to his orders then proceeded towards the wall. Just before he transformed, he glanced back at the Harbinger and seemed to stare through him. Sotek knew the guards were about on their various patrols so he used his Aura shout to pinpoint their locations.

  “LAAS YAH”.

  Once again the shout came out as a hushed whisper despite the effort he put in his voice. Having satisfied himself that all the guards were well out of the way, he transformed into Scarface and effortlessly vaulted over the wall. The werewolf sniffed a few times at the ground then snorted to clear his nose so he could concentrate on Red’s scent. Silently and stealthily he started following her trail.

  The hunt was on.